“Now who’s being ridiculous?” Charlotte dimpled. “Of course he must still be interested. What could you possibly do on the dance floor to disinterest a man of his reputation? Even stepping on his toes wouldn’t stop the likes of him.”

“I did that quite enough, I’m afraid,” Gillian admitted, feeling an ache starting at the front of her head. She rubbed her forehead wearily. “But I went beyond stepping on his toes.”

Charlotte looked a mute question at her.

Gillian summoned up a feeble smile. “I asked him if he murdered his wife.”

Two

“Miss, if you please, you’re wanted in the house.”

Gillian looked up from where she squatted in the straw. “I’m sorry, Owen, I can’t come now. I believe Ophelia is down with colic again.”

The footman sniffed, frowned, looked around the stall, and spotted the two large brown forms lounging against a bundle of hay. “You’ll pardon me, miss, but I thought MacTavish said your hounds were not allowed in the stable. I thought he said they made it uninhabitable for man or beast.”

Gillian stroked the mare’s head where it lay in her lap. “He did, but Lord Collins banished them from the house due to their…uh…unfortunate tendencies. They have to stay somewhere. I raised them from pups and they are very devoted to me.”

Owen sniffed again, blanched, and backed up a step or two. Even with the normal smells associated with a stable, the hounds’ problem was noticeable. “As you say, miss. What shall I tell Lady Collins?”

“You may tell her I’m tending my mare. She’s ill.”

“Yes, miss. Although what Lord Weston will think—”

“Lord Weston?” Gillian’s shriek unnerved the mare, who rolled back her eyes and curled her upper lip in protest. Uncouth noises from the corner of the stall indicated that the dogs were exhibiting their typical reaction to being startled. Gillian calmed her mare with one hand while fanning her face with another. What on earth was the Lord of Coldness doing here?

Owen grimaced and backed up even farther. “Yes, miss, Lord Weston. He’s called for you.”

Hmph. More likely he called to purposely ignore her and pay attention to those people who didn’t ask him about his late wife and the suspicious circumstances surrounding her death. Well, he was welcome to them. She would stay out here with her animals. They didn’t mind what questions she asked. “You may tell my aunt that I will be in as soon as I’m sure Ophelia is out of danger.”

Gillian smiled as Owen muttered something about the horse acting like a spoiled child, and continued crooning softly to the mare.

“I wonder why he has really called, Ophelia.” Gillian scratched behind the mare’s ear and tried to puzzle out the unexpected visit. As it had all day, a vision of the darkly handsome face with its vivid silver-gray eyes rose before her. Her heart beat faster as she relived waltzing in his arms. “He must be visiting Charlotte. ’Tis the truth that after I made that blunder about his wife, he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. No doubt someone has told him about the little discussion Aunt Honoria and I had last night, and now he’s called to tell me not to defend him at the top of my lungs in public.”