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properly. But it will not be Valentine Fenster. Not ever."
    Emily's hand left his shoulder at last. "I know that, Mother."
    The countess laughed unpleasantly. "You are a romantic, Emily. A fool. Even when hope should be gone, you hold it to your heart. But I tell you now, my fortune may have gone into your cousin's hands, but my reputation is still strong. If you ask anyone to intervene and break your engagement‚ including the duke, who has been deluded into marriage by Valentine's sister‚ I will ruin them all, from the cad who tried to elope with you to the youngest of the Fenster sisters.
    "I — "
    "No, Emily, do not protest. I should have said this long ago." Her voice faded and Valentine realized that she was near the door. But she did not leave without one parting shot. "Star-crossed. Only you could think that when you are two weeks away from marriage to a wealthy marquess. One day you will thank me for this."
    She closed the door, and the key sounded in the lock. Emily's trembling grew, and he realized that she was crying. Cautiously he sat up, ignoring the burning of his bloodless arm, to embrace her and bring her against his chest. She curled into him as if she had done so a thousand times before and he held her tight as she sobbed. It wasn't sensible and he knew it even as he felt the warmth of her body burning against him, but he could imagine her hopelessness. The countess was not a woman to brook opposition. Emily was brave‚ if foolishly so, as she had proved more than once. But she was no match for the countess.
    He allowed himself to brush his fingers through her hair, which fell in a loose braid down her back. He had imagined it so, but had never thought to see it. "We'll find a way out for you, I promise." She burrowed her face in his neck, and whispered, "Never mind me. I got myself into this pickle, I should get myself out. But what about you? She meant it. She will set the dogs to search for you. If she finds you, she will ruin you. We must get you away."
    "Your mother can do no harm to me," he lied. He did not want Emily doing anything foolish to protect him.
    "I could not bear it if she hurt you or one of your sisters." She turned her face up to his, and in moving, brought her body even more fully against his. He saw the awareness of their position dawn in her expressive face, and he fought the urge to kiss her. She was close enough. Too close for a woman he could not ever marry. "This is not wise, Emily." He pushed her away gently, the loss of her warmth more than just physical. He could give her nothing but scandal and shame, he reminded himself in order to drive away the disappointment that had slowly taken hold of him once he realized that Emily did not mean to reveal his presence and force the countess to consent to a marriage between them.
    She would have protested, he could see it in her eyes, but he rolled to the side of the bed and stood. The blood raced painfully back into his cramped muscles. With a sigh, he shook off the last of the dizziness from the laudanum. "Never fear, I will escape with my hide intact." He smiled. "Although I doubted it when I first woke and found myself in your bed. I thought you were setting out to have yourself thoroughly compromised." He could not help a lingering glance upon her slightly clad form. "To be honest, I had adjusted myself to the notion, though it would have been a disaster."
    For a moment she only stared at him in surprise. "Compromise you?" Following the line of his gaze, she seemed to realize, at last, how little she wore. At once she pulled the covers up around her neck. "A disaster indeed. I thought of my mother's wrath when I heard her at the door, and nothing of you."
    Belatedly, he averted his gaze to preserve the remnants of her modesty. She seemed more horrified at the idea than he might have expected, considering she was the one who had donned her nightclothes and climbed into bed with him.
    He suffered a twinge of anger that she no