“Not clearly, no.” He touched the bandage that wrapped about his head. “But your mother says I am Captain Frakenham, so…” His eyes met hers. “Who am I to question such a thing?”

Harriet opened her mouth, then closed it again. As mad of an idea as it had been to convince the stranger that he was Captain Frakenham, they were stuck with it for the moment. Especially since Gower had met the man and would be looking to prove him false.

Harriet clamped her teeth closed over a rather unladylike expression. What a horrid tangle.

The stranger raised his brows. “Now that I think about it, the fact that you and I are engaged to be wed puts our relationship in a whole new perspective.”

“A whole new perspective?” she said pleasantly enough, though it was difficult to keep her teeth from clenching. She didn’t care for the way he was regarding her, as if he thought her a specially baked pastry.

He pushed himself upright on the settee, his coat stretching briefly over his muscled arms. “And since we are to be married, then we are free to act as couples who are to be married do.”

“Oh piffle! What nonsense is that? Before you knew we were engaged, you hauled me into your lap and kissed me. What would you ask for now?” She held out a hand when he opened his mouth as if to answer. “No. Don’t say a word. Just know this; I will not tolerate such inappropriate behavior.”

His lips quirked. “You’ll have to excuse my earlier behavior. I didn’t have my memory, nor did you attempt to enlighten me of my true identity.” A frown rested on his brow. “As a matter of fact, why didn’t you tell me who I was and what we were to one another?”

Mainly because she didn’t have one-tenth of her mother’s imagination. “I didn’t tell you who you were because I thought it would be nice if you remembered it yourself. Not that it matters. Whether we are engaged or not, you do not have the right to be overly familiar.”

“Overly, no. But as your fiancé, I would assume I’m allowed certain liberties.”

“Liberties?”

The braggart waved a hand. “Touches, kisses, and such.”

She didn’t like the sound of that “and such.” But the other two…the touches and the kisses, those caused definite reactions in her traitorous body. “I want no touches, no kisses, nor any ‘and suches’ from you, thank you.”

His brows rose thoughtfully. “You know, I wouldn’t think a sea captain would be a timid lover. Yet somehow, you have the air of an untouched maiden.”

Harriet stiffened. She took exception to his tone, to his expression, to everything about him. But she could hardly protest his calling her “an untouched maiden.”

Piffle! This entire situation was untenable and it was all Mother’s fault. First she’d dreamed up the too-handsome Captain John Frakenham, then she’d given him life and made him into a walking, talking nightmare. But her worst act had been to leave the lout stretched out on the sitting room settee for Harriet to deal with.