Bradford slowly walked into the room. He closed the door and Caroline heard the click. He had locked them both inside. Caroline's heart skipped a beat and she tried to summon up some anger and outrage. She couldn't do either and stood there as still as a statue, waiting for Bradford's next move.

"This is either a nightmare or you have completely lost your mind," Caroline finally said. "Unlock that door and leave, Bradford."

"Not yet, my love." His voice was filled with tenderness. He started toward her and Caroline immediately backed up. Bradford watched her grab her robe and put it on.

He was mildly surprised that she wasn't screaming at him. He had treated her poorly and although his motives had been quite respectable, Caroline couldn't be aware of that. He had publicly scorned her. Why wasn't she throwing things?

Caroline continued to stare at him. A thousand thoughts flew through her mind but she wasn't able to catch a single one. She was, for the first time in her life, completely overwhelmed.

Bradford stopped his advance when he was directly in front of Caroline. He reached out and gently caressed the side of her face with his hand.

"Don't." It was a whisper of pain. Bradford noticed that his hand shook when he let it drop back to his side.

She took another step back while Bradford searched his mind for a way to make her react to him. "I've missed you, Caroline."

Caroline couldn't believe what she had just heard. She shook her head and started to cry. Bradford took hold of Caroline and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry, love. God, I'm sorry," he whispered over and over against the top of her head. His hands couldn't quit touching her, stroking and petting and hugging her against him. Caroline continued to cry, accepting the comfort he offered.

Bradford lifted her chin and used his handkerchief to wipe the wetness from her cheeks. "It's been hard on me, too," he admitted in a whisper.

He placed soft kisses on her forehead and then her nose and finally settled on her mouth. Caroline finally gathered her wits and pulled away.

"Why has it been hard on you?" she asked.

Bradford sighed, wishing he could just continue kissing her instead of explaining. He spotted the rocking chair and walked over to it, pulling Caroline with him. When he was settled and comfortable, with Caroline firmly held on his lap, he smiled with contentment and then began, "Promise me that you'll not interrupt until I have finished."

Caroline nodded, her expression solemn. "I thought that someone was after me. When the carriage overturned and I saw that the wheel had been tampered with, I realized that whoever wanted me dead didn't care who else he took along. I therefore decided to-"

"Why did you believe that someone was after you?" Caroline interrupted.

"You promised to wait until I was finished," Bradford reminded her. "It was my carriage that was tampered with, Caroline, and my coachman who was hit over the head. It was a logical conclusion."

"It was an egotistical conclusion," Caroline interjected.

Bradford shrugged, thinking to himself that she was probably right. "Regardless, I decided to pretend to end the relationship so that everyone would think I had lost interest in you. That way," he said, raising his voice when Caroline opened her mouth to protest, "I could be sure that you wouldn't be used or harmed."

"But why didn't you tell me?" Caroline demanded. She had finally found her temper. Just thinking about the agony he had put her through made her furious.

Bradford saw the change overtake Caroline and braced himself for her wrath.

"You don't have to answer that," Caroline stated in an angry whisper. "I know the reason. It was because you didn't trust me." She removed herself from his lap and stood in front of him. "Admit it, Bradford."

"Caroline, I only wanted to protect you. If I had confided in you, then you might have told someone and put yourself right in the middle." Bradford thought he sounded very logical. His argument made perfect sense to him.

Caroline obviously didn't agree. She glanced about the room, and Bradford thought she might be looking for a weapon.

"Did it ever occur to you that I might have kept the information to myself?" Caroline argued.

"No," Bradford admitted. "And even if I had trusted you in the matter, it wouldn't have worked. You wear your feelings on your face, love, and everyone would have known that you weren't a woman rejected." Bradford reached out and tried to pull Caroline back into his lap. She eluded his grasp. "Caroline, I only had your best interests at heart."

"You mistake my anger, Bradford." Caroline's voice had a chill to it. "When will you learn that I'm not like other women? And when will you decide that you can trust me? You can't possibly form a lasting attachment without trust."

She stood before him, a look of disgust on her face. "You are forever grouping me with the ladies of your past. And I am good and sick of it."

"Sweetheart, you're yelling." Bradford's mild comment infuriated Caroline. "And if you wake your father and he finds me in here, he'll demand that I marry you immediately."

Caroline let out a gasp and Bradford nodded. "Good," Bradford remarked. "I have no desire to be wed tomorrow. Saturday is soon enough, what with all the arrangements to be made."

Caroline couldn't hide her astonishment. "Haven't you heard a single word I've said?"

"I have," Bradford answered. "And I imagine that the entire household is also hearing every word. Now be a good girl and give me the letter. The bed is too close and you are too much of a temptation."

"Lord, I trusted Milford," Caroline muttered in a furious whisper. "I should have known better. If he calls himself your friend, then he's no better than you are."

"The letter, Caroline," Bradford insisted. He stood up and stretched and then started toward her. "Give me the letter and let me decide what is to be done about it."

"You aren't going to decide anything," Caroline announced. "And I'm not going to marry you this Saturday or a year from Saturday. You don't know the meaning of the word love," she declared. "If you did, you would consider my feelings. And you would trust me."

"Caroline, if you say the word trust one more time, I believe I'll strangle you."

The look in Bradford's eyes told Caroline he was more than capable of doing just that. She backed away from him. "Please leave now. We've said enough to each other."

"I agree," Bradford returned. He was frowning now and Caroline thought he really was going to leave. Until he sat down on the edge of the bed and calmly, methodically removed his jacket and then his boots. Then Caroline had to revise her conclusions.

"What are you doing?" Caroline rushed over to the bed and tried to stop him from removing his socks. "You must leave."

"I'm through talking," Bradford told her. He dropped the second boot and grabbed Caroline. She was suddenly on her back, with Bradford looming over her. "I've missed kissing you, Caroline." And then his lips were clinging to hers, forcing her mouth open. Caroline tried to get him to stop, and her struggle became more insistent when his hips settled against hers and she felt the hardness of him against her.

Bradford continued to plunder her mouth, draining her of her resistance. She felt so soft against him, so incredibly good. His hand caressed her breast beneath the thin material and he let out a groan of sheer pleasure.

Caroline wasn't sure just how it happened, but she was divested of her robe and the buttons of her nightgown were opened before she could summon up enough strength to try and stop Bradford.

She pushed against him with her hips, heard his moan, and realized that she was probably giving him pleasure instead of pain. Bradford trapped her legs by using his heavy thigh to restrain her and then lazily kissed a path down the column of her throat.