“You don’t mind house guests for a bit, do you, Richard?” Daniel interrupted him.

“House guests?” Richard asked with surprise.

“Robert, Suzette and I,” he explained. “You can say Robert is having renovations done to his London home and you offered him a room while it’s under way, and . . . Well, actually, I suppose there’s really no good excuse for Suzette and I to stay there,” he said with a frown. “But if you and Robert are there to watch Lisa at night, we don’t need to sleep there too. We shall just visit a lot during the day. That won’t be considered unusual at all since Lisa is newly up from the country. The girls spent the first day doing nothing but natter and catch-up and would have done the same today had Christiana and Suzette not already been roped into that tea.”

“Aren’t you clever,” Richard said slowly, and then added, “Of course, Robert is welcome to stay at Radnor and spend all his time looking out for Lisa.”

The two men exchanged a strange smile, but Robert hardly noticed; he was more concerned with the logistics of keeping Lisa safe. Nodding, he muttered, “That would work. I can help keep an eye on her and between the three of us we can assure she isn’t left alone until this is all done and dusted.”

“It’s settled then,” Daniel said beaming brightly as he slapped Robert on the back. “You can move into Radnor tonight after the ball.”

Robert nodded and then frowned. “Speaking of which, we’ve been in here a while. I’d better go out and check on Lisa. It’s not likely someone would try to snatch her away from the ball with so many people around, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Yes. It’s probably best to stick close to her for the next little while,” Daniel said solemnly. “None of us would forgive ourselves if anything happened to her. Not to mention Christiana and Suzette would never forgive us either.”

“Hmm.” Robert headed for the door with a nod, leaving the men to chatter quietly.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Lisa said on a sigh, leaning on the terrace rail and peering up at the star-studded sky. The stars somehow didn’t seem as bright here as they were in the country, but it was still lovely.

“Is it?” Lord Findlay asked with disinterest.

Lisa glanced sideways with surprise to find him peering down at her with hooded eyes. Suzette and Christiana hadn’t been interested in a walk on the terrace. They were alone. Or as alone as one could get at the busiest ball of the season, where even the terrace tended to be crowded. It wasn’t too bad right now though, she noted. There were only two other couples on the terrace besides themselves, and they had spaced themselves out, seeking the shadows and privacy.