“No it isn’t proper,” Robert agreed quietly. “And despite how close we have always been, I wouldn’t have brought it up, but it is very important. Please, trust me on that. If I am right, you could be in danger.”

She frowned at his words and glanced away, but then admitted, “He has simply never disrobed in front of me.”

“Not even on your wedding night?” he asked.

“On our wedding night he did not even take off his cravat,” she admitted with embarrassment and then with some annoyance said, “And you are not his wife so how did you see this birthmark?”

“A group of us used to go skinny-dipping in a nearby lake back at school. He and I were among that group,” he explained, and then asked gently, “He didn’t even take off his cravat?”

She shook her head with irritation. It felt like her face was on fire now and she’d really rather not discuss this. It just wasn’t done.

“And he hasn’t at any time since either?” Langley prodded.

“There hasn’t been an ‘any time since,’ ” Christiana admitted in little more than a whisper. That was her shame. Her husband found her so wanting that he had not visited her bed since her wedding night. She’d often wondered if she’d been terribly bad at it and that was why Dicky had suddenly gone cold on her and begun to treat her so poorly. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had her mother to explain the matter of the marital bed to her and had been completely ignorant of what to do or expect so had lain in bed, unmoving and practically not breathing until it was done. Fortunately, it had been quick. Perhaps had she known what to do things would have been different.

Or perhaps it would have been different had she experienced those feelings and sensations then that she’d had tonight while they were dancing, a little voice in her head spoke up. Christiana didn’t think she’d have lain holding her breath and unmoving had she felt even a little of what she had tonight in his arms. She’d wanted to touch and kiss and do all sorts of things to the man she’d danced with.

“Can you try to see if he has the birthmark?” Robert asked quietly, drawing her from her thoughts.

Christiana grimaced at the suggestion and admitted, “I’d really rather not.”

“You don’t have to actually . . . erm . . .” He hesitated and then said instead, “If you were to enter his room while he was dressing or undressing you could see if he has it without . . . er . . . an ‘any time since.’ ”

Christiana wrinkled her nose at the suggestion. Dicky did hate it when she entered any room he was in without gaining permission first.

“It is important,” Robert assured her.

She glanced to him silently, and then said, “You suspect he doesn’t have the birthmark, which suggests you believe he isn’t Dicky at all? You think Dicky is really George?”