Harriet frowned with deep consideration. "I once discussed this point with my father. He mentioned several other possible causes of such gigantic disruption in the earth. There are volcanoes and earthquakes, for example. Even…" she hesitated. "Even ice might have done it."

The others stared at her in astonishment.

"Ice?" Lady Youngstreet asked, looking suddenly intrigued. "You mean huge slabs of ice such as glaciers?"

"Well, if the glaciers in the mountains were much larger at one time than they are now," Harriet began carefully, "they might have covered that area. Then they melted and left behind the stones and rubble they had picked up along the way."

"Utterly ridiculous," Lord Fry boomed, coming up to join the group. "What nonsense to imagine a sheet of ice covering so much terrain on the Continent."

Lady Youngstreet smiled at Fry fondly. It was no secret they were paramours. "Quite right, my dear. These young people are always seeking new explanations for what can be answered perfectly well with the old tried and true answers. Did you bring me another glass of champagne?"

"Certainly, my dear. How could I forget?" Fry handed her the glass with a gallant bow.

"Actually," Harriet said, still thinking carefully, "the problem with the theory of the Great Deluge is that it is difficult to see how the floodwaters could have covered all of the earth at once. Where would they go when they retreated?"

"An excellent point," Applegate said with the usual enthusiasm he displayed for Harriet's ideas. "Volcanoes and earthquakes and the like make much more sense. They account for finding marine fossils at the tops of mountains and," he added with a sly smile, "they account for igneous rocks."

Harriet nodded seriously. "Such uplifting forces obviously counter the effects of erosion and explain why the earth is not one flat, featureless landscape. However, this business of finding fossils of animals that are very ancient is not easily explained. Why are there no living examples of these animals, I ask you?"

"Because they were all destroyed in the Great Flood," Lady Youngstreet declared. "Perfectly obvious. Drowned. Every last one of 'em, poor beggars." She swallowed the entire contents of her champagne glass.

"Well," said Harriet, "I'm still not certain—" She broke off abruptly as she realized that no one in the group was paying any attention to her.

Belatedly she realized that a murmur was going through the crowd. All heads were turning toward the elegant staircase at the far end of the ballroom. Harriet followed the glances.

Gideon was poised at the top of the steps, surveying the throng with a disdainful glance. He was dressed in stark black. His white cravat and shirt only served to emphasize the darkness of his evening clothes.

As Harriet watched, his eyes met hers. She could not believe he had actually managed to pick her out of the crowd that jammed the ballroom.

He started down the red-carpeted steps. The coldly arrogant set of his shoulders implied he was either unaware of the expectant curiosity in the faces below him or else that he simply did not care about it.

He was here. Harriet warned herself not to get too excited about that simple fact. Gideon had been bound to show up sooner or later. It did not mean he was panting with eagerness to see her, only that he felt it was his duty to put in an appearance.

The whispered comments followed Gideon through the room like a wave racing toward some distant shore. As he moved forward the crowd parted as if it were a sea. He strode through the glittering throng without looking either to the right or left. He greeted no one. He simply kept moving until he reached Harriet.

"Good evening, my dear," he said quietly amid a hushed silence. He bowed over her hand. "I trust you saved me a dance?"

"Of course, my lord." Harriet smiled widely in welcome. She put her fingers on his arm. "But first, do you know my friends?"

Gideon glanced around at the ring effaces behind her. "Some of them."

"Allow me to introduce the rest." Harriet ran through the introductions quickly.

"So it is true, then," Lady Youngstreet demanded with a disapproving expression. "The two of you are engaged?"

"Very true," Gideon said. "The notices will be in the morning papers." He turned to Harriet. "My fiancée has your best wishes and congratulations, I assume, Lady Youngstreet?"

Lady Youngstreet pursed her lips. "Of course."

"Certainly," Applegate muttered. He was trying hard not to stare at Gideon's scar. "Happy for you both. Naturally."

The others in the small group murmured appropriate remarks.

"Thank you," Gideon said. His eyes gleamed laconically. "I rather thought you might say that. Come, my dear. It has been a long while since we last danced."

He led Harriet out onto the floor just as the musicians struck up a waltz. Harriet tried hard to project the proper air of aloof decorum Effie and Adelaide had been teaching her for the past several days, but gave up the attempt almost immediately. The knowledge that she was back in Gideon's arms, even if only on a dance floor, was too thrilling.

She had almost forgotten just how huge he was, she thought happily. His big hand cradled her spine, his palm covering most of her lower back. His massive chest and shoulders seemed as solid as a brick wall. Harriet remembered the weight of his body on hers that night in the cavern and she shivered with remembered passion.

"I assume your father has recovered, sir?" she said as Gideon whirled her into the waltz.

"He is doing much better, thank you. The sight of me has the same effect on his constitution as an electricity machine. It is always sufficient to stimulate him back to a more healthy state," Gideon said dryly.

"Good heavens, my lord. Are you saying he was so happy to see you, he recovered?"

"Not quite. The sight of me reminds him of what will happen when he finally does depart this earth. The thought of me inheriting the earldom is usually sufficient to rally him. He has a dread of the noble Hardcastle title falling into such unworthy hands."

"Oh, dear." Harriet looked up at him with sympathy. "Are things really that bad between you and your father, my lord?"

"Yes, my dear, they are. But you need not concern yourself unduly. We will see as little of my parents as possible after our marriage. Now, if you do not mind, I would prefer to discuss something far more interesting than my relationship with my parents."

"Of course. What would you like to talk about?"

His mouth quirked as he glanced down at her low-cut gown. "Suppose you tell me about the polishing you are receiving. Are you having fun here in Town?"

"To be perfectly truthful, I did not enjoy it at all at first. Then I chanced to meet Lord Fry."

"Ah, yes."

"Well, as it turns out, he is very interested in fossils and he invited me to join the Fossils and Antiquities Society. I have enjoyed myself immensely since I began attending the meetings of the Society. Such an interesting group of people. They have been extremely kind to me."

"Have they, indeed?"

"Oh, yes. They are a very well informed group." Harriet glanced quickly to either side to make certain no one could overhear. Then she lowered her voice and leaned closer to Gideon. "I am thinking of showing my tooth to one or two members of the Society."

"I thought you were afraid that another collector might steal it or go hunting for another one just like it once he learns the location of the cave."

Harriet frowned in consternation. "It is a concern, naturally. But I am beginning to believe that a few of the members of the Society can be trusted. And thus far I have not had any success in identifying my tooth on my own. If none of the members of the Society can identify it either, then I will be more certain than ever that I have found an entirely new species. I shall write a paper on it."