Lady Thorn. Catherine Archer

find his slightly unkempt appearance distasteful, but somehow strangely appealing.

      Before she could even begin to contemplate the reason for this, Jedidiah looked up at her, his brow quirked in an impatient query. Victoria felt a flush stain her throat. Heavens, she was being rude beyond imagining. Hurriedly she indicated the settee opposite her. “Please forgive me, it seems I have completely forgotten my manners today.” Her blush deepened as she remembered anew what had occurred upstairs earlier.

      After he was seated, she took a deep breath, knowing she had best put the matter to rest as soon as possible. Victoria began, “Mr. McBride, let me begin by apologizing for what happened…. I had no intention… What I am trying to say is that I had no right to come to your room this morning. I was simply eager to talk with you. I meant to make certain that you did not give away your real identity to anyone. Not even to the members of my household. For the purpose of keeping our secret, all must believe you to be my cousin.” She stopped, then started again. “I had no idea Clara would just open the door. You see, the servants are accustomed to having few people here besides myself, and have grown less formal than they might otherwise be….”

      She glanced at him and found him looking as uncomfortable as she felt. He did not meet her gaze as a dark flush colored his strong throat. She found her eyes lingering there. For some reason known only to whimsy, Victoria suddenly wondered what it would feel like to touch the ridge of muscle that ran down the side of his neck and disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt.

      He cleared his throat, drawing her bemused gaze back to his face. Thankfully, the man appeared totally unaware of her madness. She forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying. “Lady Victoria, please don’t go on. I will not tell anyone anything other than what we agreed to last night.” He paused. “As to the other matter, there is no need to apologize. I understand, and it is already forgotten by me. I hope that you will forget what happened, as well.”

      As Victoria listened to the delicately put reply, she found herself thinking again what a very gentlemanly man he really was, despite his lack of noble birth. Her wayward attention wandered over the length of him once more. She found herself regretting the fact that Jedidiah must change his mode of dress to a more formal one in order to fulfill their purpose. There was something very stirring about the casually masculine cut of his captain’s attire. There was no denying that he wore it with unexpected elegance. Many a man of her own acquaintance could benefit from emulating Jedidiah’s nonchalant attitude toward his appearance. For all the money they spent on their perfectly tailored coats, trousers and highly polished boots, they could not compete with his effortlessly graceful masculinity.

      Again she realized that Jedidiah McBride was waiting for her to answer. She blushed to the roots of her hair. “I… Then it will be as you ask. We will forget what happened, and start afresh.” But even as she said the words, Victoria knew it would not be as easily done as said. Never had she thought that a man could be so very interesting, even handsome, without his clothing. The brief glimpse she’d had of him had been enough to show Victoria that the way his smooth skin lay over the hard muscles of his body was quite pleasing to her. Nor had she been completely blind to Clara’s reaction to the man. As these thoughts ran though Victoria’s mind, she was doubly careful not to allow her gaze to stray to the area at the top of his thighs.

      Determinedly she concentrated on Jedidiah’s face as he nodded and gave her a crooked half smile. Unexpectedly, her heart turned over in her breast. Was there no end to the effect he had on her?

      She nearly sighed aloud with impatience toward herself. Jedidiah McBride was here to help her with her problem. He had his own life and future. There would be nothing more between them when their bargain was met. She would remember that, if she knew her own good.

      In the three years since her parents had died, she’d learned to control herself and her emotions. It was the only way she could have gotten through her grief, then accepted the enormous responsibility of running her father’s properties and business interests. She called upon those skills of self-control now. She must begin her efforts to find a husband as soon as possible.

      Almost as if he had read her mind, Jedidiah McBride looked up from his cup, his expression filled with determination, and said, “Well, where do we begin to look for a husband?”

      Victoria gave a start, his question disturbing her for some unknown reason. Then she told herself that this was completely ridiculous. She should be grateful that he was anxious to get started. It was further proof that he was not some charlatan bent on taking advantage of her. But the feeling of irritation remained, even as she answered in a matter-of-fact tone. “We will, of course, be going up to London. It being May, the season is on, and most of society’s eligible bachelors will be attending.”

      He nodded in approval. “Nina’s letter was sent from London. It seems the best place to begin looking for her, as well.”

      “I’m glad that both our needs will be so well served,” she replied smoothly. Victoria reached to pour herself a cup of tea before continuing. “There is much to be done before we can go on to London. The first thing we must do is see you outfitted as a gentleman. That will mean new clothing. Toward that end, I have sent for the man who tailored much of my father’s attire. Although he lives in Carlisle, which is the local town, he is a superb tailor and will turn you out very nicely.”

      Jedidiah’s cup clattered in his saucer, making her look with surprise into a pair of stormy sea-green eyes. “I cannot agree to that,” he informed her curtly.

      Her delicate brows raised in irritation at his unexpected brusqueness. “But I must insist. How can I introduce you into society as my cousin from America if you are not dressed as one of them?”

      He scowled in displeasure, setting his cup and saucer carefully on the tray. “Lady Victoria, I had not realized that I would be expected to purchase a dandy’s wardrobe in order to fulfill my obligations to you. What good would it be to me to spend hundreds of pounds on clothing I will never wear again?”

      She smiled at this. The funds that would be necessary to purchase his clothing would not be missed by her, and quite fairly could be considered her responsibility, since it was she who required his changed manner of dress. “That will not be your concern,” she told him. “I myself will see to that expense.”

      “You will not!”

      His vehemence caused her to pause, but then she went on, trying to be reasonable. “Please, you must realize that you will be accompanying me to whatever social functions I need to attend in London. We must not appear to be anything other than the cousins we have agreed upon. As I told you last night, it would not do for me to have you in my home without benefit of a chaperone if you are not related to me in some way. I have no female relation who could act as such. If I did, I might not find myself in this precarious position. The fact that I am alone is what gave Reginald the impression he might kidnap me without fear of retribution. As my cousin, you will be required to present yourself in a certain way, even if you are from America.”

      His eyes narrowed as he listened. “And what does that mean? Would it be too much for your snobbish society matrons to believe that a mere sea captain could be the cousin of the noble and wealthy Lady Victoria Thorn?”

      Victoria watched him closely, hearing again the tone that had so disturbed her last night. This time she could not put it off to some other cause. His disdain for society could not be missed.

      “Are you all so very democratic in America, then? Is everyone treated equally regardless of their social or financial situation?”

      For some reason, her question appeared to irritate him far more than she would have imagined, for a muscle flexed in his jaw, his hands clenched and unclenched in his lap and his gaze was trained on the blue sky outside the window. It was some moments before he seemed to relax enough to reply. And when he did, she could hear the mocking irony in his tone. “No. It is not different in America. There, too, who you are and what you have is more important than anything, including loyalty.”

      Victoria could only study him for a long moment, realizing that he had just given her a clue as to the reason for his