Mrs. Oliver sucked in a deep breath at the profanity Lord Bryant had just uttered. Nate stood so quickly from his desk that he had to grab it so it wouldn’t topple over and spill his paperwork onto the floor. “Lord Bryant, there are ladies present.”

Lord Bryant didn’t acknowledge any of them. He strode to the coatrack and grabbed his hat and coat. Without so much as a nod or a goodbye, Lord Bryant yanked the front office door open. The bell protested angrily at being so violently disturbed, and then he was gone.

Nate ran his fingers through his hair. “Exactly what kind of man did you invite into our lives, Diana?”

Diana ignored her brother as her eyes dashed to the paper Lord Bryant had left on the floor. Diana’s fingers went cold, and a sour taste engulfed her mouth. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. What in heaven’s name had Lord Bryant just read? Nate followed her line of vision.

“What was all that about?” Mrs. Oliver asked, shaking her head.

“I don’t know.” Diana placed both her hands on the top of the desk and rose. She approached the paper cautiously, as if it were a snake and could come to life and bite her. Nate was not so hesitant. He scooped up the paper, and a low chuckle escaped his throat. “He was reading scandal sheets. What kind of a muttonhead gets so worked up over scandal sheets?”

Mrs. Oliver stood from her desk. “Did he get involved in another scandal?”

The pit of Diana’s stomach tightened. Was it her? Had her charade with Lord Bryant gone so far as to reach the scandal sheets? She wouldn’t put it past the people of London. Lord Bryant was a tantalizing topic. And she was a railroad owner. It was just the type of story someone at the paper would love to tell.

She tore the paper from Nate’s hands and scanned the contents. She saw nothing of railroads or the mention of their names. The page he was on dealt mostly with upcoming marriages of the elite. Lord Bryant had no family that she knew of. He was one of the wealthiest men in London, and in general, he didn’t seem to care about—well—anything. What could have upset him enough to run off like that?

And then she saw it: “Lord Falburton’s Daughter to Marry a Peer of the Realm.”

Diana’s heart stopped. “Nate, what is Lord Falburton’s eldest daughter’s name?”

“You know I don’t really follow the peerage.”

She clenched her teeth and bit back a groan. “But you did back when you were building up the company and looking for investors.”

“Women don’t want anything to do with the railroad. Why would I learn about them?”

Diana raised an eyebrow at him.

Nate rubbed his hands down his face. “You know what I mean. Most women. Everyone knows you are different.”

Diana didn’t have time to be offended. Besides, he was right, for the most part. “Was it Lady Emily, perhaps?”