They left Janna behind, in Caitlin’s tender care, and made the journey in the afternoon, arriving in time to book a room at a modest hotel and then bathe and dress for the dinner.

For the occasion, Heather had unearthed a gown of dark-blue and rose silk from her wardrobe. The square-cut décolletage was filled with a frilled collar, high in back, while the overskirt was drawn up at the sides and draped behind to emphasize her narrow waist and curving hips. To complete the picture, she wore a slender choker of pearls around her throat and pearl-studded earrings in her ears—the few pieces of jewelry belonging to her late mother which she hadn’t sold to pay her father’s gambling debts.

The effect was one of quiet elegance, but from the narrowed look Sloan gave her when she came out from behind the dressing screen, Heather wondered if she had struck an unsuitable note with her attire.

“Is something wrong?” she asked uncertainly.

He shook his head, yet his expression remained cool, remote. “No. I just wondered where that fancy dress came from.”

“I had it made up a few years ago, before my father … became mired in financial difficulties. I suppose it’s a bit out of fashion by now. I thought this an appropriate occasion to wear it, but if you don’t like it…”

“It’s fine,” Sloan said rather abruptly, without really reassuring her. His brusqueness reminded her uncomfortably that money was still a troubling issue between them.

The governor’s residence was within walking distance of the hotel, merely two blocks away. The sumptuous decor might have been imposing to many Westerners, with its gilt-and-crystal embellishments and lush carpets and rich brocade furnishings, but the display of wealth was a familiar world to Heather, one her mother’s upper-crust family had enjoyed. The social setting was familiar as well, a milieu she had been thoroughly trained for. Attending formal dinners with high-powered politicians and wealthy magnates, offering charming, gracious conversation while remaining self-effacing, had been her mother’s forte. It was a role she might have played had she wed Evan Randolf….

That unwelcome thought crossed Heather’s mind as she went through the reception line on her husband’s arm. Yet she didn’t miss this stifling life in the least, she reflected. Nor would she exchange the riches of this mansion for her present circumstances, despite her uncertain status as Mrs. Sloan McCord.

She could feel Sloan’s eyes on her as she met the portly Governor Payne and his attractive wife, Ruth, and again when they joined a small group of gentlemen who were discussing the fate of a legislative bill in the last congressional session. When Sloan had introduced those he knew, Heather accepted a tall-stemmed glass of champagne from a passing waiter and slipped into her new role as a political wife.