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herself than to become the new Lady Ravenwood?
    Sophy's hand clenched around the ring for a moment and then she dropped it back into the jewelry chest. It was just as well she had a rational, sensible, realistic reason for marrying the Earl of Ravenwood because her other reason for marrying him was likely to prove a wild, fruitless quest.
    For she intended to try to teach the devil to love again.
    Julian sprawled with negligent grace in the well-sprung traveling coach and regarded his new Countess with a critical eye. He had seen very little of Sophy during the past few weeks. He had told himself there had been no need to make an excessive number of trips from London to Hampshire. He had business to attend to in town. Now he took the opportunity to scrutinize more closely the woman he had chosen to provide him with an heir.
    He regarded his bride, who had been a countess for only a few hours with some surprise. As usual, however, there was a certain chaotic look about her person. Several ringlets of tawny brown hair had escaped the confines of her new straw bonnet. A feather on the bonnet was sticking out at an odd angle. Julian looked closer and saw that the shaft had been broken. His gaze slipped downward and he discovered a small piece of ribbon trim on Sophy's reticule was loose.
    The hem of her traveling dress had a grass stain on it. He thought Sophy had undoubtedly accomplished that feat when she had bent down to receive the fistful of flowers from a rather grubby little farm lad. Everyone in the village had turned out to wave farewell to Sophy as she had prepared to step into the traveling coach. Julian had not realized his wife was such a popular figure in the local neighborhood.
    He was vastly relieved his new bride had made no complaint when he had informed her that he intended a working honeymoon. He had recently acquired a new estate in Norfolk and the obligatory month-long wedding trip was the perfect opportunity to examine his newest holdings.
    He was also obliged to admit Lady Dorring had done a creditable job orchestrating the wedding. Most of the gentry in the surrounding countryside had been invited. Julian had not bothered to invite any of his acquaintances from London, however. The thought of going through a second wedding ceremony in front of the same sea of faces that had been present as the first debacle was more than he could stomach.
    When the announcement of his forthcoming marriage had appeared in the
Morning Post
he had been plagued with questions, but he had handled most of the impertinent inquiries the way he usually handled such annoyances: he had ignored them.
    With one or two exceptions, his policy had worked. His mouth tightened now as he recalled one of the exceptions.
    A certain lady in Trevor Square had not been particularly pleased to learn of Julian's marriage. But Marianne Harwood had been too shrewd and too pragmatic to make more than a small scene. There were other fish in the sea. The earrings Julian had left behind on the occasion of that last visit had gone a long way toward soothing the ruffled features of La Belle Harwood.
    "Is something wrong, my lord?" Sophy calmly broke into Julian's reverie.
    Julian jerked his thoughts back to the present. "Not in the least. I was merely recalling a small business matter I had to attend to last week."
    "It must have been a very unpleasant business matter. You appeared quite provoked. I thought for a moment you might have eaten a bad bit of meat pie."
    Julian smiled faintly. "The incident was the sort that tends to interfere with a man's digestion but I assure you I am in excellent condition now."
    "I see." Sophy stared at him with her astonishingly level gaze for a moment longer, nodded to herself and turned back to the window.
    Julian scowled. "Now it's my turn to ask you if something is wrong, Sophy."
    "Not in the least."
    Arms folded across his chest, Julian contemplated the tassels on his polished Hessians for a few seconds before he