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circle around Gabriel, he hurried out, closing the door behind him.
    Again without waiting for any assistance, Miss Jolliffe removed her cloak and bonnet and laid them on a chair.
    “Do you know, someone should give you lessons in the proper way for a lady to behave,” Gabriel said, his tone sarcastic.
    “Oh dear, I am so sorry,” she said. “May I take your coat and hat?” She moved toward him, but with a scowl he forestalled her.
    “It is not a matter for you to assist me, but you should have waited for me to assist you. You are making it very difficult for me to play the role of gentleman.” Removing his coat, he tossed it carelessly on another chair, then laid his top hat down on a small table.
    “Well, I suppose I could always put my cloak back on again,” she said, tipping her head to one side as if she were actually considering doing just that. He could see a sparkle of mischief in her eyes, and although it was gone in an instant, he was not taken in by her meek manner.
    He had noticed at the Crown and Thistle that she was on the tall side for a woman, and now, without the enveloping folds of her cloak, he saw that she was also quite skinny. Mentally he compared her lack of curves to his mistress’s well-endowed figure, and he could easily understand why Miss Jolliffe “had not taken.” Most men, himself included, preferred more abundant charms.
    But his staring was beginning to discompose her, so he offered her his arm. “Shall we join your family?” he asked.
    Although she was obviously reluctant to meet her fate, she rested her hand on his arm and together they mounted the stairs to the first floor, where she led the way to the drawing room.
    The proportions of the chamber were bad, with the ceiling far too low for the size of the room, and the furnishings had a heaviness about them that completely negated the innate beauty of the woods and fabrics from which they had been fashioned.
    Doubtless Sir Sidney and his wife harbored the mistaken opinion that their manor house pronounced to all the world that here dwelt a prosperous, substantial family, worthy of inclusion in the highest ranks of society, but the word which came to Gabriel’s mind when he studied the room and its occupants was sullen.
    The entire family was gathered for tea—at least everyone Miss Jolliffe had previously described to him seemed to be present. The older couple sitting rigidly side by side on a massive upholstered couch were undoubtedly her parents, and the rather paunchy, middle-aged dandy holding a quizzing glass up to his eye was no doubt the heir apparent. The woman with frown lines already etched between her eyes and three children of assorted ages and sexes seated on stools at her feet would, of course, be the sister-in-law.
    It took Gabriel only a single glance around the room to realize that he had once again misinterpreted Miss Jolliffe’s motives. Her reluctance to invite him in had not been caused by a desire to save herself from a proper scolding, but rather she had obviously been trying to spare him this unpleasant meeting with her relatives, who appeared to be even more surly and oafish than his own.
    “I cannot believe my eyes,” her brother said, his sneer becoming more pronounced. “We expected you weeks ago, and here you have waited until the very last minute.”
    “Really, Verity, it is most inconsiderate of you not to have come in time to help,” his wife added in a shrill voice that grated on Gabriel’s nerves. “After I have slaved away getting everything ready for Christmas, you appear on our doorstep when all the work is done. It is too much, I tell you.”
    At the first pause in the conversation—if one could call the steady stream of recriminations directed at her a conversation—Miss Jolliffe introduced him to her family, again referring to him as Mr. Sherington, rather than Lord Sherington.
    “Never heard of you,” her father growled, and after Gabriel had been thus dismissed, none of