"Enough for what?" Curling asked derisively. "No court would convict me of rape. It all happened three years ago and she was noth­ing but a whore."

"It is enough for me to insist that you leave London this afternoon. You have another two days to make arrangements to leave England. You are not to return."

Curling stared at him, stunned. "You are as mad as Bloomfield. Why should I leave England?"

Sebastian met his eyes. "Because if you do not I shall take it upon myself to inform your creditors that the company you have formed with the other Princes of Virtue is insolvent and that the shares are worthless."

"But it's not insolvent. The shares are not worthless, damn you, they're worth a bloody fortune."

"They will be worth less than the paper on which they are written by the time I'm finished," Sebastian said. "I have the power and the connections to do it. We both know it."

Curling shook his head, dazed. "This makes no sense. I don't un­derstand any of it. You're trying to banish me from the country be­cause I once tumbled a tavern wench?"

"I believe that at long last, you're beginning to grasp the situa­tion." Sebastian got to his feet. "If you will excuse us, my cousin and I must be on our way."

Jeremy leaped to his feet. He faced Curling. "Make no mistake, Curling. If you do not leave London today, I shall challenge you to a duel. Angelstone has agreed to act as one of my seconds."

Curling's eyes instantly narrowed in fresh speculation. He looked at Sebastian. "Ah, now this makes a bit more sense. It would no doubt amuse you no end if I were to kill a Fleetwood for you, would it not, Angelstone? Is that the little drama you are trying to stage?"

"On the contrary, I would find it extremely tiresome if you man­aged to put a bullet into my cousin." Sebastian walked toward the door. "Because I would then be obliged to issue a challenge to you."

"Goddamn you, Angelstone. Why in hell would you challenge me in order to avenge a Fleetwood?" Curling shouted.

"I'm not precisely certain why," Sebastian admitted. "Something to do with my responsibilities to the family or some such nonsense. I expect my wife could explain it."

Chapter Nineteen

Sebastian got home shortly before dawn. He heard the distant clatter of pans from the kitchens as he went up the stairs. Even as the day was ending for the high-ranking members of the ton, it was just beginning for their servants.

He slowly untied his cravat as he walked down the hall to his bedchamber. He could feel the familiar tension deep inside. This was the hour he hated the most. It was the time when the new day did battle with the night and neither light nor darkness promised hope.

It seemed to Sebastian that he was most aware of the cold place deep inside himself at this hour. The feeling of being forever trapped in an icy gray fog always seemed strongest at dawn.

But it wasn't quite as bad as it had been in the past, he realized. He knew it was because he had Prudence waiting for him. After dawn he would be able to lose himself in her warmth. How had he survived all these years without her?

He opened the door of his bedchamber and saw that the room was not empty. Prudence was asleep in his bed instead of her own. Lucifer was curled up beside her. The cat opened his golden eyes and stared unblinkingly at Sebastian.

Sebastian walked over to the bed and stood looking down at Pru­dence for a moment. Her hair was loose and her night rail had slipped down over one shoulder. She looked soft and warm and forever inno­cent. Because of her he was no longer completely alone.

He turned away from the bed and went across the room to the small table that held the brandy decanter. He poured himself a glass and sat down in front of the window to wait for the dawn.

Lucifer appeared beside the chair. He leaped effortlessly onto Se-bastian's thigh and settled down to watch the silent conflict through the window.

Sebastian stroked the cat and took a sip of brandy.

"Sebastian?"

"I'm home, Prue."

He heard her get out of bed and cross the room to stand behind him. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"Is everything all right?" she asked softly. "Did your meeting with Curling go as you had planned?"

"Yes." Sebastian stopped stroking Lucifer and reached up to clasp her hand. "I believe that he will leave England very soon."

Prudence squeezed his fingers gently. "I knew you would take care of matters, my lord."

"Did you?"

"Yes. You are a fine man, Sebastian. I am very proud to be your wife."

The simple words touched him deep inside, melting more of the ice. "I did it for you, Prue."

"I believe you would have done what you did for Jeremy, even if you had never met me."

He did not want to argue with her, so he said nothing. He took another sip of brandy.

Prudence was silent for a moment. "Do you think you will ever be able to sleep at this hour?"

"Never. I hate the dawn. No matter how bright the day, the cold fog is still out there, waiting."

"It is waiting for everyone, Sebastian. The secret is not to try to face it alone."

He tightened his grip on her hand. Together they watched the light wrestle with the darkness. After a time Sebastian saw that the fog had turned a much paler shade of gray. The morning had arrived.

Sebastian put Lucifer on the floor. Then he rose from the chair, picked Prudence up in his arms, and carried her to the bed. He drew her close, savoring her welcoming warmth.

The news of Curling's departure from London did not cause so much as a ripple of interest among the guests at the Brandon soiree that evening. Prudence remarked upon that fact to Sebastian as they stood together near the window.

Sebastian smiled. "There is no reason anyone else should be par-ticularly concerned with the fact that Curling has left Town suddenly. There is nothing unusual about it."

"Will they show an interest when they hear that he has left the country?"

"Yes," Sebastian said with cool satisfaction. "That will no doubt draw attention." He glanced across the room. "I see Lady Pembroke has arrived."

Prudence lifted her dangling glass to her eyes and spotted Hester. "Yes, so she has." She waved her fan enthusiastically at her friend. "I wonder if she has lined up any new clients for me. Now that your investigation is finished, it is time I turned up an interesting project for us."

"I can do with some peace and quiet for a while." Sebastian nar­rowed his gaze. "Damnation. Here comes Jeremy."

"Where? This silly glass is such a nuisance." Prudence held the fashionable glass up to her eyes again and peered through it. Jeremy was making his way toward them through the throng. He looked eager to reach Sebastian's side. "I do believe you have become something of a hero in your cousin's eyes, my lord, just as you have in Trevor's."

"I can think of other, far more interesting ways in which to amuse myself than playing hero to young men." Sebastian downed the cham­pagne in his glass as Jeremy arrived.

‘"Evening, Lady Angelstone." Jeremy bowed gracefully over Pru­dence's hand.

"Good evening, Jeremy." Prudence smiled at him.

Jeremy gave Sebastian a man-to-man look. "Expect you've heard that Curling left Town this afternoon."

"I heard."

"He'll no doubt be on his way to the Continent before long." Jeremy snatched a glass of champagne off a passing tray. "I suppose that I should be content with seeing him forced out of the country, but I still think the man should be made to pay more dearly for what he did."

"Believe me, Curling will find it hell to be banished from En­gland," Sebastian said. "Especially when he realizes that his newfound fortune will evaporate very quickly."