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“My dear, what do you have against going to Castle Marin? The Earl of Nevin is wealthy, and the castle is mentioned in the guidebooks as worthy of a visit.”

Leona compressed her lips. How could she tell Sir Nathan that she feared Mr. Deveraux more than she feared the Norths? That she feared him as a man? She sucked in her breath sharply. Until now, that was something she’d refused to acknowledge.

“I have a duty to my family. There is much to do at Lion’s Gate this spring. New tenants to find, fields to be planted, repairs to be made. I cannot see to those things if I am immured in Castle Marin.”

“Brother, could not Miss Leonard and Miss Sprockett stay here at Furleigh House as our guests?” suggested Miss Cruikston. She smiled warmly at Leona.

Leona had not calculated on that as a proffered solution.

She looked at Miss Cruikston. There was an alarming eagerness in the woman’s eyes, and its import dawned on Leona.

Though bound by duty to care for her widowed brother and family, she was not content to reside in the country. If she could see her brother suitably wed, she would be free to resume her life in London. And she saw Leona as the bride

“Oh, I could not possibly,” Leona demurred.

“Of course you could, Miss Leonard. We should be delighted to have you as our guest. You should have no fear for your safety here—Nathan would guard your life well.”

Too well and too closely, Leona thought acidly.

“If the Norths are as ruthless as Mr. Deveraux believes, I could not bear to put your children’s lives in danger, as my presence well may.

What if they were to get the notion to kidnap one of them?

No, no. Your kind offer most touches me, but I must decline.

My conscience would never forgive me if anything happened. ”

“But weren’t you just arguing that nothing would happen?”

Hoisted by her own petard. “And so I still believe, but I will admit to you I would not sleep well at night here for wondering if I might be wrong.”

Pleased to see they had no response to that argument, she began to breathe easier.

“There is also her sister and brother-in-law,” Maria said slowly, the gleam of mischief in her eyes.

Leona glared at her.

“Brother-in-law? I didn’t realize you had other relations in the country, Miss Leonard, what with the estate management left to you,” Sir Nathan said.

“I manage the estate because I must do so,” Leona said shortly.

“But surely your brother-in-law?—”

“I prefer to handle Lion’s Gate in my brother’s absence. It is my duty to the family. I shall speak candidly with you and admit to a blot on the Leonard family escutcheon that I am trying to remove. My eldest brother, Edmund, ran through most of our fortune and ultimately came to a bad end.”

“You’re that Leonard?”

Miss Cruikston’s horrified expression pleased Leona like no mention of her brother’s name had ever done before or, to her mind, was ever likely to do. The heavy pall that had begun to hang over her lifted a little.

“What’s this?” asked Sir Nathan.

Miss Cruikston’s former warmth chilled. “It is a subject not discussed in polite circles,” she said repressively.

Leona smiled for the first time since she had arrived at Furleigh House.

“So, we have dealt with and dismissed all my options for leaving Rose Cottage. My purpose today was merely to acquaint you with this latest bit of information, not to beg shelter. Leaving is not something I have ever contemplated. I thank you for your kind hospitality today.”

Sir Nathan rose to his feet to pace the room. “No, we have not dismissed all options. We have expanded them. It is for you, Miss Leonard, to choose. I will grant you that much.

“As I see it, you have three choices, and staying at Rose Cottage is not one of them. I cannot allow you to. As you spoke of your conscience bothering you if you stayed here, so would mine if you remained at Rose Cottage.” He stopped pacing in front of Leona and stared down at her.

“So, you may go to Castle Marin, be our guest here, or go to stay with your sister and her husband.”

Miss Cruikston looked as if she would say something else, but her brother quelled her with a glance.

Leona looked from one to the other. She wanted to scream. She was neatly cornered. None of the choices Sir Nathan offered her were acceptable. It was a matter of determining which was less unacceptable than the other two!

Staying with George and Rosalie Sharply was out of the question.

Her dislike for George Sharply ran long and deep.

She was sure the feeling was mutual. Staying at Furleigh House would be uncomfortable in the extreme.

Regardless of whether Miss Cruikston continued her cold demeanor, there was still the matter of Sir Nathan’s attraction to her.

Being under his roof would create too many problems.

That only left Castle Marin. In truth, her reluctance to go to Castle Marin was in good measure due to her reaction to Nigel Deveraux.

That reaction was, however, a private affair, something to be kept hidden from everyone.

He did not look on her with the eyes of a suitor, as Sir Nathan did.

On the other hand, he didn’t look at her as a silly widgeon without a thought in her head.

There was that in his favor. Nonetheless, he was a man used to people obeying him without question—something Leona strongly doubted herself capable of doing.

She shook her head and sighed, the beginnings of a headache throbbing in her temples. She looked at Maria. Maria’s mouth twisted wryly. Despite herself, Leona smiled at her wily companion. She’d wager this was just the turn-up Maria was expecting.

She turned back to Sir Nathan and shrugged. “I guess we’ll be going to Castle Marin.”