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He gave his butler instructed to set two more places and, a short time later when dinner was announced, led the ladies into the dining room.  Immediately, Melvyrn discerned Bailey’s hand in the table settings.  He sat at the head, naturally.  The Chadlingtons, however, were seated half way down the twenty foot table, one on either side.  A feeble fire burned in the grate, and the room was colder than a wine cellar.
    The first course consisted of a w eak broth followed by boiled chicken.  Throughout the first course, with malicious delight Melvyrn fabricated a diet that one of London’s best physicians had prescribed especially for him.  When Lady Chadlington commiserated with him for having to endure such pabulum, he congratulated himself for graciously accepting her understanding and sympathy without even a hint of a smile.
    Sylvia was more taciturn, though by her expression, the second course of mushy peas and soggy potatoes were hardly an improvement over the boiled chicken.  Throughout the meal, she directed a number of peculiar looks toward him, but it wasn’t until the watery custard arrived that she broke her silence. “I am surprised a man as large as yourself can survive on such meager fair, my lord?”
    “Sylvia dear, what must the Earl think of your manners,” Lady Chadlington interjected, scowling at her daughter.
    “I only refer to the fact that Lord Melvyrn is a sportsman, a noted Corinthian, in fact,” Sylvia said to her mother before turning to Melvyrn.  “Also, rumor has it that you gallop your horse across the cliffs daily, my lord.”
    “What you hear is true, Miss Chadlin gton,” Melvyrn replied.  “I’ve been used to a much more active life.  But alas, this last bout of fever has quite undone me.  Still, I do take my stallion out and pay every evening for it.  Such a strenuous ride quite puts me off my feed.  You may have noticed how little I ate?”
    “I am sorry, my lord,” replied Sylvia contritely, lowering her long dark lashes which contrasted dramatically against her creamy white complexion.  “I never meant to pry.”
    Melvyrn bit back a sarcastic reply.  “ Of course not, and I appreciate your concern.”  The chit knew exactly what she was doing.  While appearing to be a guileless innocent, she’d let him know that people suspected his health wasn’t as precarious as he wanted them to believe.  But Melvyrn had been on the Town too long.  He knew every trick the matchmaking mamas and their conniving daughters ever conceived, and so he had not been gulled by her demure act.  She was a beauty, all right, but he wanted nothing to do with her.  It was time for him to press home his advantage.  “Then you will understand, Miss Chadlington, that I tire easily and by nightfall am completely worn out.”
    “Having a somewhat delicate constitution myself,” Lady Chadlington said, “of course we understand.”
    Thus, after retiring to the drawing room and a few sips of tepid tea, Lady Chadlington soon made to take her leave.  Sylvia, however, showed less interest in departing, but she did not gainsay her mother.
    With his unwanted guests headed out the front door, Melvyrn pulled out his pocket watch and saw that he was behind schedule.  Taking the stairs two at a time, he sincerely hoped Bailey had thought to bring up something decent for him to eat while he changed clothes.

 
***  Chapter 4  ***
    The full moon’s brightness competed with the night’s sky strewn with stars, bathing the landscape in a silvery light.  Even with soot rubbed across her forehead and over her high cheekbones, she worried she might be recognized by Melvyrn and knew the best disguise would have been a darker night.  But Tolly claimed the revenuers were less likely to expect any smuggling activities going on under a bright moon. 
    Thomas, the Hall’s head groom, had saddled Devon, a sleek chestnut with a black mane and tail, and had the gelding waiting for her when she