"Why must we he careful, my lord?" Iphiginia gave him a thoroughly exasperated look. "In the eyes of the world nothing has changed. Everyone is convinced that I am a widow and they all believe that I am your mistress. There is no way that anyone in the house can know the truth."

"I know the truth." The truth was that he'd broken his own rules and he would pay the price.

Well at least marriage to Iphiginia would make a change, he thought wryly. His first wife had been a woman of experience who had pretended to be an innocent. This time he would marry an innocent who had masqueraded as a woman of experience.

He ought to take Iphiginia's advice and look on the bright side, Marcus told himself. This time he would be marrying his own mistress rather than one who had belonged to another man.

Marcus scooped up his coat and eyed it glumly. He'd ruined several expensive coats during the past few weeks, thanks to his experiments with his new hydraulic reservoir pen. This was the first one he'd soiled in this particular fashion however.

He'd completely lost his self-control. He had not even remembered to employ the specially designed sheep-gut condom he had brought along in his pocket.

Marcus ignored Iphiginia's searching gaze. He took her hand and led her out of the ruin of the Temple of Vesta.

The night fell softly around them as Marcus walked Iphiginia back to the great house. The stars appeared clear and bright in the sky.

Marcus considered how his life was about to change. He wondered how Bennet would react to the news of his impending nuptials.

At least Iphiginia was unlikely to object to the amount of time he spent in his library and laboratory, he thought philosophically. She would understand.

There might he children. Perhaps even a son to inherit the title. Odd, he had never before cared about having an heir of his own blood. Tonight, however, the prospect of Iphiginia carrying his babe gave him a strange sensation of possessiveness, an awareness of the future that he had not been conscious of until now.

It was a troublesome concept.

"Marcus?" Iphiginia's voice sounded breathless. Marcus realized that he was walking so swiftly she was obliged to skip to keep up with him. "Yes?"

"I realize that you are very angry, my lord. I want you to know that I sincerely regret my actions."

"Hush, Iphiginia."

"I should not have misled you about my past."

"We will talk of this tomorrow. I must think on the matter tonight."

"Yes, my lord. I understand. You are vastly annoyed and no doubt wish to abandon your pretense of being my lover."

"I do not see any alternative." He was going to replace the role of lover with that of husband.

"On the contrary," Iphiginia said swiftly. "There is every reason to continue on with our masquerade."

"That is no longer possible, Iphiginia."

"Come now, sir. You are a very intelligent man." "Do you think so? I, myself, am having some doubts on that particular point."

"Nonsense," Iphiginia said bracingly. "You are really quite clever. There can he no question about the powers of your intellect."

"Hmm."

"And although you are angry, I know you will not allow your emotions to dominate. your keen sense of reason."

"I appreciate your confidence in my brain," he said gravely.

"Yes, well, the thing is, I would like to remind you that I had a very good excuse for pretending to he both a widow and your mistress."

"This is not the best time to remind me of your talent as an actress." They were almost back to the terrace. Marcus saw that most of the lights on the upper floors were out. The guests were abed. It should not he difficult to get Iphiginia back to her bedchamber unseen.

"Sir, I must ask you to keep in mind that my reason for undertaking the role of your mistress-in-name-only still exists. We must maintain the pretense until we discover the identity of the blackmailer. I trust you will not do anything rash?"

"Rash?"

Iphiginia's eyes were wide and luminous in the shadows. "I pray you will not terminate our liaison so far as Society is concerned. You will allow our pretense to stand, will you not?"

Her obvious failure to comprehend the ramifications of what had just happened on the floor of the Temple of Vesta caused Marcus to lose what was left of his patience.

"Miss Bright, I would like to remind you that you have a new and potentially far more significant problem on your hands than you had an hour ago."

She blinked uncertainly. "I beg your pardon?" "You are no longer a mistress-in-name-only."

She looked blank for an instant. Then realization dawned. "Oh, I see what you mean."

"Do you, Miss Bright?"

"Yes, of course." She lowered her eyes, apparently fascinated with the pleats of his shirt. "But I do not see that one extremely brief little interlude that did not amount to much need alter the nature of our association in any way."

"Damnation, Iphiginia-" "Marcus, please." She raised a hand as though to touch his cheek and then apparently changed her mind. "I know that you did not enjoy what happened back there in the ruin."

"My pleasure or lack of same is the least important element in this situation," he said roughly. "I do not believe that you quite grasp the enormity of the problem."

"But I do, my lord. I mean, I realize precisely how unnerving, indeed, how very alarming your collapse must have been for you. Heavens, for a moment there, I believed that you had died or at the very least had suffered a fit of apoplexy."

"Apoplexy. Christ. I am going mad. There can no longer he any doubt."

"You must believe me when I say that I had no notion that your discovery that I was a virgin would have such a debilitating effect on you. I am truly sorry, my lord."

Marcus reached the balustrade that surrounded the terrace. He came to a halt and looked at Iphiginia. Her conversation had become riveting in some strange, demented fashion. He was literally fascinated.

"Quite right," he agreed. "How could you have known just what your virginity would do to my delicate sensibilities?"

"Precisely." She smiled her brilliant smile. "But you have assured me that you are all right now. You were being truthful, were you not?"

"I do seem to have made a rather remarkable recovery, considering the circumstances."

"Excellent. I know the entire affair must have given you quite a shock."

"A shock." He nodded once. "Yes, that describes it very well."

"And it no doubt frightened you. But set your mind at case, sir. I can assure you that there is no cause for further concern."

Marcus put one hand on the balustrade and gripped it very tightly. "Why not?"

"Because you have my word of honor that I will make no further demands of an, ah-" she paused to gently clear her throat, "of an amorous nature upon you."

He contemplated her expectant face for some time. He could not recall another female who had robbed him so thoroughly of speech.

"That is very thoughtful of you, Miss Bright." "Think nothing of it," she said graciously. Then she leaned closer and lowered her voice to a more confidential tone. "To he perfectly frank, I did not find our little interlude all that pleasant, either, and I assure you that I am in no great rush to repeat it."

Marcus went cold inside. The "interlude," as she termed it, had been a debacle. On top of everything else, he had ruined her first experience of passion for her.

In spite of his initial anger and the devastating knowledge that his fife had been irrevocably changed by her deception, Marcus felt a rush of guilt. His only goal tonight had been to give her pleasure even as he took his own. He had faded.

"Iphiginia, I regret the unpleasant nature of the experience. If I had known-"

"No, please." She put her fingers over his mouth to silence him, "You must not apologize. Had I truly been what I pretended to be, a widow well acquainted with the intimacies of the marriage bed, I would have been better able to mile the calculations."