Hadrian’s lips tightened into a cool smile. He introduced the blond as the Honorable Mr. Barford and the heftier man as Lord Comstock.

“So you’re the American,” said Lord Comstock, appreciatively eyeing her. “The town is abuzz with the news that Clayton has taken you into his home, Miss Fanshawe, along with an orphan child. So very unlike him!”

“And now it’s clear why he’s kept you all to himself,” Mr. Barford added, clapping his hand over his heart. “You’re a diamond of the first water. An absolute paragon of perfection.”

Despite her earlier tension, Natalie found herself amused by the exaggerated praise. The scowl on Hadrian’s face diverted her all the more. He’d accused her of jealousy, but it seemed he was the one bitten by that bug.

Unable to resist teasing him, she aimed a flirtatious smile at his friends. “How very kind you both are. It seems that English gentlemen are not so cold and aloof as I’d believed.”

“Don’t judge us all by Clayton,” Lord Comstock said with a sly look at Hadrian. “The fellow’s always been a stuffy stick-in-the mud, even back in our school days. Shall I call on you sometime and tell you more?”

Hadrian, stuffy? His friends clearly had no notion of the enthralling man underneath all that cool hauteur. Still, the prospect of learning more about his past intrigued her. “Thank you, I’d very much enjoy hearing those stories.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Hadrian said in a clipped tone. “Comstock, your wife may object to your visiting a lovely young woman. The same goes for you, too, Barford. Now, if you’ll excuse us, gentlemen.”

As she and Hadrian took their leave, Natalie found herself a little disconcerted to learn the men were married. It was just that they’d admired her in the manner of carefree bachelors. But that, apparently, was the way of the ton. In the future, she must be more careful not to give the wrong impression.

The Duke of Clayton was enough of a flirt for one woman to handle.

Chapter 21

Hadrian’s day went from bad to worse when, shortly after luncheon, he was summoned from his study by a footman bearing the message that Lord and Lady Godwin had come to call.

Though in no humor to entertain his father’s cousin, he put away his papers and strode down a long corridor toward the front of the house, his heels ringing on the marble floor. He and Godwin had parted on bad terms nearly a week ago, and he felt duty-bound as head of the family to broker peace. After their disastrous last meeting, in which the earl’s solicitor had cast doubt on Leo’s identity and Lady Godwin had accused Natalie of attempting to defraud them, Hadrian had departed abruptly from Oak Knoll with Natalie and Leo.

But now he had an obligation to deal with the fallout.

Mounting the stairs, he hoped this meeting would go better than the morning’s excursion. That had started out well, with Natalie softening toward him, until he’d mentioned his legal guardianship of Leo. The stricken expression on her face had been a dagger to his chest. Blast it, he’d expected her to be pleased, not dismayed. Then, just as he was smoothing her ruffled feathers, Comstock and Barford had arrived.