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should go to bed.”
    She blinked. “I am not a child, Tremont.”
    Devil and damn, he was all too aware of that fact. Now that the danger had passed, he saw the peril of what had almost transpired. How despicably he’d behaved. He was disgusted at himself for trespassing on territory he’d known was forbidden.
    One didn’t kiss virgins without consequences. Consequences he was not prepared to face.
    Thea was not only a virgin but one whose health was fragile. Though he’d barely touched her, he’d caused her to have an attack. What would happen if he unleashed his true, aberrant desires on her? The shock would probably kill her.
    Shame twisted his gut. “No, you’re a lady. And you shouldn’t be alone with a man at midnight. At any time.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “Damnit, this was a bloody mistake.”
    Silence stretched. She rose, forcing him to follow.
    “A mistake.” Her eyes blazed with golden fire. “That is what just happened between us?”
    “The fault is mine entirely. I should not have—”
    “Just tell me this, Tremont,” she said in a trembling voice. “Do you or don’t you want me?”
    I want to strip you bare and fuck you until neither of us can move. I want to own your pleasure, possess you completely. I want my fingerprints on your bloody soul.
    “I’m not right for you,” he bit out.
    “Why?” Her voice quivered.
    “I wouldn’t make a good husband.” The understatement of the century, he thought darkly.
    “But you were married before. Everyone says you were happy.”
    Because they don’t know the truth.
    “My wife was a paragon,” he said in flat tones, “and I would not ask the same of anyone else. You’re too delicate and innocent for someone like me. Find a husband who will give you what you deserve.”
    Pain rippled through the depths of her eyes. Her throat worked.
    “From now on,” she whispered, “stay away from me.”
    Turning, she ran from the room.

Chapter Five
     
    Thea opened her eyes the next morning to a surge of energy.
    Sometimes it happened this way: after an asthmatic attack, she slept deeply and woke refreshed. Or perhaps the interlude with Tremont had wiped the slate clean, relieving her of the burden of uncertainty and hope. She pushed aside the covers and the stab of longing.
    The memory of pleasure and humiliation burned through her. She didn’t know who she was more frustrated with: him or herself. For once, why couldn’t her body function in a normal manner? Why did her dashed lungs have to seize at the most inopportune moment? Why didn’t he at least give them a chance to discuss matters?
    Because, apparently, I’m not a “paragon” like his first wife . I’m too delicate. Weak.
    At least she had her answer now. The truth was what she’d expected. He was still in love with his dead wife, and Thea could never compete with a ghost, nor did she want to. And his excuse that it wasn’t her, but him, that was the problem?
    She might be a middling class spinster and recovering invalid, but she wasn’t a fool.
    Drawing a resolute breath, she tamped down the morass of emotions. As Mama had been wont to say, No use crying over spilt milk . Feeling sorry for oneself had never achieved anything; what she needed was to learn from the rejection and carry on.
    Rising, she went to part the heavy brocade drapes. Sunshine dazzled her pupils, the blue sky stretching over the leafy square outside. Pastel parasols dotted the park’s paths. Determined not to waste the morning’s rare beauty, she set about performing her morning ablutions, which included the series of nasal and throat rinses prescribed by Dr. Abernathy. When she was done, she rang for her lady’s maid to help her dress.
    A half-hour later, garbed in a light pink walking dress with fashionably full sleeves, Thea made her first stop at Lord Frederick’s room. Despite her jangled feelings toward Tremont, his son tugged at her heartstrings. She wanted to see how Frederick was faring