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sounding shocked.
    “ Yes, you do,” Killoran corrected him lazily.
    “ I shouldn’t be here. Your… friend would be embarrassed to meet a stranger under such circumstances.”
    “ You mean my mistress, do you not? Friends do not usually arrive at a house uninvited and avail themselves of the master’s bed. Though Lady Barbara is not, as yet, my mistress. She’s merely campaigning for the post.”
    “ Sir!”
    “ Nathaniel!” he mocked in return. “It’s time for your education to begin. Meeting Lady Barbara should be a most felicitous start.”
    “ I couldn’t—”
    “ Killoran!” Her voice, powerful, melodic, demanding, sounded from the stairwell. A moment later the door was slammed open, and a vision stood there, all rage and beauty and quivering emotion.
    Lady Barbara Fitzhugh was surprisingly young for a female of her reputation and habits. A mere two and twenty, she’d been reputed to have had more than a dozen lovers, though Killoran knew he was counted as her current paramour, and he’d yet to lay a hand on the delicate white skin that was quite deliciously exposed by the half-fastened gown. Her blond hair tumbled down her back, her blue eyes flashed, and her color was high as she marched into the room.
    “ Lady Barbara,” he murmured, deliberately not bothering to rise.
    “ How dare you!” she shrieked, unaware of the silent young man standing in the shadows, staring at her. “Threatening me! You coldhearted bastard, I could have any number of men call you out for the insult.”
    “ I doubt it,” he drawled, feeling wicked enough to goad her. “I’m quite deadly in a duel, and most of your paramours know it. You’re not worth dying for, my dear, as neither of us is certain you have any honor to save.”
    Her face was pale, and she reached out to slap him. The unfastened dress began to tumble, and she wisely hauled it up again. If she’d slapped him, he would have been obliged to slap her back, and then Nathaniel would have called him out, and the fun would be over even before it began.
    “ I hate you,” she said in a tight little voice, turning to leave. And then she halted, as her magnificent eyes fell on Nathaniel’s tall, silent figure.
    She blushed. Killoran watched in amused astonishment as a faint wash of color spread over Lady Barbara’s porcelain skin. Nathaniel was just as bad. While his mouth was pursed in unhappy lines, his eyes were staring at her with complete, smitten adoration.
    “ Lady Barbara,” Killoran murmured, rising at last. “Let me make you known to my guest. Nathaniel Hepburn is the son of a distant connection of mine, come to London to see a bit of the world.” His tone of voice left no doubt as to what part of the world Nathaniel was currently viewing as Lady Barbara was struggling with her dress.
    Ah, but Barbara was up to the challenge. She tilted her chin defiantly, sailed forward, gown still clasped to her fabled chest, and held out a slim white hand bedecked in diamonds. Diamonds that Killoran had, in fact, paid for when she’d been bold enough to request them. “Mr. Hepburn,” she greeted Nathaniel regally. “Welcome to London.”
    He took her hand. Indeed, he had no choice, but Killoran expected he wanted the excuse to touch her. He looked like a child at Christmas, surrounded by fantastical treats, the most delectable of which was the spun-sugar fairy holding out her hand.
    “ I am honored, Lady Barbara,” he said, and the poor fool meant it, bringing her delicate hand to his lips with perfect courtesy.
    Killoran considered giving vent to a snort of derision. Oddly enough, he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. “This is Lady Barbara Fitzhugh, Nathaniel. A dear friend of mine.”
    She stared at the young man, an odd expression on her face, and Killoran found he was beginning to enjoy himself. He fancied himself a great black spider spinning a web, and Lady Barbara and Nathaniel were two succulent flies, caught for his amusement. It