The old man was waving one hand in a shooing motion. “You may go, my dear,” he said, dabbing away tears of laughter with his shirtsleeve. “I’ve learned all I need to know.”

Bliss was eager to leave, but there was the small matter of a promise given. “I did tell your grandson I’d stay until he returned,” she said.

But Mr. Davis waved his hand and wheeled himself around so that his back was to Bliss. He began to mutter, speaking as though he were already alone.

Bliss didn’t need to hear more. She hurried out of the suite, across the hall, and into her own. Jamie was there, still wearing his hat and coat.

“And where ’ave you been?” he asked with a curious frown.

Bliss decided to evade the question. “I’m dying for some fresh air, Jamie McKenna, and if you won’t go out walking with me, I’ll go by myself.”

Jamie grinned at her and spread his hands. “It just so ’appens that there’s something I want to show you,” he agreed. “So if you want to walk, Duchess, we’ll walk.”

Bliss kept her eyes on Jamie’s profile as the lift carried them down to the lobby. It didn’t seem possible that she would be gone in the morning, never to look upon that face again.

She wanted to cry.

“Why are you so sad, Duchess?” Jamie asked as they stepped out of the lift. His voice was very gentle, and tears welled in Bliss’s eyes.

“I’m not sad,” she lied.

He ushered her across the crowded lobby and outside. The sun was shining brightly, but the air was crisply cold. Although the brim of his hat mostly hid his features, Bliss could tell that Jamie was annoyed.

“All right, I’m sad!” she admitted. She’d taken Jamie’s arm and they were walking steadily south.

“Why?”

Bliss could not answer that she was leaving for America in the morning and that she would miss her husband with all her heart and soul. She said the first thing that came to her mind. “Because you’ve never given me a wedding band.”

She saw a muscle along his jawline tighten momentarily. “I see,” he said in an expressionless voice. “Well, Duchess, as it ’appened, your father didn’t give me much chance to go buyin’ you a golden ring.”

Bliss’s throat felt tight and her eyes went all blurry with tears. How she wished Jamie’s ardor extended beyond the edges of his mattress!

When her vision cleared, she realized that they were entering an elegant residential section, where town houses stood back from the brick-lined streets, behind stone walls and iron gates. She was just thinking that living there would be like being incarcerated in a sumptuous prison when Jamie stopped and extracted a key from his pocket.

While Bliss watched mutely, he opened the gate and drew her through. There was an unnerving clanging sound as it closed behind them.

The house they were approaching was a small mansion, with an empty stone fish pond and bare flower beds in front. Jamie pulled Bliss up the steps and used another key to open the towering double doors.