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a new career now, Lavinia," he said bracingly. "What happened in the past no longer matters."
    She relaxed a little more, savoring the heat of his body.
    After a while he cradled her head in the crook of his arm and lowered his mouth to hers.
    "It is a little chilly out here for this sort of thing," she mumbled against his lips.
    "I will warm you," he promised.
     
Chapter Four
     
    The small group of eager young gallants that had encircled Emeline on the front steps of the institute made Anthony uneasy. They all professed a great interest in discussing the lecture they had just attended, but he suspected most of them had ulterior motives. Emeline, however, appeared unaware of that possibility. She was busily holding forth with her opinion of the talk.
    "I fear that Mr. Lexington has not spent much time, if any, in Italy," Emeline declared. "He gave a very poor description of Roman monuments and fountains. As it happens, my aunt and I had an opportunity to spend some time in that city recently, and I—"
    "That no doubt accounts for your brilliant sense of fashion," one gentleman declared fervently. "I vow, that gown you are wearing is a most exquisite shade of amber gold. The color of the sky at sunset. It is surpassed only by the brilliant glow of your eyes, Miss Emeline."
    There were several murmurs of agreement.
    Emeline never faltered. "Thank you, sir. Now, as I was saying, my aunt and I were fortunate enough to be able to stay for some months in Rome, and I can assure you, Mr. Lexington did not do justice to his subject. He failed to convey the true elegance of the standing monuments. As it happens, while in Italy, I was able to make several sketches and some drawings—"
    "I would very much enjoy viewing your sketches, Miss Emeline," said a voice at the edge of the crowd.
    "As would I, Miss Emeline."
    "No monument, no matter how spectacular, could compare to your own elegance, Miss Emeline," someone else vouchsafed.
    He'd had quite enough, Anthony thought. He made a show of removing his watch from his pocket. "I'm afraid I must interrupt, Miss Emeline. The hour grows late. I promised your aunt that you would be home by five o'clock. We will have to hurry."
    "Yes, of course." Emeline bestowed a charming smile on the small group. "Mr. Sinclair is quite correct. We must be off. But I have very much enjoyed our conversation. It is quite amazing, really. I had no notion that so many of you were interested in Roman fountains and monuments."
    "Fascinated, Miss Emeline." A gentleman dressed in a coat that was cut so snugly Anthony wondered how he could move his arms swept her a deep bow. "I assure you, I am absolutely entranced by the subject and by your remarks on it."
    "Transfixed," another assured her.
    That started a heated competition in which every man in the group sought to convince Emeline that his own intellectual interests were more elevated than those of anyone else in the crowd.
    It was all Anthony could do to avoid baring his teeth. He tucked Emeline's arm in his and drew her swiftly down the steps. A chorus of farewells drifted after them.
    "I did not realize that we were so pressed for time," Emeline murmured.
    "Have no fear," Anthony said. "We will be home before your aunt begins to fret."
    "What did you think of Mr. Lexington's lecture?" she asked.
    He hesitated and then shrugged. "To be perfectly blunt, I found it quite dull."
    She gave her warm laugh. "We are in agreement on that point. Nevertheless, I very much enjoyed the afternoon."
    "As did I."
    He would have enjoyed it far more, he thought, had he not been obliged to wade through the herd of dandies gathered inside the lecture hall. He was quite certain they had not been drawn there by an interest in Roman monuments and fountains. Emeline was the lure. She had come into a mild sort of fashion lately after a number of successful appearances in some of the most important ballrooms of the ton.
    He was well aware that Emeline's lack of an inheritance and