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already begun. Soon he would have a home as befitted his name, a home his mother would have been proud of.
    Henri watched as the shadows slowly passed from Nick’s face, the stiff façade shifting and then disappearing altogether. Most people thought the Earl of Bridgeton a hard, unsympathetic man. And most of the time, he was exactly that. Life had not allowed the earl the luxury of having a heart.
    But every once in a while, Henri caught a glimpse of something in Nick’s face—something very human. Something worth befriending. “Tell me something, mon ami . Now that you have returned to England and you have this beautiful house, what are your plans?”
    The earl’s cold blue gaze lifted from the sheet of paper and fastened on Henri. “I will ensure repairs to the Hall are well under way, and then…”
    â€œAnd then?” Henri asked, although he already knew the answer.
    â€œThen I will conquer a black-haired innocent with a propensity for teasing.” Nick turned to the window and stared with unseeing eyes at the front lawn with such intensity in his expression that Henri shivered.
    Mon Dieu , things were not going at all as he had planned—he’d meant for the earl to find a pleasant companion, one who would beguile and tease him from his moods. But it was obvious Bridgeton had something else in mind—a taste of the forbidden.
    For one mad moment, Henri wondered if he should uncharacteristically drop a word in Delphi’s ear. But a moment’s reflection made him abandon such a foolish course of action. The young woman had been married, after all. And any attempt to sway Nick would only antagonize him further.
    His only hope was that his information was wrong and the lady was not so innocent. For her sake, Henri hoped she was very well experienced indeed.
    Â 
    Sara stared absently at a small fire screen improbably adorned with hummingbirds and riotously colored parrots. The screen shielded the costly rug in the green salon from popping embers and generally got in the way whenever Sara was about. “Men are fools. Every last one of them.”
    Anna looked up from where she was regarding a creation in Costume Parisien . “That’s the third time you’ve said that in as many minutes. Am I supposed to agree with you or argue?”
    â€œNeither. It is an irrefutable fact of life.” Sarasighed and used the tip of her slipper to outline one of the hummingbirds. The last few weeks had been trying—more than trying, in fact. When she’d first embarked on her quest to find an acceptable husband, it had never occurred to her that there would be so few in Bath. Worse, as she and Anna culled the thin list of prospects, she’d begun to worry what would happen when she did find a suitable candidate. Would she be able to bring him to point before her brothers decided to visit?
    Surely it wouldn’t be too difficult. After all, she wasn’t hideous, nor was she of unacceptable birth. It all came down to one thing: her lack of fortune.
    â€œI’ve flirted and smiled and batted my eyes until I’ve feared for the life of my lashes, to no avail. I’m at my wits’ end.”
    Anna obligingly set the magazine aside. “Perhaps part of the problem is your devoted brothers. I daresay just the thought of facing one or more of them could scare off even the most honorable man.”
    Sara ran the tip of her finger along the embroidered lines of the fire screen. Even miles away, her brothers still plagued her. “It’s so discouraging. I haven’t met a single man who would do.”
    The image of the Earl of Bridgeton rose clear and strong. Of course, he was far from being an ideal husband; she’d seen that in the hotly possessive way he’d looked at her. Just the memory of that one glance made her shiver still. Smoldering and dangerous, Bridgeton was the kind of man who either possessed a woman, body and soul, or