“Highwaymen?" she asked, and couldn't hide the hopeful note from her tone."In the middle of the day?""So they're desperate."Being robbed wouldn't be pleasant, but it would actually be preferable compared to an angry criminal running them down from his stolen property."That would be the logical assumption, Becca,if we didn't just leave the house of a confirmed mass murderer.""So you did find the evidence you were after?""It's in the book I asked you to smuggle out. Considering how quickly we left,my guess would be that Mary Pearson immediately mentioned to her husband that she'd put you in their bedroom, and that I entered it as well. Samuel would have gone straight upstairs in that case to check on the imcriminating ledger he'd carelessly left lying on the desk.""And found it gone," she said with a resigned sigh."Don't sound so aggrieved. We'll be fine."She could have screamed at him like a harpy for that ridiculous assessment. With two more shots fired at them, her fear was rising fast. It had been the same back at the Pearson house. The moment Rupert had warned that he'd disabled one of the servants,meaning they could be found out at any moment, her nausea had abruptly ended. Incredible. Did the sudden rush of fear do that? Not that she was going to seek out things to frighten her just to get through this pregnancy a little easier, but it as an interesting side effect. She could at least test the theory at home by having Flora try to startle her or...what the deuce was she doing thinking about things that might never happen when she could end up dead in minutes?”

“Are you ready to discuss what you're doing here?""Certainly-with your daughter." He suddenly swept Rebecca into his arms and carried her out of the room."Now just a minute!" Lilly protested behind the,.Rupert didn't stop,in fact, he as nearly running up the stairs to the second floor. Incredulous,Rebecca pointed out, "She might follow us.""She won't," he replied with typical male confidencec. "I suppose I'll have to try each of these doors to find out which one is yours,just as you did at my house."He was doing just that,but she said, "Or you could ask."He glanced down at her. "And you'd tell me?""Why don't you try that one." She nodded toward the door he'd been about to open.”

“You don't look like a Rupert."Startled,he raised a black brow at her. "Dare I ask what I look like to you?""A hungry wolf."He didn't laugh at the description, but he did abruptly release her. "Wolf, perhaps," he said drily. "Hungry? Not at the moment."She had enough sense to guess she'd just been insulted. Had she touched a nerve perhaps? Good,because he was certainly touching too many of hers.Regaining her balance after stumbling back from him,she went to straighten her skirt in an indignant manner,but forgot she wasn't wearing one.How could she appear to be offended while she was wearing britches? She settled for grabbing the hat off the floor and shoving it back down on her head.The very idea! Not hungry at the moment? As if she didn't know he was implying she wasn't to his taste.”

“She thought I should woo you into removing the mask I told her you were wearing."She'd managed to surprise him yet again, to go by his expression and the lambent look that entered his eyes. "That sounds entirely too interesting. You have my rapt attention. Woo away.""I wouldn't know how," she admitted, lowering her head and suddenly feeling embarrassed."Move a little closer,m'dear. I promise I'll get the message."Her head shot back up. "You're entirely too bold,Rupert St. John.""I know.It's wonderful,isn't it?"She rolled her eyes. She supposed this Rupert was much preferable to the dangerous one she'd briefly met in Nigel's room.But which was the real St. John?Aware that the dance was going to end at any moment,she said, "Now it's my turn.Are you really a spy?""Good God,do you really think I'd say so if I was?" he replied,aghast, which was obviously feigned."I thought we were being honest.""No,you are being honest. I'm merely being delighted by it."Rebecca gritted her teeth. He'd finally managed to provoke her ire with his evasiveness. She stopped dancing, pulled away from his hands,and walked away.But she heard him call softly after her, "Wait! You haven't heard my dire warnings!""Keep them," she shot back. "I wouldn't believe them anyway."DId he have to laugh at that?”

“What is Chad short for?" she found herself asking out of pure nervousness."Short for?""It's a nickname,isn't it?""No,darlin',it doesn't get any longer."She heard the humor in his tone,which annoyed her.It had been a natural mistake. The name didn't usually stand on its own.And she should take him to task over that "darlin'," except she'd heard for herself how common the use of that word was out here,no different than the old-timers calling her "missy," or the train attendant calling her "ma'am." It meant nothing. There wasn't a speck of endearment in it."Thank you for clearing that up for me," she said a bit stiffly."My pleasure."She had a feeling he would have tipped his hat if he'd been wearing it just then rather than holding it in his hand. She'd like to tip his rocker over. He could be so damn irritating-no,it probably wasn't even him, it was her reaction to him,her nervousness, her-wanting him when she knew she couldn't have him.”

“She'd barely sat down when he reminded her of that kiss: "Couldn't find any mud?" He said it so casually, she couldn't tell if he was teasing."Behave," she hissed at him."Never." He grinned at her.That brought on a slight blush, which in turn brought back her earlier frustration. "If trying to punish me by making me want you,I won't fall for that again," she warned him."Do you want me?"What a ridiculous question. How could she not want him? But she wasn't telling him that. For him to even ask proved his intent was wicked in some form. "Be at ease,Becca." Then he completely ruined that by adding, "I'm not going to ravish you here at the table, though I confess,I'll probably be thinking about nothing else."She could have melted off the chair right to the floor, and not just from the scalding blush that flew up her cheeks. She was seeing him in her mind making love to her on the table! She couldn't look down at the table without seeing it now! Oh,God...She had no iea how she got through that meal. She barely heard a word around her.”

“What do you do for Nigel Jennings?"There was no pause at all. "I'm his tailer," he answered immediately."You're nothing of the sort."Rupert gave her a cheeky grin. "Meant to say, he's my tailor."She cast him a thoughtful look. "Interesting that you would lie about it.""You call joking lying?""Evasion is a form of deceit.""Interesting that you would see it that way." He gave her back her own words. She almost laughed.While he hadn't answered her question any more truthfully than she had answered his, he surprised her by not pursuing his inquiry about why she had been on Wigmore Street. Fingering a white silk yarn within his reach, he said, "I'll take a vest in this if you run out of ideas to ply your needle toward."She couldn't help but grin. "Will you indeed? But that implies a gift-"He cut in, "Consider it an early Christmas present," and actually sounded serious."I don't make presents for mere aquaintances.""We're more'n that.""We aren't.""Of course we are,or do you make a habit of kissing mere aquaintances?"She huffed. "You did the kissing, not I."He was grinning again. "You fully participated,Becca. Don't even try to deny it.”