Suspecting he knew, he sobered. This attraction was damned inconvenient. Not to mention uncomfortable. All he had to do was stand next to her and his body responded. He knew he should stay away from her, but knowing was easier than doing.

He was glad when Margaret engaged her sister in conversation. Alice de Beaumont was undoubtedly a beauty, but she was also spoiled and vain. The kind of woman who expected to be fawned over and flirted with—neither of which he was going to do.

He and Joan walked in surprisingly companionable silence for a while. He had to reach out and steady her when someone in the crowd jostled her. The way she flinched from his touch stung. “Are you still angry with me? You have every right to be.”

She gave him a sidelong glance that might have held a hint of reproach for bringing up the subject that she was obviously trying to ignore. But that was like trying to ignore a purple horse.

“I am not angry with you. If I am mad at anyone, it is myself.” She paused, shifting her gaze. “I shouldn’t have provoked you.”

She was blushing again, as she’d done earlier when her overzealous efforts to be rid of him had caught her cousin’s attention. He had to disagree with Lady Alice, however. Joan’s cheeks weren’t the color of beets; they were a much prettier rosy shade of pink.

The girlish blush was adorable and so far from the seductive siren she was at other times, it was hard to jibe the two.

Actually they didn’t jibe, and the incongruity intrigued him. She intrigued him. Was she the blushing, sweet young maid who’d charmed him the first time they’d met, or the practiced seductress linked to a number of men?

The more he watched her and the more time they spent together, the more something about the siren didn’t feel right. But maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part? Maybe he wanted to believe that she might not be so wrong.

His mouth twisted in a wry smile. “Aye, well it wasn’t without cause. I had no right to speak that way to you. My only excuse—and it’s not a good one—is that I was not in the best frame of mind.” He paused. “I know what you do is none of my business, but I just think someone should be looking out for you.”

She lifted a brow. “Was that an apology?”

He grinned. “Aye, it was meant to be, although I guess it wasn’t a very good one.”

He was surprised and enormously pleased when she grinned back at him. “Well, it is accepted. But you do not need to worry yourself on my account, Sir Alex. I do have someone watching out for me.”

“Who?”

“The person in the best position to do so.”