“The hell you do. And he was in here all along wasn’t he?” Bennett pushed his nephew flat on the bed and sent him into a fit of giggles. “You let me go running off all over the palace looking for this petty thief when all the time he was hiding behind your skirts.”

“The bed skirts to be honest, sir.” She had to clear her throat again, but managed to speak calmly. “When you rushed by with so vague a description, I had no idea you were looking for Prince Dorian.”

“I admire a good liar,” Bennett murmured as he moved closer. For the second time he caught her chin in his hand. But for the first time, she saw all of the arrogance he was capable of and felt all of its attraction. “And I grow only more intrigued.”

“Lady Hannah can do a double Round the World.”

“Fascinating.” Bennett slid his hand away slowly as he turned back to his nephew. If he’d listened for it, he might have heard Hannah’s slow sigh of relief. “I thought we had an agreement, Dorian.”

Dorian’s head drooped, but Hannah didn’t notice that the light in his eyes dimmed in the least. “I only wanted to see it. I’m sorry, Uncle Bennett.”

“Sure you are.” Bennett hauled him up by the armpits, scowled, then kissed him soundly. “Your mother’s downstairs. Don’t slide in the halls on the way to the drawing room.”

“All right.” On his feet again, Dorian bowed to Hannah. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Lady Hannah.”

“And you, sir.”

He sent her a gap-toothed grin before he dashed off.

“Sweet talker,” Bennett muttered. “Oh, you might think he’s all charm, but he has a black heart.”

“Strangely enough I was reminded of you.”

With one brow lifted, Bennett rocked back on his heels. “Indeed, my lady, that is strange.”

“He’s a scoundrel, without question. And you love him.”

“That’s beside the point.” Bennett stuck his hand in his pocket. “As to the matter of the yo-yo.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Try to wait until I’m five feet away before you laugh in my face.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

“It was a gift from my mother when I was ill one summer. I’ve bought the little devil a dozen of them, but he keeps stealing mine. He knows if I don’t get a son of my own by the time he’s ten I’ll make him a gift of it.”

“I have a redheaded doll my mother gave me when I broke my wrist in a fall. I kept it when I outgrew all the others.”

It wasn’t until he’d taken her hand that she realized she’d told him something he didn’t need to know, something she’d never told anyone else. Even as she warned herself such lapses were dangerous, his lips brushed her fingers.