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piece of toast and took a bite, casting a sideways glance at her host. Despite the previous night, there was no sign that he had suffered any great misfortune. He looked ridiculously handsome in his customary black, with the usual white neckcloth, pinned with a single, winking green emerald, breaking up the somber outfit. But it suited his dark looks very well and Sophie felt her temperature rising, just a little. Clearly nothing had changed since the previous evening; she was still drawn to him, still outrageously aware of him as a man. It seemed to send the social niceties out the door. How did one behave when all she craved was the touch of her host’s lips on her own?
    ‘I think we should discuss my return to London today,’ she ventured.
    ‘Not London. We shall go to your family home.’
    ‘And what do you intend to tell my family?’ What on earth could he tell them? She thought of her parent’s reaction and immediately tried to think of something else. They would be so disappointed in her.
    His shrug was careless. ‘What do you think would satisfy them?’
    ‘Entry into a nunnery is not out of the question,’ Sophie observed, voice wan, ‘Because I daresay nothing else will suffice.’
    His lips twitched. ‘After what we almost did last night, I doubt a nunnery would have you.’
    She looked at him quickly and once again there was that fire between them, damped down to a smolder now but threatening to flare up at any moment. ‘I don’t think it particularly well mannered of you to bring that up,’ she said, a little unevenly, ‘Last night we were both… that is to say, there was a great deal of emotion and you were… well, you were drunk and…’ There were so many reasons why last night had happened. Unfortunately none of them explained her own very wanton behavior.
    ‘I was drunk,’ he agreed, ‘And I behaved like a fool in every respect. Let me take this opportunity to apologize for that. But it doesn’t alter the fact that what happened between us was real. I wanted you and you wanted me. You can pretend otherwise but I choose not to.’
    Sophie flushed. Put baldly like that, it made the whole, horrible situation sound even more tawdry. ‘That was last night,’ she said primly, ‘It was unfortunate but now it’s morning and we’re… we’re having breakfast. We have the opportunity to discuss my travel arrangements in a reasonable manner.’
    ‘It is morning and we are having breakfast,’ he agreed pleasantly, ‘But I still don’t feel in the least bit reasonable around you.’
    She eyed him bleakly. ‘You never give up, do you? Is it so very important to you to seduce every women you come across?’
    Roxburghe’s dark eyes narrowed. ‘Is that what you think this is? Your seduction? Would it were that simple!’
    Sophie felt increasingly bewildered, uncertain as to what they were talking about. Her limited experience with men such as the Marquis left her entirely in the dark as to his meaning. Did he still mean to seduce her? Before he took her to her parents in Cumberland? The idea seemed so absurd, so ridiculous that she could only stare at him, blue eyes uncertain. She heard him sigh and frowned. ‘I really cannot comprehend what you mean.’
    ‘Last night, I came very close to taking your maidenhood. I assume,’ he added, giving her a swift look, ‘that you still possess it?’
    The temperature at the table dropped and she glared at him. ‘You insult me Sir!’
    ‘Yes, I thought as much. And while I have made a career out of – as you put it – seducing every woman that comes my way, I find that this will not suffice in your case.’
    Sophie relaxed a little, ignoring the surge of disappointment that flowed through her. It made no difference to her reentry into society what they did, she supposed, but she suspected there would be a lot of lonely nights ahead of her. The last thing she wished to keep her company was the memory of this man’s love making imprinted on her