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to put a halt to this direction of thought at once. “Anita, I’m not entering a war over Lord Earnston. Lady Patricia can have him. I will, of course, befriend him, but nothing more. Please do not try and match-make.” What a nightmare this Season would be if Sarah had to contend with people trying to marry her off.
    Anita grinned and Sarah realized her friend was not listening to a word she said.
    “I’m sure my cousin’s powers of persuasion will win you over eventually.”
    Sarah doubted that. She smiled. “Are you leaving?”
    “Yes, I must dash. Mama has a modiste arriving today. Next season will be upon us before we know it, and she wishes to be prepared.”
    • • •
    Sarah walked Anita to the door before seeking out Richard. She found him in the upstairs parlor. “You asleep?”
    Richard sat up with a start and rubbed his eyes. “I’m up.”
    “I hope so because you’ll never believe what I’ve been told.” Sarah flopped onto a chair. “It seems the other night when you went moseying about in Lady Cottlestone’s home, you were not as stealth as you should have been. Lady Cottlestone has informed Lord Earnston that someone has meddled in her private parlor.”
    “What!” Richard stood, his face paling. “Do they know it was me?”
    “No. You were lucky this time. But I also found out that Lord Earnston hired a runner to investigate his brother’s death.” She sighed. “We’ll have to be so careful from now on. If they catch either of us trying to find the mapping device … ”
    Richard leaned against the mantle, his hand idly stroking the marble. “We’ll lie low for a few balls, make them believe the felon has fled.” Richard paused. “You need to get closer to his lordship and gain access to his homes and to him.”
    Sarah frowned. It wasn’t easy starting a friendship with a man who filled you with guilt every time you were near him. For all his masculine charm — the long, mussed hair, his deep ocean blue eyes, and full lips — it was impossible to start a flirtation, no matter how much she lusted after his body.
    “I can’t do it, Richard.” Sarah stood and joined him at the mantle. “I killed his twin. He would kill me if he ever found out. It would be wrong of me to let him believe there’s a future with me when there isn’t.”
    Richard raised his eyebrows. “You will, and you know why. Because both our jobs depend on it, Sarah. It is only a little flirting, after all. How much damage can you do?” He walked away waving his arms. “What happened to the independent, intelligent twenty-first century woman I know? You made a mistake — you did not kill Lord William on purpose. And from this point on, I’ll not hear another word about you feeling guilty and full of regret.”
    Sarah shushed him for fear the staff would hear. Richard growled and hugged her. How would she do the impossible? How was she to purposefully set out and deceive Lord Earnston again? “It’s just so cruel. What if his lordship forms a tendre for me?” She stepped out of Richard’s embrace. “Lady Anita is already matchmaking me to him, and Lady Patricia sees me as some sort of competition.”
    Richard nodded. “I understand where you’re coming from, Sarah, but you know not to go against your father. Especially as we’ve already stuffed up more times I care to remember. If Lord Earnston forms some sort of crush on you, it’ll be short lived. Men of this era rarely married for love. You’ll see when we go home and read about what happened to his family; Lord Earnston would’ve moved on by the next season.”
    “What if we went to the earl and asked for the device. If we explain where we’re from and apologize, perhaps he’ll give it to us and let us go.”
    “And if he doesn’t, what then?” Richard argued. “Are we to take guns with us and threaten him should he become difficult? No, we’ll abide by your father’s orders.”
    Sarah rested her forehead against the cold marble