"Yes, my lord. Quite recovered. I bounce back from ordeals very well, I must say. Why, here it is, only a few hours after finding myself ruined, yet I do not feel any of the remorse and despair one would expect after sacrificing one's precious virginity to the Beast of Blackthorne Hall."

Effie was horrified. "Harriet."

Harriet smiled sweetly. "Well, it's not like I was planning to do anything all that interesting with it, anyway. Therefore I am not overly concerned about the loss."

Effie gave her a grimly repressive look. "Behave yourself. His lordship is here to make you an offer of marriage, for heaven's sake." She turned swiftly to Gideon. "I fear she is not herself today. Her delicate sensibilities, you know. She has been quite overset by the entire experience."

Gideon smiled his lion's smile. "I understand, Mrs. Ashecombe. Delicate sensibilities, indeed. Just what one would expect from a well-bred young lady. Perhaps you and I should discuss this matter by ourselves. Something tells me your niece is not going to contribute anything meaningful to the conversation."

Chapter Eight

The mysterious tooth together with a small chunk of fossilized jawbone came out of the rock with surprising ease. Harriet applied her mallet and chisel with a delicate precision that she had learned long ago from her father, and within a short time she was holding the fossil in her hand.

It was a very large tooth, blade-shaped and set in a socket, not simply adhering to the bone of the jaw. The tooth of a carnivore, Harriet decided. A very big carnivore.

She examined it by the light of the lamp she had hung on the peg in the cavern wall. She could not be certain until she'd had an opportunity to do some research, but she was very sure it was unlike any fossil tooth she had ever found. Nor did it match anything in her father's collection.

With any luck it would be a remnant of a heretofore unknown species. If it could not be identified, she would be able to write a paper introducing it to the world.

It had been two days since she had spent the fateful night with Gideon. Cradling the fossil in her hands, Harriet gazed around her at the cavern which had altered her life. The stolen goods had all been removed by Mr. Dobbs under the supervision of Gideon and the local magistrate.

Even the canvas bags that had served as a bed that night had been removed.

Still clutching the fossil tooth, Harriet wandered over to the spot where she had lain in Gideon's arms. The searing memories nearly overwhelmed her once again. She recalled the raw need in his eyes, the sweat on his brow, and the taut, corded muscles of his shoulders. He had been at the limits of his own self-control that night.

But his main concern had been the pain he was causing her, Harriet reflected. He had done everything he could to minimize her discomfort, even though he had clearly been driven hard by his own passion.

Harriet shivered as she remembered what it had felt like to have Gideon inside her. He had filled her so completely that he had almost made himself a part of her. For a timeless moment they had been bound together more closely than she would ever have believed possible. The sense of shattering intimacy had been more than physical. Harriet had felt as though she had touched Gideon's soul. She knew he had touched hers.

The unaccustomed flight of poetic fancy startled her.

"Rubbish," she muttered aloud. That was probably just the sort of thing all young ladies in love told themselves after having done something quite silly such as surrendering their virginity before marriage. One had to justify the recklessness somehow.

But perhaps she could be excused for her poetic inclinations. She was, after all, definitely a woman in love.

Harriet had known that for two days now. In truth, she had known it even before Gideon had made love to her.

What tore at her heart and made her stomach reel with dread was knowing that Gideon was only marrying her because of his honor.

Harriet knew there was no way of dissuading him from the marriage. His honor had been mauled too savagely in the past. He would not allow it to happen again, especially not under such similar circumstances. His pride was a raw wound. He would attack anything that threatened it.

Harriet picked up her lamp and walked slowly out of the cavern where she had discovered that love was not nearly as simple or as sweet as she had once assumed it to be.

It was much easier to deal with riddles in stone such as her beautiful fossil tooth than it was to comprehend the complex nature of a man like Gideon, she decided. A man like Gideon simply had to be accepted and loved.

He was far too proud to explain himself or to ask for understanding.

Felicity bounced into the study just as Harriet was preparing to begin a sketch of the tooth she had found in the cavern.

"There you are. I thought I might find you in here." Felicity closed the door behind her and sat down. "How can you bring yourself to work on those horrid old fossils after all the excitement lately?"

Harriet looked up. "To tell you the truth, I find my work something of a refuge these days."

"Hah. If I were you, I would be busy planning my trousseau. Just think, Harriet, you are going to be a countess."

"Viscountess."

"Oh, well, for the present, yes. But someday, when St Justin's father dies, you will become the Countess of Hardcastle. Just imagine. Do you realize how this changes my life?"

Harriet's brows rose. "Your life?"

"Well, of course. I am no longer under so much pressure to marry well. If and when I do get to London, I shall be able to enjoy myself rather than hunt for a suitable husband. What a relief."

Harriet put down her quill and sat back in her chair. "I had not realized you felt under pressure, Felicity."

"Of course I did. I knew you and Aunt Effie were counting on me to make a good marriage and thereby secure my future." Felicity smiled happily. "And I would have done my duty, of course, if it had been necessary. After all, I do not want to be a burden. But now I am free."

Harriet massaged her temples. "I am sorry I never realized how you felt about our plans. I just assumed that if we got you to London you would attract any number of excellent suitors and you would be able to fall in love with one of them."

"I seriously doubt that love goes hand in hand with practicality very often," Felicity said dryly.

"I suppose you are right. Just look at the situation in which I find myself."

"What is wrong with your situation? If you ask me, it looks very pleasant, indeed. You are extremely fond of St. Justin. You cannot deny it. I have seen the expression in your eyes when you speak of him."

"I am fond enough of him," Harriet murmured, thinking that fond was far too bland a word for what she really felt for Gideon. "But there is no getting around the fact that he is offering marriage only because his honor requires it."

Felicity scowled. "For heaven's sake, Harriet. Of course he must marry you, although Mrs. Stone is still predicting he will not. You have been ravished, after all." She paused meaningfully. "You were, were you not? Not that the actual facts matter, according to Aunt Effie. Appearance is everything."

Harriet narrowed her eyes at her sister. "How on earth have you managed to grow up with such an unfortunate lack of delicacy, sister, dear?"

"I expect it has something to do with the fact that you are my sister and, until now, you have always been very straightforward about most everything. You have no social polish, as Aunt Effie is constantly reminding us."

Harriet nodded with grim resignation. "I knew that somehow it would be all my fault. Everything around here lately appears to have been my fault."