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He pushed into the door and she jumped out of the way, startled at the swiftness and force of his action. The door slammed behind him and she heard the bolt slide through, even though he had continued to face her the entire time.

For a moment she doubted the wisdom of speaking rudely to him, but she would not back down. He glowered at her.

“That will be enough impertinence from you,” he told her in a low voice. “Your cousin is settled. For what she did tonight she is fortunate she is not on the rack.”

“She was defending me.” Jordan shot back. “Since no one else would, she filled the void. If she is punished, then I must be punished, too.”

He would not be pulled into her rage “Jemma has an unmanageable tongue and she must learn what she can and cannot say, especially if she is to be lady-in-waiting to a countess,” he said patiently. “You, fortunately, have more sense than she does, although your remarks tonight were highly questionable.”

“Oh!” Jordan shrieked furiously, spinning away from him and marching aimlessly toward the far windows. “And I suppose ye gave no thought to Alexander’s slanderous statement or Analiese’s insult. Ye are thinking that I am the only perpetrator here.”

He was silent a moment. She heard him sigh and heard what sounded like a blanket hit the chair when she realized it was his cloak.

“Come here,” he said.

“No,” she crossed her arms stiffly.

“It was not a request.”

She had learned to associate that tone with the calm before the storm. Slowly she turned, her face dark, but she still did not go to him.

“What do ye want?”

He did not reply but continued to look at her. Finally, with a sigh of frustration, she uncrossed her arms and stomped over to him. He sat back on the arm of the high-back cushioned chair and drew her between his massive legs.

“What I am thinking is that you still have a great deal to learn,” he said mildly. His face was inches from hers, but her head was lowered in a pout and he found himself talking to the top of her head. “I know how hard it was for you tonight and I’d say given the circumstances, you were remarkable. But Alexander and Analiese are two vicious pups, spoiled and pampered, and you must be mindful of them. Additionally, they are the earl’s children and Alexander is the heir, so if you want the rest of your life to be relatively peaceful, I suggest you learn to patiently deal with them.”

She was picking at her fingernails, pouting, her hands touching his chest. “Why dinna ye tell me he had children?”

“Because you had enough on your mind without worrying about step-children,” he said. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her to look at him. “I know you are made of much better things than they are, Jordan. Do not lower yourself to their level just to feel a small amount of satisfaction. I think the earl would like a wife with more dignity than that.”

He was so right. Her anger fled and her heart began to thump in her chest as their gazes locked. She was so close she could smell him, a clean smell of leather and lemons, more than likely from the soap he had used when cleaning up for dinner. Without even thinking she reached up to touch his cleanly shaven face, feeling the beginnings of coarse stubble beneath her fingertips. He was so, so beautiful.

“English,” she whispered. “Where is Jemma?”

“She is in the cellar,” he replied hoarsely. “She has a cot and I made sure she was given a hot meal. You will see her on the morrow.”

They fell silent again as her hands continued to explore his face, his hair, and finally the collar of his tunic. He thought he had died and gone to heaven, so soft and sweet was her touch.

“Will ye flog her?” she asked softly.

“Not if I have anything to say about it, and the earl usually listens to me,” he said honestly.

“But if ye had to, would ye flog me as well?” she persisted.

“No,” he said flatly. “I would not.”

“But the earl said….”

He cut her off. “The earl said that you gave him little choice in the matter, meaning he was not about to punish you so, therefore, he has second thoughts about punishing Jemma.”

She looked surprised. “He said that?”

“Aye.”

She lowered her gaze, noticing that she was now playing with the ties on the front of his tunic. A strange heat filled her arms and her belly, the same heat she had felt when he had kissed her. It was disarmingly wonderful and she wondered what in the world she was feeling. She’d never experienced those sensations before she had met William.

Mayhap it was the feeling of love, she thought. She felt as if to explode with her feelings as they built and built, loosening her tongue and filling her with uncharacteristic boldness.