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claimed to enjoy their work, but she’d always
wondered whether they were simply making the best of a dire situation.  Now she
understood a least a bit of the appeal.  But enough was enough.  She was going
to pull away from the scoundrel who was kissing her so deliciously.  She really
was.
    “I’m surprised you followed so quickly,” murmured
the stranger.  “Wouldn’t want word to get back to your husband.”
    Her husband!  
Mel pulled back from the handsome man, who obviously had mistaken her for
someone else.  They were far enough apart now that he should realize his
mistake, but he simply looked at her with his heavy-lidded eyes and swayed.
    Mel was humiliated and wanted to deliver a setdown
that would blister his ears.  But before she could even begin, he passed out in
front of her.  She tried to catch him, but gravity had already taken hold.  The
best she was able to do was slow his fall before he hit the ground with a thud.
    And there was her sinfully handsome stranger, passed
out cold on the grass.  Looking better than he should.  Looking better than
anyone should.  She had no doubt there were gentlemen in the ballroom who could
primp with a valet for hours and not look nearly as good as this drunkard in
front of her.
    After checking to see if he was still breathing, she
loosened his cravat just a bit.  Her fingers touched the warm skin of his neck
and she became heated all over again.  She knew she could not linger.  It was a
miracle they hadn’t been discovered and she would be ruined if someone came
upon them.  She felt bad about deserting him, but since he’d obviously been
expecting someone else, hopefully that woman would appear soon enough and take
care of him.
    Which also meant she needed to leave right away. 
She looked out from behind the tree and saw no one around.  She walked away as
quickly as possible, deciding to tell a footman that she might have seen a
person fall.  They would get him the help he needed.
    In her haste, she nearly bumped into a beautiful
woman several years older than she.  There was a distinct resemblance between
the two of them in height and hair color.  The woman was smiling like she was
about to receive a treat and she was headed directly to where the mystery man
had passed out.  Was she the married woman he’d been expecting?  Aside from the
moral implications – and, really, how could they commit adultery – Mel was
relieved that the woman would be able to get the man the help he needed.  She
walked a bit further toward the house, to a point where torches illuminated
that portion of the garden.  She knew she should continue on into the ballroom,
but she wanted to make sure the man would receive assistance.  It was the least
she could do as a woman who prided herself on helping others.
    And she felt she might owe it to him after that
incredible kiss.
    A few minutes later the woman re-emerged from the
garden with a look of disgust on her face.  As she was climbing the stairs to
the terrace, an elderly man found her then indicated he was ready to leave. 
Mel watched the two depart without the woman summoning help.
    It looked like it was up to Mel.  She stopped a passing
footman and told him she thought she’d seen someone faint, then pointed in the
general direction of the victim.  The footman thanked her and said he would
attend to it.  Mel walked back up to the terrace and waited a few moments until
three liveried footmen walked across the lawn and picked up the man, carrying
him out to the mews.  Mel could only hope they knew who he was to send him home
properly. 
    She knew it was no business of hers whether he was
delivered safely.  Yet, she couldn’t help thinking about him for the rest of
the night.

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
     
     
     
     
    It had been a mistake to go to White’s, thought Hal the next morning as he was sitting in his club with an aching
head.  But he’d needed to get out of the house.  Lynwood had been livid