“True,” James murmured.

“And,” Blake added, “why would anyone care? There is no mention of a reward.”

“No reward?” Caroline exclaimed. “Why that cheap little—”

James laughed out loud, and even Blake, grumpy as he was, had to crack a smile.

“Well, I don't care,” she announced. “I just don't care that he isn't offering a reward. In fact, I'm glad. I'm much happier here than I was with any of my guardians.”

“I would be, too,” Blake said wryly, “if Perriwick and Mrs. Mickle treated me this way.”

Caroline turned to him with a wicked smile, the urge to tease him too strong to ignore. “Now, now, don't get snippy because your servants like me best.”

Blake started to say something, then just laughed. Caroline felt an instant happy satisfaction spreading within her, as if her heart recognized that she had done something very good in making this man laugh. She needed Blake, and the shelter of his home, but she sensed that maybe he needed her just a little bit, too.

His was a wounded soul, far more so even than her own. She smiled up into his eyes and murmured, “I wish you'd laugh more often.”

“Yes,” he said gruffly, “you've said as much.”

“I'm right about this.” On impulse, she patted his hand. “I'll allow that I'm wrong about a great deal, but I'm sure that I'm right about this. A body can't go as long without laughing as you have.”

“And how would you know?”

“That a body can't go without laughing, or that you haven't laughed in a long, long while?”

“Both.”

She thought about that for a moment, then said, “As for you, well, all I can say is that I can just tell. You always look a bit surprised when you laugh, as if you don't expect to be happy.”

Blake's eyes widened imperceptibly, and without thinking, he whispered, “I don't.”

“And as for your other question…” Caroline said, a sad, wistful smile crossing her face. There was a long silence, as she tried to think of the right words. “I know what it's like not to laugh. I know how it hurts.”

“Do you really?”

“And I know that you have to learn to find your laughter and your peace wherever you can. I find it in—” She blushed. “Never mind.”

“No,” he said urgently. “Tell me.”

Caroline looked around. “What happened to the marquis? He seems to have disappeared again.”

Blake ignored her question. James had a talent for disappearing when it was convenient. He would not put it past his friend to play matchmaker. “Tell me,” he repeated.

Caroline stared at a spot just to the right of his face, not understanding why she felt so compelled to bare her soul to this man. “I find my peace in the night sky. It's something my mother taught me. Nothing more than a little trick, but—” She shifted her gaze to meet his eyes. “You probably think that is very silly.”