Page 103 of Ravished

Gideon's mouth curved. "You are certainly persistent, madam. I will tell you once again there is nothing to concern you in this. Everything is under control. Try to have some trust in your poor husband."

"It is not a question of trust, it is a question of common sense." Harriet gazed straight ahead over her mare's ears. "Allow me to tell you that you are not displaying any at the moment." A sudden thought struck her "Gideon, is there something going on here I do not know about? Are you by any chance concocting one of your mysterious schemes?"

"I have a plan, my dear. I usually do. That is all I am prepared to say at the moment."

"Tell me about it," Harriet demanded.

"No," said Gideon.

"Why not? I am your wife. You can trust me."

"It is not a matter of trust." Gideon smiled briefly. "It is a matter of common sense."

Harriet frowned at him. "You do not think I can keep a secret? I am insulted, sir."

"It is not that, my dear. It is just that in this instance, I am convinced it would be best if no one besides myself knew what was planned."

"But you have taken Applegate and Fry into your confidence," Harriet protested.

"Only partially into my confidence. Forgive me, my sweet. But I am accustomed to dealing with things on my own. It is an old habit."

"You have a wife now," she reminded him.

"Believe me, I am well aware of that."

Two evenings later when Harriet entered the Lambsdales' ballroom, she heard the buzz of anticipation and knew she was in for more of the maddening gossip. It was starting to make her frantic.

There had been no sign of Gideon's parents yet. She was beginning to wonder if her message had gone awry or if the animosity between Gideon and his father was so great that the earl would not deign to come to his son's assistance even in a matter of life and death. Or perhaps the earl was not feeling well enough to travel.

There were all sorts of explanations, but the end result was that she was dealing with the disaster of the impending duel alone.

And she was making absolutely no progress trying to break down Gideon's stubborn, autocratic insistence on handling the thing by himself.

Harriet was standing with a small group of friends from the Fossils and Antiquities Society when Felicity found her.

"Applegate and Fry have arrived," Felicity announced. "I saw them a moment ago. I believe they are looking for your husband."

Lady Youngstreet's eyes took on an air of excitement. "This is it, then. Fry said they were going to track Morland down this afternoon one way or another and force him to agree to a time and place."

"Oh, dear," Harriet said, feeling helpless.

"I daresay I have never heard of a duel taking place amid so much publicity before," one of the other members of the group muttered. "Very odd."

Sir George, an expert on femurs, looked grave. "They will have to be cautious or the authorities will discover the time and place. Arrests will be made."

"Good God," Harriet whispered. She was momentarily staggered by the notion of Gideon in prison.

Felicity patted her arm reassuringly. "Do not worry, Harriet. I do not believe St. Justin would have started this unless he knew how to finish it properly."

"That is what he keeps saying." Harriet stood on tiptoe to see if she could spot Gideon. His size usually made it quite easy to find him in a crowd.

He was standing on the far side of the ballroom near the windows. Harriet thought she could just make out the top of Lord Fry's bald head next to him.

A ripple of conversation washed over the crowd. It began at the far side of the ballroom and crested like a wave in Harriet's direction.

The murmur of voices grew louder as the wave rolled toward her.

"What is it?" Harriet asked Felicity. "What is going on?"

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