Daniel snorted and said dryly, “My, we’ve changed our tune this morning, have we not? Last night you weren’t at all sure you wanted to keep her.”

“Yes, well, I hardly have a choice now. I’ve—” He paused and scowled. “How the devil did you know I tumbled her?”

Daniel raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Was it supposed to be a secret? If so, you shouldn’t have done it in the front window for anyone on the street to see.”

Richard’s eyes widened in horrified realization and he simply stood for the longest time, until Daniel was irritated enough to prompt, “Well?”

Richard blinked as if awaking from a dream and asked, uncertainly, “Well, what?”

“Are you really planning to keep her?” Daniel asked with exasperation.

Richard sighed and moved to settle in a chair himself before confessing, “She was a virgin until last night.”

Daniel blew out a silent whistle. “That was very remiss of you know who.”

Richard merely grunted. He looked pretty miserable, but Daniel wasn’t feeling much sympathy at the moment. Aside from having had to deal with George’s body on his own, he’d left the Radnor townhouse with aching balls and an erection that could have been mistaken for a pistol in his pocket. Richard on the other hand, had apparently had a jolly good time with his dead brother’s not so legally married wife, or his own not quite wife depending on how you looked at it. A woman, Daniel recalled, who disliked her “husband” intensely and had been obviously soused and, according to Richard, had still been a virgin. Daniel didn’t like to think that Richard had taken advantage of the woman; he wasn’t the sort to do that. However, he was having trouble seeing how it had come to pass.

“So,” Daniel said finally, “after a year of misery with you know who, whom she thought was you, she just forgave all and fell into your arms last night?”

Guilt immediately filled Richard’s expression. He scrubbed at his face as if trying to wipe away the feeling, and then sighed and muttered with self-disgust. “I took advantage of an inebriated woman.”

Daniel didn’t know how to react to that. It just wasn’t like Fairgrave to do something of the sort and he suspected there had been extenuating circumstances. Certainly, from what he’d seen, Christiana hadn’t appeared to be trying to fight him off. In fact she’d been clinging to him like ivy, and if she was anything like Suzette . . . Daniel grimaced, the Madison women appeared to have strong passions. Even he had forgotten his better intentions and nearly taken Suzette . . . twice. And he didn’t have any illusions on the matter. Had Lisa not interrupted them the first time, and Suzette not mentioned how cold his hand was and made him recall George’s presence in the carriage the second time, Daniel would have taken Suzette’s virginity last night, consequences be damned. He’d also probably be on the way to Gretna Green this morning.