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admit what he is doing, accuse him of his dastardly deeds.”
    “And the toad dares to request an invitation to our little party for Lord Barry,” Juliana said with disgust. “I depend on you to keep a watch on him. Needless to say, I cannot trust him an inch.”
    “Look on it this way—you will be able to keep an eye on Sir Phineas while he is there,” Henry offered with a grin.
    “Aye, but he never does a thing on his own,” she pointed out with simple logic. “He hires another to do his dirty work.”
    Lord Barry turned to face them, a quizzical expression on his handsome face. Juliana murmured an excuse to Henry and hurried to where Lord Barry now inspected the dressing room that led off the opposite side of the master bedchamber.
    “May I answer a question for you, my lord?” she inquired in dulcet tones.
    “I do not recall the dressing room for my future wife being quite this large. On the set of plans that I have, it is no larger than mine.” He studied Juliana with a gaze that had her clasping her hands before her lest she betray her nervousness.
    “I believe there was a decision to add a fixed bath in that room. I trust you have not changed your mind?” Juliana frowned at the mere thought of the time and expense involved with such a change.
    Lord Barry gave her a bland look that offered not the least clue as to what might be in his mind. She continued without waiting to find out what it might be.
    “However, it does seem to me that your lady wife will appreciate a generous dressing room,” Juliana said persuasively. “And note that each of you will have your own sitting room beyond.” She felt her cheeks warm as she doggedly continued. “And your wife’s sitting room leads through to the nursery. This creates a lovely family suite.”
    “I trust my wife will appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
    She caught sight of a gleam in his eyes before he turned to inspect the intricately carved molding that had been placed above the door.
    Juliana wondered if he had selected his bride yet. The way he was looking at her sister made it unlikely, but one never knew. Think of all the married men who flirted with ladies not their wives!
    This thought pushed her from the master suite out into the hall. Henry followed her. Foot tapping impatiently, she waited for the others to join them. Oh, for this ordeal to be over! She had worked so hard to incorporate the very latest in design into this house. Now it seemed that her patron was steeped in tradition, wanting the old styles.
    “The rest of the bedrooms are quite ordinary; he can see them another time.” She glanced at the door that led to the attic stairs. “Nor shall I show him the attics.”
    The attics were in such disarray that little could be discerned from a casual walk-through. Juliana doubted he would understand the meaning of the layout of the partitions anyway. Few people seemed to grasp the elements of transferring the lines of a floor plan into reality. The sizes of rooms were especially baffling to most . What seemed adequate on paper usually turned out to be far too small once built. Rarely did it work the other way.
    The rustle of skirts could be heard before Barbara and Lord Barry came around the corner .
    “La, sir, I believe you have inspected enough for the day,” Barbara teased while avoiding a pile of sawdust, revealing a fetching dimple when she beamed a smile at-his lordship. “Why do we not return for a dish of tea and a stroll in my mother’s rose garden? It is truly pretty this time of year.”
    “By all means, lovely lady,” Lord Barry replied as they joined Juliana in the first-floor hallway. Then he gallantly escorted Lady Barbara down the incomplete and wood-strewn staircase with a look on his face that led Juliana to understand her reprieve was but temporary.
    At the foot of this potentially elegant fixture he paused, staring at the right and left wings as they soared to the first floor. He turned to an uneasy Juliana,