“All right, a lot of an ass,” Richard said sounding pained. “The point is, my brush with death tonight has awakened me to what is important in this life, and I would dearly like to make it up to Christiana and, if possible, mend our relationship. I was hoping you could advise me on how to do that.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow at the words, really quite impressed. To his mind it was a stroke of brilliance for Richard to use the whole supposedly almost dying today thing as an impetus for change. It would certainly make it easier to explain away the difference between Dicky and Richard.

“Are you sincere about this?” Lisa asked quietly.

“Of course he isn’t,” Suzette said with irritation. “A leopard does not change its spots.”

“He changed his spots going from nice to nasty after marrying Christiana,” Lisa pointed out. “Perhaps he can change again.”

“That wasn’t changing his spots,” Suzette sounded grim. “Those spots were fake ones he’d painted on to get her to marry him so that he could get his hands on her dower. He just washed them off once he’d accomplished that and reverted to his true, nasty nature.”

“I’m very wealthy, ladies,” Richard said. “I had no need to marry Christiana for money.”

“Then why did you marry her?” Suzette demanded.

Daniel grimaced, wondering how Richard was going to answer that one.

“I care about Christiana and her happiness,” Richard said finally. Apparently the women weren’t buying that, which Daniel supposed wasn’t surprising considering they thought Richard was Dicky and had treated his wife horribly this last year. At least that was what Daniel presumed when Richard sighed and added, “My behavior this last year is a direct result of what happened with my brother. I—”

“Oh,” Lisa interrupted. “Of course.”

“Of course what?” Suzette asked suspiciously.

“Don’t you see, Suzette? No doubt in his heart of hearts he has always felt guilty for surviving the fire that killed his brother.”

Daniel rolled his eyes at the words. Richard had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about, and he didn’t think George had possessed the capacity to feel guilt, but Lisa was not done.

“Meeting and falling in love with Chrissy must have been a balm to his wounded soul,” Lisa continued in earnest tones. “But then they married and moved here, living just up the street from the charred remains of the townhouse where his poor brother died. It must be a daily reminder of his death. His guilt would have returned and trebled, because he was no longer experiencing just the guilt of surviving while his brother didn’t, but now also for finding a love and happiness his poor dead brother would never have . . . His soul tortured, his spirit wounded, he lashed out at Chrissy, the woman he loved, destroying her love and their relationship out of the guilt consuming him.”