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With ahis pocket watch She’d risen above her origins It irritated her that he’d brought her back down to them Why had she felt the need to prove herself a very skilled thief?

Why had she even cared about his opinion of her friends or her? Rude and arrogant, he represented everything about the aristocracy that she despised Even Luke’s grandfather, for all the good works he’d done for therandson called friends Still on occasion Frannie couldn’t help but think of hi her hand over the fine, polished wood grain, she re there Until the day she discovered his weakness for lemon drops Then he’d become human in her eyes, especially as on occasion he shared one with her She opened the drahere he’d kept his sweets

"Planning to pilfer so?"

With a small shriek, Frannie pressed her hand to her chest, her heart thudding against her ribs as she spun around in the chair to face her accuser

Arainst the wall in the darkened corner, effectively avoiding what little daylight h theand into the room Thunder boomed and the rain seemed to increase in intensity She didn’t knohy she hadn’t noticed him before, because he filled the corner with his presence "You startled ht that Luke and Jack possessed a co presence, but theirs paled when compared with that of the Duke of Greystone He was not adenied, and the attraction she’d felt bubbling up within her while in the drawing rooain She refused to give into it She’d not allow hiard or her friends Still, she wasn’t childish enough to flounce out She sed hard, deterainst him

"He used to keep sweets hidden here," she said inanely in response to the thickening silence Greystone merely stared at her "The previous earl," she went on to explain "Luke’s grandfather"

Still he held his tongue She closed the drawer and rose fro to be cowed by hi almost as loudly as the storray rain "I used to live here The old gent would sit in that chair right there"--she pointed to a hunter-green upholstered chair near the --"and have e In my youth I lived with a kidsman who I’m quite certain at some point in his life killed soent terrified me"

"Why?"

Ah, a word at last She faced hi much nearer to each other than she’d realized, and she suspected his inquiry was little ht of hie" She shook her head, frustrated by her inability to adequately describe Luke’s grandfather She was much more skilled with the use of numbers than words "Not physically, of course He was tall, like Luke--but with e--but he had such a fierce presence Everything about hirand The homes in which he lived--here and in the country The coach in which he traveled Sometimes he would take me about London with him when he needed to visit with soiven assured me that he was a very powerful man indeed Much like you, Your Grace"

"And powerful er a child to be intie comes the inclination not to care htly, and she suddenly had an insane urge to make him smile fully, even as she feared that he’d heard the lie in her words She couldn’t deny that the aristocracy’s low opinion of her--and her friends--hurt Each of theood deal for others less fortunate, and all of them were fiercely loyal They would die for each other That others overlooked the goodness in them and always expected the worst rubbed raw after a while

"You say that as though you’re ancient," he told her

"I’e of thirty" She didn’t knohy she felt obligated to reveal her age Possibly to ensure he are that he wasn’t dealing with an innocent young miss, but rather a woman who knew her own mind--or at least she had until she’d approached him At that precise moment she wasn’t sure whether she wanted him to stay and entice her nearer or leave before the situation escalated beyond her control Because with him she wasn’t certain she had complete control She wanted to muss his hair, unveil the uncivilized aspect he’d referred to earlier

"Quite old not to beat your skirts," he said

"Oh, I have children" She saw the condemnation flash in his deep blue eyes It irritated her that he’d think the worst She almost didn’t explain herself, but she felt compelled On the one hand, she wanted him to think the very worst of her and on the other she wanted hi she couldn’t explain "I take in orphans Or I will once my children’s home is completed"