“Later.”

“But my lord—”

“Later, I said!”

Charles almost stumbled over his feet, but he managed to make it out of the room without mishap. Gillian felt the odds were fairly good that she would not be so lucky.

“Lecture, madam? You believe I am about to lecture you?”

“Aren’t you?”

Noble’s eyes narrowed as he watched her lick her lips again.

“Oh, no you don’t, my good lady wife! You will cease distracting me in such a manner.”

“Yer lordship? I hate to interrupt ye there when yer about to rip a strip off Lady Weston, but there’s a matter of a small fire in the library, and we thought ye might—”

“You thought wrong, Crouch,” Noble said, his eyes never leaving Gillian’s face.

“But yer books and such—” Crouch waved his hook about in an expressive manner. Gillian gave him a tremulous smile of gratitude. It was a sweet thought, really it was, but surely Crouch must know that nothing could save her now.

“Let them burn. The whole bloody house can come down around our ears for all I care at this moment.”

Crouch opened his mouth to say more but thought better of it. He closed the door softly behind him.

Gillian repressed the urge to flinch at the look in her husband’s eyes and instead bit her lip nervously.

“None of that delectable lip biting, either,” he said, shaking a finger at her. “It won’t work this time. I am beyond such temptations. You, madam, have finally gone too far.”

Gillian threw back her shoulders and raised her chin again. She wouldn’t try to defend herself; she was, after all, technically in the wrong, despite the fact that she had done it to help him.

Noble stared at her outthrust bosom, sending a wave of heat out from the deepest part of her. “You can bare those delicious strawberry-tipped breasts at me for all I care,” he said, trying to snap his fingers but failing miserably. Gillian’s color rose even more as his eyes wandered over her form as if he could see right through her gown. “It will have no effect on me whatsoever. I am impervious to your charms.”

“Oh, my lord, my lady, you must come quick!” One of the parlormaids burst into the room, her eyes wild and filled with horror. She wrung her hands and tossed terrified looks back over her shoulder. “There’s a terrible fight in the hall, my lord. The Tremaynes are at it again, and one of them has a hatchet!”

Noble didn’t even flick a glance her way.

“Be gone!” he said, fluttering a hand at her.

“They’re sure to kill each other, my lord! You must come now and stop them from murderin’ each other!”

“One less person to interrupt me,” he muttered and narrowed his eyes at Gillian as she took a precautionary step backward. She wiped her damp hands down her sides. His eyes followed her movements greedily.

“Oh,” she said breathlessly, little fires starting wherever Noble looked.