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while Hope was getting changed—the grand lady would almost certainly have clothing aplenty from which she could borrow—knowing that her observations would be invaluable. But how could Hope know that Lady Lancaster would be helpful in a case of deception within the stock exchange? It’s not as if any other society dame would be especially helpful under normal circumstances. It was almost as if Hope knew about the duchess’s past life as a spy. But surely that couldn’t be, right?
    Michael was still pondering the conundrum as he helped Hope from the carriage and together they walked to the door of Lady Lancaster’s impressive home.
    Upon admittance, the butler, Jacobs, took Michael’s card and asked them to remain in the main hall. As the two waited, Michael found himself getting more and more anxious. Since leaving the carriage, he hadn’t said more than two words to Hope. He hoped, beyond all hope, that now that they were back in the real world (it felt as if the time alone in the carriage had been a strange anomaly) they would not be going back to their previously stilted form of conversation.
    Michael looked over at Hope when he heard what sounded like a gasp of delight, intending to say something innately charming, without a single stutter, for once.
    The words froze on his lips when he saw her face.
    Hope was gazing at the ceiling with the most rapturous expression. Looking up at the large chandelier hanging in the hall, Michael saw that the bright sunlight hitting the dozens of hanging crystals had created hundreds—no, thousands—of tiny rainbows that were flitting and floating along the ceiling and upper walls.
    Judging by the look on Hope’s face, it was the most magical thing she had ever seen. Her eyes were wide and luminous and she was smiling: a childlike smile of innocence and joy that caused Michael’s heart to skip a beat. One hand was absently reaching up for something, but for the life of him, Michael could not tear his gaze from Hope, for even one second, to glance at whatever had her so entranced.
    Somehow she must have felt his eyes upon her, because Hope turned to Michael and said, “Isn’t it beautiful?”
    Michael nodded, never once removing his eyes from her face. He reached a hand up to touch her cheek.
    “Mi—?” Hope began softly before being interrupted by the reappearance of Jacobs, asking them to follow him.
    The minute Michael heard the butler’s voice, he dropped his hand as if it had been scalded. What was the matter with him? He was acting like some green-boy experiencing infatuation for the first time, rather than the experienced man he was. Certainly he was no rake, but he was also no stranger to the opposite sex. Yes, he was in between mistresses at the moment, but that hardly signified.
    Of course, now that he thought about it, he realized that he had been “in between” mistresses since about the time he had been introduced to Hope…
    Michael shook his head. Now was not the time to be exploring that particular revelation. He would be no good to a wife right now. He was still getting his sea legs, so to speak. Just home from the war, a new role to learn, and frankly, he had no idea how to be a husband. He honestly hadn’t considered marriage in his life. As a career soldier, he thought matrimony would be unfair to any woman. While he had found his thoughts straying to an heir more than once in the last few months, he hadn’t gone much further in the logistics of how to get one as of yet. And he didn’t plan to start today.
    Turning sharply on his heel, Michael walked briskly behind the butler with nary a look back to see if Hope had fallen into step as well.
    …
    Hope hadn’t, in fact, followed but was still standing where he left her, staring at his retreating form. What on earth had just happened? Michael had gone from reaching for her with such a look of wonder on his face to pulling away from her as if he had been burned.
    Never before had she been so