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“Don’t be silly!”

“I’m not. Argyle is obsessed with clocks, which leaves no room in his heart for a woman. Major FitzRoy obviously fell in love at first sight, just like in an Eliza Haywood novel. I always knew you would marry a military man. It’s in your blood.”

“I have no plans to marry him.” Livie silently repeated that statement to herself, because her heart thought it was an excellent idea.

“Why not? The major is so handsome, Livie,” Daisy said, rolling to her back and staring dreamily at the ceiling. “Much better than Lord Argyle.”

“He does have a perfect nose,” Livie agreed.

“I don’t understand your obsession with noses. I didn’t even notice that. What I did notice was that he fit his breeches very well.”

“Daisy!”

Her cousin snorted. “Too late to be missish now, Livie. Tell me you didn’t notice?”

Livie had noticed. What’s more, the major had seen her glance at his thighs. Recalling the desiring flare in his eyes made her feel warm. She groaned and fell back next to Daisy. Her skin prickled at the memory of how his lips had caressed hers until she opened her mouth and welcomed a deeper kiss.

“Given his impeccable appearance, I would never have imagined that the major would be so abandoned as to kiss a strange woman at a ball,” Daisy went on, “which just goes to show that I don’t understand men.”

Livie agreed. Even after they’d kissed, Joshua’s appearance remained faultless, whereas her curls and muslin flounces were left rumpled by his embrace.

Neatness was one of her father’s strongest directives, and yet Livie rarely finished a day without smudges on her gloves and often her skirts as well. Likely, the major’s cravat would still be snowy white when he removed it in the evening.

Just like her father’s.

“What are you thinking about?” Daisy rolled back onto her side, propping her head on one hand.

“The major’s valet.”

“Why on earth?”

“I suspect that Major FitzRoy is always tidy,” Livie said. “His valet has an easy task. As opposed to our maid, poor Margery.”

“You do tend to get disheveled,” Daisy agreed.

“Within an hour.”

Daisy poked her. “A major’s wife must be neat and tidy. You’ll have to make a special effort next Season.”

An uneasy silence fell in the bedchamber.

“Perhaps he won’t disappear like our other suitors,” Daisy offered.

Her father’s teachings were crowding Livie’s mind. “The major’s career would be ruined if he was known to have kissed the daughter of an accused traitor, let alone that he’d proposed to one.”

“Phooey,” Daisy said. “That’s absurd.”

Livie understood the military better than her cousin. “Like our other suitors, he has to disappear—for his own good.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING SUITORS

Livie’s stomach had turned to a ball of ice. “What if Joshua goes to Lord Devin tomorrow morning and demands to know who I am, perhaps at sword’s point?”

“Joshua?” Daisy repeated, giggling madly. “Of course, Joshua will pursue you in every way possible.”

“Stop it, Daisy!” Livie snapped. “The major is a member of the military. He will be horrified when he discovers that my father has been accused of treason, and I’ll be mortified if he learns who I am before the charges are lifted.”