"I see." She sank down onto the edge of the cot.

"My client's attitude toward me became almost paternal. He not only gave me a fine position, he offered to let me live in his great house. I told him that I could not leave my brother and sisters." Adam shook his head reminiscently. "So Wilson took us all in to live with him."

"It sounds as if you and your siblings filled up a portion of the empty space in his heart that had no doubt been created by the loss of his own family."

"He said something very much like that to me once a few years ago. It was his idea to claim us all as long-lost relatives. It was a bold scheme. I told him it would never work. But he had the power to put it into effect. He hired tutors, dancing instructors and a long list of experts to give us all a proper education and put a polish on us. In the end he made us the heirs to his fortune"

"What a fascinating series of startling incidents," she exclaimed.

"Perhaps it sounds that way in the telling, but I assure you, it did not feel that way while we were living through those incidents."

"No, of course not," she said gently: "So much sadness and loss. So much uncertainty and danger. Believe me, sir, I comprehend very well that your life does not feel like a work of fiction to you. I am honored by your confidence. I will not betray it."

He watched her very steadily. "If I had not believed that I could trust you, I would never have told you about my past."

"I think I can guess what is in that diary that you are trying to recover. It is the truth about your past and the pasts of your brother and sisters, correct?"

"Yes. Maud knew the facts. She evidently wrote them down in her journal. Elizabeth Delmont read that journal and tried to use the information to blackmail me"

"No wonder you wish to recover that diary."

"Wilson assures me that our family is sufficiently powerful to be able to deal with any scandal that may erupt. He is right. But I fear it will not be as simple as he believes. Julia is the Countess of Southwood. She has her husband to protect her. But Jessica is on the verge of making her debut into the Polite World. Who knows what kind of gossip she would face if it got out that she had been found in a heap of trash?"

"Scandal is always hard to handle. It would be especially difficult for a young woman who is facing all of the pressures that must come with moving into elevated social circles."

"As for Nathan, he is drawn to the world of academic writing and study. In order to pursue his interests he will find it necessary to join certain exclusive scholarly societies. I suspect he will not be readily accepted into them if it is discovered that he was once put out to beg on the streets."

"Naturally you wish to protect your brother and sisters. I am lost in admiration of your noble nature and determination to protect your family."

His mouth curved ruefully. "It is certainly true that I am determined to shield my family as much as possible, but there is nothing noble about my intention. It is my responsibility to protect them."

She nodded. "Of course you would see it that way."

"You are the one who commands my admiration, Caroline"

She was taken aback by the seriousness of his tone.

"Forgive me, but I was under the impression that you did not think highly of the manner in which I make my living." He ignored that. "You have survived a great deal of loss and many difficulties yet you have triumphed resoundingly^" "I could not have done it alone," she said quietly. "If I had not had Aunt Emma and Aunt Milly, my life would have taken an entirely different turn, I assure you."

"Just as mine would have done had it not been for Wilson Grendon. But that does not lessen your own accomplishments. You have overcome a great scandal, and you have people who love you and to whom you are loyal. You have used your creativity and intelligence to craft an interesting career for yourself. All of those things add up to a great triumph, Caroline.^"

She did not know what to say. She could feel herself turning warm. No man had ever complimented her in such a touching, sincere manner. She knew that he meant every word.

And yet, she thought wistfully, those were not quite the sentiments that she wanted to hear from him.

"Very kind of you to say so," she managed in her most formal tones.

"You asked me why I brought you here tonight.^" He walked toward her. "I told myself that it was because I had more or less coerced you into revealing some of your own secrets and that it was only right to reciprocate. But that is not the whole of it"

The atmosphere in the room changed in some indefinable way, becoming more intimate and close. A deep sense of knowing swept through her, bringing her to her feet. Something important was happening between them, she realized.

When he reached her, he raised both hands and cradled her face between them.

"The truth is that I wanted you to know that I am not the man you believed me to be that first day when I descended on you in your study and tried to intimidate you into giving me information."

"I see." She could not think of anything else to say. She was so aware of the heat and power in his hands that she could scarcely draw breath, let alone form coherent sentences.

"I realize that I may strike you as merely another selfish, arrogant member of the privileged class. And I will admit that these days I move in those circles. But I was not born into them, Caroline. I wear the right clothes, belong to the right clubs and do business with the right people, but deep down, I will always be an outsider. I know that, even if those with whom I associate do not"

She lifted her hands and clasped his wrists. "I under-stand."

"I brought you here because I wanted you to comprehend that I do know what it is like to struggle and fight very hard to survive. Indeed, I have done things to achieve those goals that would shock you to the core of your soul."

"I cannot believe that."

"Believe it," he said harshly. "I will not burden you with those secrets. But what I want you to understand tonight is that I have not forgotten the lessons I learned while I lived in this room. I will never forget them. They are part of who and what I have become"

She sighed. "You may be arrogant. You are certainly strong-willed, even stubborn on occasion. But I am well aware that you are not one of those men who would take advantage of a woman, use her for your own selfish purposes and then call down shame and scandal upon her head when you have finished with her."

He tightened his hands very gently, tipping her head back a little. "Can I gather from that statement that you no longer believe that I am a threat to you and your aunts?"

"You would not destroy the three of us on a whim or a mere suspicion. I know now that you are a man who will settle only for the truth."

She felt some of the fierce tension in him ease. He stroked one thumb along the under edge of her lower lip.

"Thank you for that much," he whispered roughly. "Out of curiosity, what was it that made you conclude that I could be trusted?"

She wrinkled her nose. "If you must know, my intuition told me as much right from the start of this business, even though you gave me a false name. Logic and common sense held me back, of course"

"Of course," he agreed.

"There were others to be considered besides myself," she reminded him.

"Emma and Milly."

"Precisely. This evening, however, I feared that in your anger toward Mrs. Toller you might take the risk of trying to expose her prematurely. I did not want to be responsible for jeopardizing your investigation."

"So you told me one of your secrets"

"Yes."

"And now I have told you a few of mine." His gaze softened and heated like green glass in a furnace. "But there is another secret that I would confide in you tonight" Anticipation sparkled and shivered through her. "What is that?"