“Perhaps not a babe, although I do envy the way they sleep. But if I were younger, there are a few things I would do differently.”

Diana smiled. “Cause a few more problems, if I had my guess.”

Charlotte covered her mouth to prevent a laugh. Lord Bryant simply shrugged his shoulders. “Some might see it that way, but in reality, if I had caused a few more problems while I was younger, I could have saved someone a lot of heartache. I was much too inclined to listen to my parents.”

Tommy scrunched his face and glanced at his mother. “But children should listen to their parents, shouldn’t they?”

Diana nodded toward the two boys gazing up at Lord Bryant.

“Of course.” Lord Bryant smiled. “Young boys such as yourselves should listen to your mother. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized there are times when it is better to think for yourself.”

Tommy scrunched his mouth together. “So I shouldn’t think for myself?”

Diana grimaced. Lord Bryant’s conversation with the boys was going almost exactly as she had expected.

Lord Bryant laughed. “Of course you should think for yourself, but for now, you should also listen to your mother.”

“I should think so.” Charlotte reached for Tommy’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Now, boys, it is time for you to go to bed.”

“But what about our story?” Tommy’s eyes looked up at Diana’s. For the past week, she had read them a few stories every night before bed. It was one of the benefits of getting home at a decent hour.

Charlotte clicked her tongue. “Miss Barton has a guest tonight.”

Lord Bryant smiled at Charlotte, then the boys. “I don’t want to interfere with the boys’ routine. By all means, Miss Barton should read to them if that is what they want,” he said.

Finally, he would be leaving. This had been one of the most uncomfortable nights of Diana’s life. She was used to Lord Bryant in the office. She knew how to deal with people there.

Lord Bryant turned to her. “I’d quite like to hear a story myself.”

Diana grabbed the edge of the table. This was not happening. Lord Bryant shouldn’t be here in Charlotte’s home where Diana lived. He shouldn’t be having tea in the nursery, and he most certainly shouldn’t listen to her read the boys a story. “Don’t you need to go home? It is getting late.”

Lord Bryant winked at the boys. “Not for a grown-up gentleman like myself. The night has just begun.”

Diana shook her head. Bringing Lord Bryant into the nursery was a mistake. Bringing him into their home was a mistake. She needed to keep their relationship professional. His role was simply to pretend to be interested in her in order to run off would-be suitors. Nothing could be more businesslike than that.

Charlotte glanced back and forth between Lord Bryant and Diana. She seemed to be at a complete loss as to what to do. Diana didn’t blame her. The right thing to do would have been to never bring Lord Bryant into the nursery in the first place, but now that he was here, how exactly did one get rid of a peer of the realm?