And for his kiss, Gideon reminded himself. A wave of heat seized him again, just as it had in the cavern. She had responded to his kiss with the same enthusiasm and sense of wonder that she had exhibited for that damn moldering tooth.
Gideon smiled wryly. He could not decide if he should be flattered or crushed at discovering that he compared favorably with an old fossil.
He started toward the window and paused when he caught sight of himself in the mirror that hung over the hearth. Normally he did not spend much time gazing at his own reflection. It was hardly an edifying sight.
But this afternoon he found himself deeply curious and not a little baffled by just what Harriet saw when she looked at him. Whatever it was, it had not put her off kissing him. And he knew she had not manufactured that sweet, innocent ardor. It had been utterly genuine.
No, for some unfathomable reason, she had not been repulsed by his face. It was his deliberate and ungentle-manly threat to strip her naked and take her there on the floor of the cave that had finally succeeded in making her wary.
Gideon winced at the recollection of his own outrageous behavior. Sometimes he could not help himself. Something within him occasionally drove him to live up to the worst that was expected of him.
Yet in his own way, he had been trying to warn her off, to protect her, although she probably did not comprehend that.
Because he had wanted her. Very badly.
He had probably been a fool to send her into full flight. He should have taken what she had to offer, and the hell with playing the gentleman. No one believed him to be one, so why, after all these years, was he still bothering to play the role in his own graceless fashion?
Gideon could not answer that question to his satisfaction. He called himself a fool one more time and then he forced himself to turn to more important matters. He had a ring of thieves that needed to be apprehended. If he did not attend to the business soon, Harriet would probably try her hand at the job.
At the very least, she would no doubt start nagging him to get on with the job.
The following evening Harriet surveyed the crowd of local country gentry who had gathered for the weekly assembly ball. She and Aunt Effie had been faithfully attending the assemblies for several months now with Felicity in tow. Harriet found them unutterably boring, for the most part.
It had been Aunt Effie's idea to give Felicity as much of a social polish as possible in the event the long-hoped-for invitation to London came from Aunt Adelaide. The local assemblies were the only opportunity provided locally to practice such fine arts as the proper use of the fan. Felicity had a talent for such skills.
Harriet always found her own fan to be a nuisance. It was always in the way.
Tonight's affair was no different from previous such events. Harriet understood the reason Aunt Effie insisted on attending, but she privately was not convinced Felicity was going to pick up a great deal of social polish here in Upper Biddleton.
There was no waltzing, for example. Everyone knew the waltz was now all the rage in London. But here in Upper Biddleton couples were still limited to dancing the cotillion and the quadrille and assorted country dances. The waltz was viewed as shocking by the local ladies of society.
"Quite a good crowd tonight, don't you think?" Aunt Effie fanned herself while she cast an assessing eye around the room. "And Felicity is looking quite the best of them all. She will no doubt dance every dance, as usual."
"No doubt," Harriet agreed. She was seated next to her aunt watching the dancers and she was already sneaking glances at the small watch pinned to her rather staid gown. She tried not to be obvious about it, however. Getting Felicity launched was an all-important task and she was as determined as Aunt Effie to be ready should Felicity's big chance arise.
"I must remind her to exhibit a bit less enthusiasm on the dance floor," Aunt Effie continued with a tiny frown. "One does not show quite so much emotion in Town. It is not done."
"You know how much Felicity enjoys dancing."
"All the same," Aunt Effie said, "she must start practicing a more restrained expression."
Harriet sighed inwardly and hoped the refreshments would be served soon. So far she had not danced once, which was not unusual, and she was looking forward to a break in the monotony. The tea and sandwiches served at the local assemblies were not particularly inspiring, but they did provide a small diversion.
"Gracious, here comes Mr. Venable," Aunt Effie murmured. "Best prepare yourself, my dear."
Harriet glanced up to see an elderly man in an old-fashioned plum-colored jacket and green waistcoat lumbering across the room in her direction. Her eyes narrowed. "He'll want to interrogate me on my recent finds, I suppose."
"You need not chat with him, you know."
"I might as well. If he does not manage to corner me tonight, I shall probably find him waiting for me after church on Sunday. You know how persistent he is." Harriet smiled grimly at Mr. Venable, who smiled just as menacingly in return.
The two were old adversaries. Venable had been an avid fossil collector for years until an unfortunate accident in the caves had given him a fear of the cliff caverns.
He was obliged to limit his collecting to the beach these days and the truth was, he had made no major finds in years. That did not, however, prevent him from trying to convince Harriet that she needed him to oversee and direct her own work. Harriet was on to his tricks. Fossil hunters were a shameless lot and she was constantly on her guard around collectors such as Mr. Venable.
"Good evening, Miss Pomeroy." Mr. Venable bent stiffly over her hand. "I wonder if I might have the pleasure of procuring you a cup of tea."
"Thank you, sir, that would be lovely." Harriet rose to her feet and allowed Venable to lead her over to the refreshment table, where he promptly fetched her a cup of tea.
"How have you been, my dear?" Venable's smile was a trifle oily. "Hard at work in the caves, I presume?"
"I go into them when I have the time." Harriet smiled blandly. "You know how it is, sir. We have a busy household and my fossil collecting opportunities are rare these days."
Venable's eyes glittered. He knew she was lying, of course. This was an old game they had played for some time. "Did I tell you I am thinking of contacting a colleague of mine in the Royal Society about presenting a paper on our local fossils?"
Harriet blinked warily. "No, you did not. Are you planning to present a paper to the Society, sir?"
"I'll admit I have toyed with the notion. Very busy, of course." Venable swallowed a small sandwich in one gulp. "One needs time for that sort of thing."
"And a few interesting and unusual fossils," Harriet retorted coolly. "Have you found anything of note recently?"
"One or two items." Venable rocked on his heels and looked wise. "One or two. And you, my dear?"
Harriet smiled. "Why, nothing at all, I fear. As I said, I have so little time these days for collecting."
Venable was clearly searching for a way to probe further when a hush fell over the room. Harriet glanced around curiously. The music had just stopped, but that did not explain the sudden stillness that gripped the crowd. She realized all eyes were directed toward the door.
"Good God," Venable exclaimed in a startled tone. "It's St. Justin. What the devil is he doing here?"
Harriet's gaze flew to the entrance of the crowded room. Gideon stood there, a great predatory beast of the night that had wandered into a room full of prey.
He was dressed in stark black from his polished Hessians to his expertly tailored black jacket. Only his crisp, white cravat and white pleated shirt afforded relief from the overall impression of darkness. He swept the crowd with cold calculation.
"Haven't seen him in years," Venable muttered. "But I would recognize that hellacious scar anywhere. I had heard he was in the neighborhood. Damned great nerve to just drop in here tonight as if it were quite the ordinary thing."