The servant left hastily to do his master’s bidding, wondering all the while what Miss CC was going to think of the news he was about to relay.

“Are you serious?” CC flared in annoyance as Gilbert imparted the news moments later.

“Yes, ma’am,” Gilbert replied respectfully. “They concluded their business and your father invited him to stay. Cook says the meal will be served in about an hour.”

“All right,” she groaned in dismay, accepting the inevitable. “You may tell Father that I’ll be down to join them as soon as I freshen up.”

“I’ll do that, ma’am.” He backed discreetly from her room, leaving his mistress to her thoughts.

When he’d gone, CC stalked to her wardrobe and threw wide the door. Standing, hands on hips, she stared at her vast selection of gowns. She didn’t know why she was concerned about it, but some bit of pride within her refused to allow the arrogant Kincade to see her at less than her very best. He had dismissed her earlier as if she were little more than a guttersnipe, and she was determined to show that pompous fool that she was no easily forgotten rustic miss. Impatiently, she began to sort through her clothing, hoping to find the perfect dress to wear. Spying her favorite yellow silk, CC whisked it from the closet. It was perfect…not too dressy, yet not too ordinary, and the pale yellow-gold was a very good color on her.

She rang for her maid, Anna. When the young girl appeared, she requested a bath be sent up. By the time her bath was ready, CC was waiting, clad only in a silken wrapper.

“Shall I help you bathe, Miss CC?” Anna asked.

“No, but I would like you to lay out the rest of my things before you go,” she instructed, “I’ll be wearing the yellow silk.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The maid quickly set about her task, asking as she did, “Did you see His Lordship, Miss CC?”

“Yes, I saw him.” Her less than enthusiastic answer drew a questioning glance from her servant.

“Did you not think him the most gorgeous man you’ve ever seen?” Anna sighed, her excitement at the handsome lord’s presence obvious.

“Frankly, Anna, I thought the man an overbearing idiot, just like the rest of his breed!” CC snapped shortly.

“Lord Kincade?” The maid was astounded. “But, ma’am, he’s tall and ever so good-looking! Why, I’ve never seen such a fine figure of a man before… And to think he’s a nobleman besides!” Anna remarked dreamily.

“And there’s the rub,” CC retorted as she slipped out of her robe and stepped into the bathtub.

“If you say so,” the servant quickly demurred, not wanting to incur her wrath. “But, frankly, Miss CC, I wouldn’t mind a handsome lord like him sweeping me off my feet and taking me back to live on his estate in England!”

“Well, believe me, Anna, you’ll get no competition from me.” She lowered herself carefully into the steaming bath and sighed in contentment as the hot, scented water caressed her. “He’s all yours.”

“If he looks my way, I’ll remember that.” The maid laughed in delight at her own fantasy of the fabulous Lord Kincade carrying her off into the sunset. “Now, will you be needing anything else?”

“No…that’s all, but you might come back in a few minutes to help me with my gown.”

Anna nodded and disappeared from the room to allow her mistress her privacy.

Though CC knew she should hurry in order to help her father entertain his guest, she found the bath’s welcoming warmth infinitely preferable to the thought of seeing Lord Kincade again. With leisurely delight, she soaked. It was long minutes later when she finally finished washing and rose in sleek, dripping splendor from the soapy depths of the tub. CC started to reach for the towel Anna had left out for her when she noticed her own reflection in the full-length mirror across the room. She stared at herself with interest, studying her body for the first time with a critical eye. Her breasts were full, but not to the point of being heavy. The trimness of her waist emphasized the firm roundness of her hips, and her legs were slender and shapely. As she wrapped the towel about her, CC felt good about herself. She knew she was an attractive woman, and after she completed her toilette and took the extra time to artfully style her hair up and away from her face tonight, she knew she would feel confident enough to handle the very smug Lord Kincade.

“I can’t imagine what’s keeping CC,” Edward complained as he moved to the doorway of the parlor and glanced up the staircase for what seemed like the hundredth time. “Been well over half an hour now…”

“It seems the way with women.” Noah commiserated easily from where he sat on the sofa.

“Not CC,” he stated flatly, used to his daughter’s punctuality and puzzled by her tardiness.

“Really? Then she must be the exception to the rule.” Noah quirked a brow as he watched his host move about the room. He wondered idly why she was taking so long. Had she been so embarrassed by their earlier run-in that she didn’t want to face him? Noah felt certain that that had to be the reason.

“CC is the exception to many rules, I’m afraid,” he began. “Wait…here she is now.” Edward went swiftly to her as she descended the stairs, and Noah rose from the sofa to acknowledge her as she swept into the room on her father’s arm.

“Good evening, Lord Kincade,” CC said, facing him.

For the briefest of instants, Noah was struck almost speechless. Only the long years of jaded living in London that had perfected his self-control enabled him to maintain his air of cool aloofness as he stared at Cecelia Demorest, for she was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He had thought her most pretty before, but nothing had prepared him for this. Her complexion was creamy and flawless, her burnished hair perfectly coiffed, and her gown fit her exquisitely, molding the sweet curve of her bosom in a caress of golden silk. Noah could only envy the sensuous cloth.

With an effort of will, he kept all expression from his face as he greeted her politely. “Miss Demorest.”

CC’s emerald eyes sparkled with deceptive innocence as she gazed up at him. There was no denying it, she thought with dismay. Anna was right. Lord Kincade definitely was one gorgeous man. Still, CC refused to let herself be affected by his striking good looks. He might have the advantage over the other aristocrats she’d met because of his physical attractiveness, but he was still the arrogant titled Englishman who’d eavesdropped on her conversation, and she wanted nothing to do with him. She would treat him nicely only to please her father, and that was that.

“How wonderful that you could stay and sup with us.” She kept her voice soft to disguise the underlying sarcasm she was feeling.

“It was kind of your father to invite me,” Noah returned, putting her beauty into perspective. Lovely or not, this was the same woman who had voiced such a scathing opinion of him, and quite without provocation. “May I say how lovely you look this evening?” he offered perfunctorily.

“Thank you, my lord,” CC answered with equal coolness, feeling somehow a bit disappointed that he was less than overwhelmed by her. She had wanted to put him in his place, to show him just how sophisticated she really was. Yet he’d given no indication at all, other than his offhand compliment, that he found her in the least attractive. “I do believe the meal is ready to be served. Shall we go into the dining room?”

Leading the way, CC started into the splendidly appointed room and she was surprised when Kincade moved to hold her chair for her. She glanced up at him trying to read his expression, but his features were a mask of polite civility.

“My lord.” She nodded slightly in acknowledgment of his gentlemanly act.

The touch was a simple thing, the mere resting of his hand at the small of her back as he guided her to her seat. Still, the sensation the contact aroused in CC was shocking, and she stiffened in response to it. He had only lightly touched her in a courteous, impersonal gesture, for heaven’s sake, and yet a thrill of excitement tingled through her unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart skipped a beat, and beneath the satiny fabric of her gown, her breasts swelled and tautened, their sensitive peaks pressing pointedly against the restraining confines of the material. Desperately she fought to subdue her rampant reaction.