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in her appearance. Not a hint of a blush tinged her skin. At least Mr. Nilbury had the decency to look embarrassed. “I see you are up to your old habits again.”
    Finally, a flush stained her cheeks. “I’m not, darling. I swear it.”
    The endearment caused him to pause. He could not recall his mother ever calling him anything but Nortingham and then Aversley upon his father’s death. Nothing resembling love had ever been part of their relationship. What the devil was she up to?
    “I have somewhere important I need to be. I simply came here to tell you to cease carrying on with Mr. Nilbury unless you want to once again become the talk of the ton .”
    “Your Grace,” Mr. Nilbury rushed out, “you’ve the wrong of it. This is not what it appears and whoever has told you otherwise is mistaken. I’m a married man.”
    Colin flicked his gaze to his solicitor. “I’m glad to hear you’ve remembered it. You’ll forgive me, though, if I find it hard to believe you, given my mother’s past history and the fact that I walked in on such a cozy scene.”
    Mr. Nilbury’s face deepened in color. “I was only comforting her.”
    This was exactly the sort of thing Colin did not have the time or the patience for. “Give up the ruse,” he snapped. “You two were seen together in public by someone other than me, and it must have been quite a sight for my informant is convinced you are lovers.”
    “We are no such thing,” Mr. Nilbury retorted. “Whoever this informant of yours is he or she is incorrect. Two weeks ago, I was on my way to deliver a letter to your mother that she was to deliver to you once she read it. She happened to come upon me in town and insisted on reading it immediately. The contents made her upset, and I do recall offering her comfort as anyone would.”
    “A convenient excuse,” Colin said. He had heard his mother’s lovers spout ridiculous lies many times before, but he had somehow expected more of Mr. Nilbury. He had respected and trusted the man.
    “Don’t bother trying to persuade him of the truth,” Colin’s mother said with a sigh. She turned on her heel and strode toward her escritoire while still talking. “All he has ever known is me at my worst.” Wood sliding against wood filled the quiet room as his mother opened a drawer, rummaged through some papers, by the sound of it, and then shut the drawer with a click before facing him. She grasped an envelope in her hand that she slowly held out as she advanced and finally stopped before him.
    “Your father instructed Mr. Nilbury to give this to you on your twenty-fifth birthday, after allowing me to read it.”
    Shock slammed into him. “What?”
    His mother cocked her head. “We were just discussing how to tell you, but I suppose the best way is simply for you to read it.”
    He struggled to control the emotions suddenly coursing through him. A letter from his father . It was an unbelievable gift.
    He glanced at his mother and stilled.She was nibbling on her lip, and a frown puckered her brow. Uneasiness curled inside him. He’d never seen her act concerned about a thing in her life, and she truly did seem anxious now. With his heartbeat thumping in his ears, Colin unfolded the foolscap and glanced down at his father’s scribbled handwriting:
     
    Dear Colin,
Since you are reading this letter, it means you are now twenty-five, still unmarried and, I fear, as jaded about women as the day I died. I know this attitude stems from the problems your mother and I faced, but what you do not know is that I was the cause of your mother’s heartache. As for you, my son, I wish for your happiness, which I know you cannot attain on your current path. You might be surprised to learn that I truly believe only a marriage of love will bring you contentment. I want you to take the next year to let go of your anger and find the sort of love I always held for your mother. Since I know you will refute this wish, I am making it a demand with a