"Not quite, my dear," Hester had said. "The assumption is that Angelstone is refraining from putting a bullet in poor Trevor because he is reluctant to cause you distress."

"I don't understand."

Hester sighed. "It's perfectly obvious, Prue. Everyone believes Angelstone is indulging you for the moment because they believe you are marked as the Fallen Angel's next victim."

"Nonsense." But Prudence had been acutely conscious of the shock of excitement that had shimmered through her. It was madness to entertain the notion that Angelstone might have anything other than an amused, intellectual interest in her. Nevertheless, she could not put the memory of his kiss out of her head.

Tonight she was determined to confront him on the subject of the way in which he was treating Trevor. She intended to be quite firm.

Sebastian now contemplated Prudence's resolute expression. "If you will recall the terms of our bargain, Miss Merryweather, you will remember that you did not specify exactly how I was to avoid future duels with your brother."

"It did not occur to me that Trevor would make a fool of himself by continuing to challenge you. He was so anxious after he called you out the first time that I assumed he would be grateful to have escaped unscathed. I hoped that he would take pains to avoid a future encoun­ter."

"Forgive me for saying so, Miss Merryweather, but I fear you don't know much about the workings of the male brain."

"Not about the workings of the immature male brain," she said. "I'll grant you that much. And it seems to me, sir, that your approach to dealing with my brother is no more mature than his is in dealing with you. I won't have you amusing yourself at my brother's expense."

"Is that right?"

"Yes. And while we're on the subject, I would also like to inform you that I will not allow you to amuse yourself with me, either." She felt herself turn pink, but she held her ground. "Just in case you have taken a notion to do so."

"How will you stop me?" Sebastian asked with grave interest.

"If need be, I shall put a stop to this nonsense once and for all by declining your invitations to dance." She lifted her chin in challenge. "Perhaps I shall cease speaking to you altogether."

"Come, now, Miss Merryweather. Don't make threats you will be unable to carry .out. You know that you would soon be as bored as I am at these affairs if you were to cut me dead."

"I'm certain I could find one or two other interesting people with whom I would enjoy conversing," she said. But her words were spoken out of sheer bravado and she suspected he knew it.

It was Sebastian who made the endless round of soirees and balls bearable. It had gotten to the point where Prudence actually looked forward to going out in the evenings now because she knew he would turn up at one or more of the parties she was attending.

Sebastian's eyes glittered with a knowing expression. He took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor. "Look around you, Miss Merryweather. There is no one else here tonight who shares your interests. No one else with whom you can discuss techniques of inves­tigation. As far as the ton is concerned, you are merely a new and quaintly amusing toy."

She searched his face. "I rather suspect that is all I am to you, too, my lord."

Sebastian swept her into the waltz. "Unlike many others here to­night, I know how to take care of my toys. I do not take pleasure in breaking them and then discarding them."

Prudence caught her breath. "What is that supposed to mean, sir?"

"It means you are safe enough with me, Prue," he said softly. "And so is your annoying young pup of a brother."

Not knowing how to take the first part of that vow, Prudence seized on the latter. "Then you will cease tormenting Trevor?"

"Never fear. Sooner or later he'll figure out that when I want something, I do not let anything get in my way. Eventually he will desist. Now, then, I have been thinking about our last conversation and I have another question for you."

Prudence eyed him uncertainly. "What is that?"

"You said you found the Pembroke jewels beneath a wooden floor­board while looking for signs of spectral phenomena. I doubt that you tore up every board in the house looking for a ghost."

"No, of course not," she agreed.

"Then how did you know which boards to remove?"

"Oh, that was easy, my lord," she said. "I rapped."

"Rapped?"

Prudence chuckled. "With a cane. The legend of the Pembroke jewels was connected to the Pembroke ghost, you see. I knew that if I could find the jewels, I might be able to prove or disprove the tales of the ghost."

"So you went looking for the jewels in hopes of finding the ghost. Naturally you reasoned that the jewels, if they were still hidden some­where in the house, would have to be in a concealed safe of some sort."

"And a safe hidden in the floorboards or the walls would likely produce a hollow sound when I rapped on the wood above it," Pru­dence concluded happily.

"Very logical." There was genuine admiration in Sebastian's gaze.

"I went through the entire house with a stout cane and rapped on every wall and every floor. When I discovered a place that sounded hollow, I instructed that the boards be removed. The jewels were hidden in a secret opening beneath one of them. Lady Pembroke's grandfather had forgotten to pass the secret of his hiding place down to his descendants, so the jewels had been lost."

"Very clever." Sebastian looked down at her with cool approval. "I'm impressed."

Prudence's flush deepened at the praise. "I am happy for Lady

Pembroke, of course, but I must admit it was rather disappointing not to find some evidence of spectral phenomena."

Sebastian's smile was ironic. "I'm certain Lady Pembroke would far rather have the jewels than the Pembroke ghost."

"That's what she says."

"How did you become interested in such an unusual hobby?" Se­bastian asked.

"The influence of my parents, I suppose." Prudence smiled remi-niscently. "They were both devoted to the subject of natural philoso­phy. My father studied meteorological phenomena. My mother made extensive observations on the species of animals and birds that lived in the vicinity of our farm."

Sebastian watched her intently. "And they taught you how to make observations?"

"Yes. And how to conduct a logical investigation to discover the answer to a question. They were very expert at that sort of thing." Prudence smiled proudly. "Both of them had papers published in the journals of several important scientific societies."

"My father had portions of some of his journals published," Sebas­tian said slowly.

"Really? What sort of studies did he carry out?"

"He kept extensive records of his travels and explorations. Many of them were of interest to scientific societies."

"How exciting." Prudence was fascinated. "I collect you were al­lowed to accompany him on his travels?"

Sebastian smiled briefly. "When I was growing up my father took all of us—my mother, myself, and my little brother—with him nearly everywhere he went. Mother had the knack of being able to make a home in the middle of a desert or on an island in the South Seas."

"What happened when you grew older?"

"My mother and brother continued to travel with my father. But I went off on my own. I looked for interesting investment opportunities in foreign ports. I did some observations of terrain for the military during the war. That sort of thing."

"I envy you the sights you must have seen and things you must have learned," Prudence said.

"It's true that I learned a great deal about the world." Sebastian's eyes were as hard, brilliant, and cold as faceted gems. "But the price of my education was too high."

"I don't understand," Prudence whispered.