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happy."
    "Duncan was not a Highlander. He was very civilized." She leaned toward me, her eyes bright. "My dear, I thought of Alex as a companion for the evening, not for life."
    I straightened my back. "Don't you think this has gone extremely far for one evening's conversation? We've talked once. Perhaps I will think differently of him when 1 see him again. But, Louisa, I will see him again." Our eyes met, and she sighed.
    "I was afraid you would say that. Oh, dear, how I wish your uncle Randolph were here. I have been very foolish."
    "No." I shook my head. "I am responsible for my own behavior, Louisa, and Alex for his. We have done nothing but talk. I may never see him again." But in my head I heard him saying that we'd talk further if we both liked what we saw. And I liked what I saw.
    She nodded with a frown.
    As the day drew to a close, I tried to pretend that it did not bother me that neither Louisa nor Will had mentioned if they'd sent a return note to Alex. We dined simply, the four of us, and were about to leave the table when a maid brought a note for me. Louisa's eyebrows rose, but she said nothing as I reached for it. I did not recognize the writing or the crest that sealed the letter. It was, of course, from Alex.
    "Another apology, do you suppose?" Will asked.
    "What do you mean?" I said as I broke the seal.
    Will laughed. "Your Highlander apologized profusely to Louisa for monopolizing you last night. I believe it's the only reason he still breathes." Louisa protested, but I ignored them as I read Alex's letter.
    Dear Miss Lowell, Alex had written. Your aunt and brother have been good enough to allow me to see you again. I would like to call upon you in the morning and introduce my cousins. If this is not acceptable, please send a reply. Yours, Alexander MacGannon. He'd enclosed his address. I read the letter aloud.
    "He certainly is persistent," said Louisa sharply. "We shall receive him, I assume?"
    "I shall," I said, turning to my brother. "Will?"
    Will nodded at me. "Of course. When will Robert return?"
    "Tomorrow, I believe," I said, keeping my tone as light as his. "Perhaps we'll see him."
    "Perhaps." He smiled, his eyes merry.
    I excused myself and wrote the note quickly, giving it to the tall young man who had waited so patiently. He was very fair and very handsome and looked so much like Alex that I knew he must be a relation. I asked him when I brought my note to him, scandalizing Louisa's butler, Bronson, who believed that young ladies should never speak directly to strangers and certainly not to strangers' messengers. Bronson thought me much too bold. I ignored him as much as possible, and he me.
    "Aye, miss," said the young man when I asked him. "I'm Matthew MacGannon, Kilgannon's cousin. Alex is outside waiting for yer answer." He was younger than he had first appeared and very earnest, and I smiled at him, fighting the impulse to fling open the door and see Alex for myself. Ellen, one of the maids lingering in the hall, laughed behind her hands as she met my eyes.
    "Tell him good evening and that I will see him in the morning," I told Matthew, trying to ignore Ellen's laughter.
    "Aye, miss. Good evening to ye," Matthew said, bowing awkwardly, and turned on his heel. I stood for moment looking after him and then exchanged a smile with Ellen.
     
    T HE SUMMER MORNING DAWNED BRIGHT AND WARM, and I changed my clothes four times before breakfast. The white dress I'd first put on was not right, so I changed to the lavender. When I saw myself in the mirror in the parlor I knew the lavender was all wrong and changed to the green but soon scrambled back to my room. In the dining room I decided the rose dress was too similar to the color I'd worn the night I'd met Alex. My maid sighed as I pulled gown after gown out of my wardrobe and pondered them. Why had I ever fought Miss Benton's efforts? I could use ten more choices just now. I was deciding between the light blue and the floral pattern when Ellen