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tall, dark shadow.
    Instinctively, she knew it was Adam—or, perhaps a very large fern.
    “Well,” she said.
    He crossed the short distance between them and placed one hand on the wall behind her head, his lips mere inches from hers. Although the room was still swathed in darkness, she could smell mint leaf on his breath, almost feel his lips as they slowly descended toward hers…
    He reached behind her and locked the door.
    “Did anyone see you?” His warm breath fanned her cheek, forcing a shiver of awareness up her spine.
    “Does it matter if they did?” She was a ruined woman anyway. People expected her to scurry off into darkened libraries with men of questionable character.
    “It matters to me.”
    He pressed his lower body to hers, holding her fast against the door. Her arms were free; she could have pushed him away. She didn’t. She gloried in the feel of him, the weight of his body, the heat of his skin.
    She swallowed. “Why did you want to see me?”
    All at once, his weight shifted off her, his footfalls heavy as he moved across the room. Some distance away, she heard a tin rattle, then the telltale strike of a flint. A small amber flame bloomed in the darkness as Adam lit a beeswax candle, then another, and another, until the room had a beautiful healthy glow.
    She stepped into the middle of the room and he stalked toward her, circling her like a hungry leopard. She watched him curiously as he circled, his eyes raking her body from head to foot. Liquid heat pooled low in her belly, spreading through her limbs like fire.
    “You’ve managed to thoroughly ensnare me.”
    She blinked. “Pardon?”
    “What is it about you, Olivia, that drives me to distraction?”
    “I…” Was she meant to answer that? She hadn’t any clue, really. Father always said she was abnormally stubborn, which was perhaps not a virtue—although she liked to think it was.
    When she didn’t finish, he continued. “I was so certain I could remain unaffected…” Stepping close, he ran a finger along her jawline, reverent, feather light, as though he were touching her for the very first time. “So certain you no longer held sway over my heart.”
    Oh! Inwardly, she beamed. Except, he’d growled the words, so perhaps that wasn’t a good thing. No, the way he scowled at her, anger glinting in those dark, brown eyes, it most certainly wasn’t a good thing.
    She took a step back, just out of his reach. “Is that why you brought me in here, to growl at me? I was having a perfectly lovely evening.” Wretched evening, more like, but she smiled convincingly. He needn’t know she’d been thinking about him all night, about all the things he’d said in the garden, about all the wicked things she wanted him to do to her.
    His eyes narrowed at that, as though the very thought of her enjoying herself made him want to lock her in this room all night. Perhaps he would.
    “Tell me one thing, Olivia. If you loved me, why did you leave me for Whitmore?”
    The sudden change in topic stunned her silent. Years ago, she’d practiced her answer to this very question—the apologetic words were branded into her memory, ready to recite on command. But now that he stood before her, in the flesh, the penitent words seemed feeble and insignificant. How could she possibly explain?
    She glanced down at the red and white Persian carpet, then back up at him. His eyes glinted in the candlelight. “My feelings were genuine, Adam, I assure you. But my family…” She paused, started over. “Everything depended on me making a good match.”
    The weight of it pressed on her continually.
    “And my modest fortune wasn’t enough.”
    Nodding, she swallowed and glanced away. “I couldn’t bear to confess the truth. I was sure you’d hate me.” Not that it made any great difference. In the end, he’d despised her anyway.
    His features softened. “I could have helped you, Olivia. I could have taken some of the burden. We would have found a