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serve someone’s pets, when there are children starving in orphanages?”
    Angelina blinked. The man had a diamond in his neck cloth, and he was speaking of starving children? “I know all about orphanages, my lord. I was threatened with one half my life. Were you? And how can you justify the existence you lead, which is so much more lavish, yet which benefits no one but yourself?”
    Deuce take it, how could she put him in the wrong again? “What, are you an anarchist besides?”
    Besides what, she wanted to know, but didn’t ask. “I don’t believe any child should go hungry, ever, no more than I believe honest men should have to beg in the streets because they cannot find work. Veterans should be given fair pensions, farmers should not be thrown off their lands to make way for sheep or factories. There are a myriad injustices in this world, my lord, more than I with my entire inheritance could ever hope to affect in the least, much less resolve. Climbing boys, child prostitutes, impressed sailors—there isn’t one blessed thing I can do about them. I cannot even vote for social reform.” She stood in front of him, shaking her finger in his face to emphasize her passionate discourse. “You could do something about them, however, with your power, your voice in Parliament, and, yes, your fortune. What are you doing with all of your influence and wealth, other than denying some poor dogs a peaceful retirement?”
    “I didn’t de—”
    “Furthermore, we are all God’s creatures, all deserving of charity and mercy. Your aunt believed that, and I believe that. You can make a difference in a great many lives simply by giving the poor what you spend on wagering. I can make a difference, can relieve a tiny pocket of suffering, by helping to found Lady Sophie’s shelter for homeless animals. I feel it is our God-given duty to help where we—”
    So he kissed her. To shut her up, to taste those fire-breathing lips, to satisfy his own base urges, Corin didn’t know which. Surely he wasn’t attracted to the rag-mannered female.
    It wasn’t much of a kiss. He didn’t even have time to touch those tempting curls. It was one hell of a slap Miss Armstead dealt him, however. Corin could taste the blood on the inside of his cheek, which was no more than he deserved, of course. “My apologies, ma’am.”
    “Why did you do that?” Angelina gasped. ‘Twas a foolish question, she realized, for Lord Knowle was a rake, and taking liberties was what a rake did. But not with females past their last prayers. Angelina wasn’t precisely past her last prayers, for she’d never had any prayers—certainly not of being mauled about by a well-born womanizer, no matter how handsome his countenance or how broad his shoulders.
    I did it because ... because I wanted to show you how inappropriate your remaining here at Primrose Cottage is. Yes, that’s it. You cannot remain here without a chaperon. No lady with a care to her reputation would stay alone.”
    “My lord, I am not a lady, I am a companion, so I have no need for one.”
    “Your reputation still matters. This used to be my grandfather’s love nest, you know. A single woman, on the edge of my property... everyone will assume the worst.”
    “Everyone will assume I am doing what I’ve been doing for the last five years: caring for Lady Sophie’s dogs, not her nephew! How dare you, my lord! First you accused me of cheating you out of your rightful inheritance by wheedling a legacy out of your aunt. You even declared her insane for writing her will as she did. Then you thought my loyalty to her and her pets could be bought. Now you are suggesting that I am a loose woman!”
    “Nothing of the sort. I was merely trying to suggest what others might think.”
    “You treated me like a trollop!”
    “Good grief, woman, it was only a kiss, and I already apologized. Besides, living alone here, you leave yourself open to such familiarity. I was simply showing you how vulnerable