Lord Bryant placed his coat on the coatrack underneath his hat, then, unfortunately, stopped undressing. “Please, Mrs. Oliver, stay. Today I will be behaving myself.”

It seemed to Diana that Mrs. Oliver’s sole purpose in the office was for times when a gentleman was not going to behave himself, but Diana didn’t argue the point. Her face still heated up when she thought about how he had stormed into the drawing room. All because she couldn’t allow Mr. Broadcreek to gain the upper hand in his attempt to control her.

She eyed her desk, not quite ready to sit down again. “I’m sorry about the other evening.”

He shook his head. “Not as sorry as I am.”

She took two steps closer to Lord Bryant and leaned forward. Mrs. Oliver was pretending to be busy working at her desk, and her hearing had never been stellar. “There wasn’t any trouble, was there? With Lady Emily? She didn’t discover our visit?”

“No, she didn’t discover your visit.” His face grew hard. “But I’m dreadfully sorry Mr. Broadcreek dragged you across town. That man has no propriety.”

“No, he does not.”

Lord Bryant played with the gloves in his hands. If Diana didn’t know any better, she would think he was nervous. But that would be ridiculous. What did Lord Bryant have to be nervous about?

“Everything is fine with your investments with us?” she asked. “You don’t need to pull out any funds, do you?”

“Pull out funds now? My investments with Barton Rail have been most considerably worthwhile. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Diana sighed. One less thing to worry about. She took a step back, giving both of them a bit more space.

“What can I help you with, Lord Bryant?” Diana asked. Mrs. Oliver snickered into her elbow. Did she sound too formal? “I mean, besides, um . . . seeing each other again, which we have done.”

Lord Bryant raised his eyebrow, and Mrs. Oliver guffawed. This was ridiculous. Why would neither of them help her out of this awkward conversation? She wanted Lord Bryant to come to the office now and again, but she didn’t know what to do with him once he got here.

“What are you working on today besides the exercises?”

Diana heaved a sigh and rolled her head from one shoulder to the other. If Lord Bryant had come earlier in the day, she would have been ready with witty answers to all of his questions, but now she was simply too tired.

“I’ve a few more letters to write, and I need to put in orders for more ballast. I’m three weeks early putting in that next order, but I won’t let what happened last month happen again.”

Lord Bryant stepped forward, as if interested in what she was saying. “What happened last month?”

“I didn’t get my order to the post on time. It almost put us back two weeks on one of the Barton lines.”

“When was this?”

“Just before I came to your home.”