More than an hour reading the Westgrove Estate titles and entailments left Thomas Wheel with an aching neck. If he acquired the property, those two fields neighboring his two family estates would be perfect   for the Dutch four-crop rotation method. Increased productivity could mean putting the local children in a schoolroom rather than laboring for pennies to help feed their families. The little barn on the property could be converted into a schoolhouse.

                Crowly cleared his throat. The butler was tall and wide and occupied the entire doorway. “Yes, what is it, Crowly?”

                “Sir, I know you said you didn’t wish to be disturbed, but you have a visitor.” Many visitors found the unseemly size of the man intimidating. Crowly was quiet and efficient and that was good enough for a bachelor of Thomas’s standing.

                Thomas pulled the watch from his pocket. Nearly midnight, no decent person called so late. “At this late hour? Send whoever it is away. It is too late for callers.”

                The butler shuffled his feet but did not leave. “Is there a problem, Crowly?”

                “Well, sir, you see, the visitor is a young woman of apparent good breeding. She arrived in a hack and I am reluctant to put her back out   on the street.”

                Thomas stood. “She is alone?” “It would seem so, sir.”

                “Who is it?”

                “The lady refused to provide a card and wishes to speak to you rather urgently.”

                After pulling his jacket from the back of his chair, he dressed himself. “I suppose you had better let the mystery lady in.”

                “Yes. Thank you, sir.” Crowly’s shoulders relaxed.

                Within seconds, a woman draped in a black cape with a hood hiding her face entered the study.

                Thomas stood behind his desk and waited for her to speak, but she fussed with the edge of her cape and shifted her feet. He suspected that she was contemplating running away. “How may I help you?”

                Her head snapped up and her hood fell away. There, standing in his study, was Lady Dorothea Flammel. The amber in her blond hair came  to life in the firelight and Thomas had to grip the back of his chair for balance. He did not know what he had been expecting, but in his wildest dreams he never thought to see Dory in his home. Well, maybe in his dreams, but never in reality.

                Compared to the burly Crowly she looked lost in the doorway. She was petite and her green eyes ringed red as if she’d been crying.

                His initial excitement overshadowed by her distress, his concern mounted. He crossed the room, stopping only when he realized that she backed away from him. “Lady Flammel, what is wrong? Is it Markus?”

                Markus Flammel, Dory’s older brother and one of Thomas’s closest friends, lost his wife during childbirth a year before. The child had lived, but losing Emma had sent Markus into a desperate depression.

                “No. It’s not Markus. He is in the country as far as I know.” She stared at her feet.

                Thomas waited for her to say more, but she pressed her lips together while avoiding his gaze.

                “Perhaps you would like to sit,” he suggested.

                When she looked up, he thought she might run, but then her expression softened and she nodded.

                When he offered her the chair in front of his desk, she skirted away from him to reach the seat. Never had he seen her so out of sorts. He rounded the desk and sat in his office chair.

                The silence in the room was palpable. Thomas cleared his throat and the sudden noise made her jump in her seat. Dory had always appeared so calm and in control, his interest piqued. “Lady Flammel?”

                “Yes?” Snapping her head up, she revealed her wide eyes and pale skin. He smiled. Most women found his smile engaging, but she looked at him with wide eyes and trembling lips, like he’d bared his teeth for the kill. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. “I can only assume that you have come to me for some reason. You risk quite a lot coming to a bachelor’s home, in the middle of the night, in a hack and all alone. You must permit me my curiosity at such an unorthodox act. I have known you most of your life and this is the first time you have arrived on my doorstep. What can I do for you?”

                She sighed. “Perhaps it was a mistake.”

                “Was it?” he asked.

                She stared at him. He had watched her play the pianoforte dozens of times over the past few years. She was an artist of the highest order. Her emotion when she played was enthralling, but away from her instrument she always appeared so calm and controlled. Here in his study that seemed to have escaped her. She was near tears. He wanted to stand up and go to her but he did not wish to scare her. The last thing he wanted was to allow his height to intimidate her.

                “I am in trouble,” she said.

                Anger seared through Thomas. “Who was it? I will cut out his innards.” He pounded his fist on the desk.

                She flinched then waved her hand in a dismissive motion. “Not that kind of trouble, Mr. Wheel.”

                His fury seeped away. Watching her from the shadows for years, her music had drawn him in but those full eyelashes and deep green eyes kept him mesmerized. For a long time, he had yearned to touch the soft skin of her cheek and kiss those delicate ears. It was impossible. She was the daughter of an earl. She would marry a man of her own station, not Mr. Wheel of Middlesex.

                “Perhaps you should just tell me why you are here since you have made the trip. I will help you in any way I am able. I assure you that your presence here will remain our secret. My staff is very discreet.”

                She frowned. “I suppose as you are a bachelor, they would have to be.” There was a bitter twist in her voice.

                He did not comment, though her distaste rang through her statement and the twist of her lips.

                She took a deep breath, making her full bosom rise.

                Distracted for a moment, he then steeled himself and watched her eyes, which he found almost as intriguing.

                She cleared her throat. “I am in need of a husband and I have decided that, if you would not mind, you and I would suit nicely.”