It was undoubtedly the longest ride of her life, Sophy decided as she sat sunk in gloom in the swaying carriage. Julian was beyond outrage. He was coldly, dangerously furious. She could only hope that Anne and Jane were spared the worst of it.

The household had just begun to stir when Anne halted the carriage at the front door. Jane, still wearing her black veil, was waiting anxiously in the library when Julian strode through the door with Sophy in tow. Jane glanced quickly at her friend.

"You are all right?" she demanded in a whisper.

"I am fine, as you can see. Everyone is all right, in fact. Matters would have been even better, however, if you had not felt obliged to intervene."

"I am sorry, Sophy, but I could not allow—"

"That will be enough," Julian interrupted as Guppy, hastily adjusting his jacket, emerged from the door behind the stairs. He looked perplexed at the sight of Sophy in breeches.

"Is all in order, my lord?"

"Certain plans that were made for this morning have been canceled unexpectedly, Guppy, but you may rest assured that I have everything under control."

"Of course, my lord," Guppy said with grand dignity.

It would be worth his job to say a word about this dawn's bizarre hall scene and Guppy knew it. It was obvious the master was in one of his dangerous, quiet rages. It was, however, equally obvious that Lord Ravenwood was in command of the situation. With a quick, worried glance at Sophy, Guppy discreetly disappeared into the kitchens.

Julian turned to confront Jane.

"I do not know who you are, madam, and I assume from your veil that you do not wish to make your identity known. But whoever you are, please be aware that I shall be eternally indebted to you. You appear to be the only one who showed any common sense in this entire affair."

"I am known for my common sense, my lord," Jane said sadly. "Indeed, I fear many of my friends find me quite dull because of it."

"If your friends had any sense, themselves, they would cherish you for that quality. Good day, madam. There is a boy with a closed carriage outside who will escort you home. Your horse is tied to the carriage. Do you wish additional company? I can send one of the footmen along with you."

"No. The carriage and lad will be sufficient." Jane glanced in confusion at Sophy who shrugged faintly. "Thank you, my lord. I do hope this is the end of the entire affair."

"You may rest assured it mostly certainly is. And I hope I can rely upon you not to breathe a word of the matter."

"You may depend upon it, my lord."

Julian walked her to the door and saw her into the small carriage. Then he stalked back up the steps and into the hall. The huge door closed very softly behind him. He stood looking at Sophy for a long moment.

Sophy held her breath, waiting for the stroke of doom.

"Go upstairs and change your clothing, madam. You have played enough at men's games today. We will discuss this matter at ten in the library."

"There is nothing to discuss, my lord," she said swiftly. "You already know everything."

Julian's emerald eyes were brilliant with his anger and another emotion that Sophy realized with a start was relief. "You are wrong, madam. There is a great deal to discuss. If you are not down here promptly at ten, I shall come to fetch you."

ELEVEN

"Perhaps," said Julian with an icy calm that was impressive under the circumstances, "you will be good enough to explain this entire matter from the beginning."

The words shattered the ominous silence that had gripped the library since Sophy had cautiously walked through the door a few minutes earlier. Julian had sat, unmoving, behind his massive desk, studying her with his customary inscrutable expression for a long while before choosing to begin what would no doubt be a most unpleasant interview.

Sophy took a deep breath and lifted her chin. "You already know the essentials of the situation."

"I know you must have received one of Featherstone's blackmail notes. I would very much appreciate it if you would be so good as to explain why you did not immediately turn it over to me."

"She approached me, not you, with her threat. I considered it a matter of honor to respond."

Julian's eyes narrowed. "Honor, madam?"

"If the situation were reversed, my lord, you would have handled the matter as I did. You cannot deny it."

"If the situation were reversed?" he repeated blankly. "What the devil are you talking about?"

"You understand me quite well, I am certain, my lord." Sophy realized she was hovering between tears and fury. It was a volatile combination of emotions. "If some man had approached you with a threat to print the details of a… a past indiscretion of mine, you would have called him out. You know you would have done exactly what I did. You cannot deny it."

"Sophy, that's ludicrous," Julian snapped. "This is hardly the same sort of situation. Don't you dare draw any parallels between your reprehensible actions this morning and what you imagine I would have done in similar circumstances."

"Why not? Am I to be denied the chance to meet the dictates of honor just because I am a female?"

"Yes, damn it. I mean, no. By God, do not try to confuse the issue. Honor does not require from you what it would require from me in the same situation and you damn well know it."

"It seems to me only fair that I be entitled to live up to the same code as you, my lord."

"Only fair? Fairness has nothing to do with this."

"Am I to have no recourse in such situations, my lord?" Sophy demanded tightly. "No way to avenge myself? No way to settle a matter of honor?"

"Sophy, pay attention to me. As your husband it is my duty to avenge you, should that be required. And I am telling you here and now that it had better not ever be required. There is, however, no reversal of the situation. It is inconceivable."

"Well, you had best try to conceive of it, my lord, for that is precisely what happened. Nor were you the one called upon to deal with it. I was and I did the honorable thing. I do not see how you can fault me in this, Julian."

He stared at her, looking thoroughly taken aback for a few seconds before recovering himself. "Not fault you? Sophy, what you did today was outrageous and disgraceful.

It demonstrates a sad want of sound judgment. It was foolhardy and extremely dangerous. Not fault you? Sophy, those pistols are not toys, they are Manton's finest."

"I am well aware of that, my lord. Furthermore, I knew what I was doing with them. I told you my grandfather taught me how to use his pistols."

"You could have been killed, your little idiot." Julian shot to his feet and came around to the front of the desk. He leaned back against it, crossing one booted foot over the other. His expression was very close to savage. "Did you think about that, Sophy? Did you think about the risk you were taking? Did it cross your mind that you might well be dead by now? Or a murderess? Dueling is against the law, you know. Or was it all just a game to you?"

"I assure you, it was no game, my lord. I was—" Sophy broke off, swallowing uncomfortably as memories of the fear returned. She looked away from Julian's fierce eyes. "I was quite frightened, to be perfectly honest."

Julian swore softly. "You think you were frightened," he muttered under his breath before he said more distinctly, "What about the potential scandal, Sophy? Did you consider that?"

She kept her eyes averted. "We took steps to ensure that there would be no scandal."

"I see. And just how were you planning to explain a bullet wound, my dear? Or a dead prostitute in Leighton Field?"

"Julian, please, you've said enough."

"Enough?" Julian's voice was suddenly soft and dangerous. "Sophy, I assure you, I have hardly begun."