"He kidnapped Harriet. Tried to whisk her off to Gretna Green. I caught up with them yesterday on the road north," Gideon explained blandly. There was a shocked silence.

"Kidnapped her? Dear God." Lady Hardcastle's eyes darted between Gideon and Harriet. "I do not believe it."

"Just as well," Harriet said approvingly. "Because it was most certainly not a kidnapping. But St. Justin was devilishly stubborn about comprehending that it had all been nothing more than a misunderstanding. However, there is no need to concern yourselves. It is all over and done. There will be no dawn meeting. Is that not so, my lord?"

Gideon shrugged. "As you say I have agreed not to call out Applegate."

"This is rather confusing," lady Hardcastle complained.

Harriet nodded briskly. "Yes, I know. People often get confused around St. Justin. But that is his own fault, if you ask me. He does not go out of his way to enlighten anyone. Perfectly understandable, of course."

The earl gave her a belligerent glare. "What do you mean, it is understandable? Why the devil does he not explain himself?"

Harriet munched a bite of her potatoes and swallowed politely before responding. "I expect it is because he has gotten very tired of everyone always thinking the worst of him. He has decided to actively encourage them to do so. It is his perverse notion of amusement, you see."

Gideon smiled faintly and cut into the curried rabbit on his plate.

"That is ridiculous," Lady Hardcastle whispered. She gave her son a searching glance.

Harriet took a sip of her wine. "Not ridiculous, precisely. One can see how he got in the habit of it. He is very stubborn. And very arrogant. And inclined to be far too secretive about his plans. It does make things difficult from time to time."

"Charming, madam." Gideon inclined his head mockingly. "Ah, the early blissful days of married life when one's wife sees only the best qualities in her new husband. One wonders what you will think of me a year hence."

The earl paid no attention to Gideon. His gaze sharpened as he fixed it on Harriet. "I am told that your engagement to my son came about under somewhat unusual circumstances. Was that a deliberate misunderstanding, too?"

"Hardcastle, really," Lady Hardcastle admonished, her expression anxious. "That is hardly a suitable subject for the dinner table."

Harriet waved off her hostess's concern with a cheerful gesture. "Not at all. I do not mind discussing the circumstances of my engagement. It was all an unfortunate chain of events precipitated by me. I wound up quite hopelessly compromised and poor St. Justin was left with no honorable alternative but to marry me. We plan to make the best of things, do we not, my lord?" She smiled encouragingly at Gideon.

"Yes," Gideon said. "That is certainly our intention. And I must say, the best is not half bad. At least not at the moment. I feel certain Harriet will adjust to marriage quite adequately, given time."

"Hah," Harriet retorted. "It is you who will be doing the adjusting, sir."

Gideon's brows rose in silent challenge.

"Just what were the actual events that led to your engagement?" the earl asked ominously.

"Well," Harriet said, "St. Justin had set a trap to catch a ring of thieves that were using my caves to hide stolen goods."

"Hardcastle caves," Gideon corrected dryly.

"Thieves?" Lady Hardcastle looked baffled. "What on earth is this about thieves?"

"What's this?" The earl glared at Gideon. "I was not told of any thieves on Hardcastle lands."

Gideon lifted one large shoulder in a massive, utterly negligent shrug. "You have not demonstrated much interest in what happens on your estates for some time now, sir. I saw no need to bother you with the details."

Hardcastle's eyes glittered with anger. "Bloody damned arrogant of you, Gideon."

"Precisely my point." Harriet looked at Hardcastle with approval for his perceptive observation. "He has a strong tendency to be that way, sir. Extremely arrogant."

"Finish the tale of the thieves," Hardcastle thundered, sounding a great deal like his son when he was in a foul mood.

"Now I know where he gets the tendency," Harriet murmured.

Gideon grinned. "Tell him the rest of the story, my dear."

"Well," Harriet said obligingly, "The night of the trap, I got taken as a hostage by one of the ring. I will admit it was my fault. But the problem could have been avoided entirely if St. Justin had discussed his plan of action with me ahead of time as I had instructed."

"Dear me." Lady Hardcastle was clearly dazed. "A hostage?"

"Yes. St. Justin dashed heroically into the caves to rescue me, and by the time he got to me the tide had come in, filling the lower portion of the caverns." Harriet looked down the table at Hardcastle's scowling features. "I expect you know the tides around Upper Biddleton, sir."

"I know them." Hardcastle's bushy brows formed a solid line. "Those caves are dangerous."

"I agree with you, sir," Gideon said quietly. "But so far I have had little success in convincing my wife of that fact."

"Rubbish," Harriet snapped. "They are not dangerous if one pays sufficient attention to the tides and to charting one's path inside the cliffs. But, as I was saying, on this particular evening, St. Justin and I got trapped inside and were obliged to spend the night. So, of course, he felt he had to offer for me the next day."

"I see." Lady Hardcastle reached for her wine with fluttering fingers.

"I did my best to talk him out of it," Harriet said, warming to her subject. "I saw no reason I could not live out my days in Upper Biddleton as a ruined woman. After all, that sort of reputation would hardly get in the way of my fossil collecting. But St. Justin was most insistent."

Lady Hardcastle sputtered and nearly choked on her wine. The butler stepped forward in alarm. She waved him off. "I am fine, Hawkins."

The earl's gaze was still riveted on Harriet. "You collect fossils?"

"Yes, I do," Harriet said. She thought she recognized the spark of interest in Hardcastle's gaze. "Are you interested in geological matters, sir?"

"Was at one time. When I lived in Upper Biddleton, as a matter of fact. Found several interesting specimens."

Harriet was instantly intrigued. "Do you still have them, my lord?"

"Oh, yes. They're stored away somewhere. Haven't looked at 'em in years. I daresay Hawkins or the housekeeper could find them. Would you care to see them?"

Harriet bubbled with enthusiasm. She decided she could trust the earl with the secret of her tooth. After all, he was family now. "I should love that above all things, sir. I, myself, have discovered the most interesting tooth. Do you know anything about teeth, my lord?"

"A bit." The earl's eyes grew thoughtful. "What sort of tooth have you got?"

"My tooth is most unusual and I am still trying to identify it," Harriet explained. "It appears to be that of a large lizard, but it does not adhere to the jawbone itself, as is the case with lizards. It is set in a socket. And it appears to be the tooth of a carnivore. A very large carnivore."

"Sockets, eh? And large?" The earl paused. "Crocodile, perhaps?"

"No, sir, I am quite certain it is not a crocodile tooth. I believe it to be that of a reptile, however. A gigantic reptile."

"Very interesting," the earl murmured. "Very interesting, indeed. We shall have to go through my collection and see if I have anything that appears related. Rather forgotten what's in those boxes now."

"Could we go through them after dinner, my lord?" Harriet suggested immediately.

"Well, don't see any reason why not," Hardcastle allowed.

"Thank you, sir," Harriet breathed. "I just happen to have my tooth with me. I had it in my reticule when I was kidnapped. That is to say, when I was taken for a short ride in the country by my friends."