Mesmerized, she has sufficient presence of mind to keep a gentle smile fixed firmly on her face but her thoughts were whirling even faster that her feet. With a superhuman effort, she forced her kids to drop, screening her eyes from his. "Oh, we Flemings have many accomplishments, dear guardian." To her relief, her voice was clear and untroubled. "But I'm desolated to have to admit that they're all hopelessly mundane."

A rich chuckle greeted this. "Permit me to tell you, my ward, that for the skills I have in mind, your qualifications are more than adequate." Margaret's eyes flew to his. She could hardly believe her ears. But Felix continued before she could speak, his blue eyes holding hers, his voice a seductive murmur. "And while you naturally lack experience, I assure you that can easily, and most enjoyably, be remedied."

It was too much. Margaret gave up the struggle to divine his motives and made a determined bid to reinstitute sanity. She smiled into the dark face above hers and said, quite clearly, "This isn't happening."

For a moment, Felix was taken aback. Then, his sense of humour surfaced. "No?"

"Of course not," Margaret calmly replied. "You're my guardian and I'm your ward. Therefore, it is simply not possible for you to have said what you just did."

Studying her serene countenance, Felix recognized the strategy and reluctantly admired her courage for adopting it. As things stood, it was not an easy defense for him to overcome. Reading in the grey-green eyes a determination not to be further discomposed, Felix, too wise to push further, gracefully yielded.

"So what do you think if Almack's?" He asked.

Relieved , Margaret took the proffered olive branch and their banter continued on an impersonal level.

At the end of the dance, Felix suavely surrenders her to her admirers, but not without glance which, if she had allowed herself to think about it, would have made Margaret blush. She did not see him again until it was time for them to quit the Assembly Rooms. In order to survive the evening, she had sternly refused to let her mind dwell on his behaviour. Consequently, it had not occurred to her to arrange to exchange her place in her guardian's carriage for one in the Twyford coach. When Emma came to tug at her sleeve with the information that he others had already left, she perceived her error. But the extent of her guardian's foresight did not become apparent until they were halfway home.

She and Felix shared the forward facing seat with Emma curled up in a corner opposite them. In departing King Street, they preserved a comfortable silent—due to tiredness in Emma's case, from being too absorbed with her thought in her case and, as she suddenly realized, from sheer experience in the case of her guardian.

They were still some distance from Mount Street when, without warning, Felix took her hand in his. Surprised, she turned to look up at him, conscious of his fingers moving gently over hers. Deliberately, he raised her hand and kissed her fingertips. A delicious tingle raced along Margaret's nerves, followed by a second of increased vigour as he turned her hand over and placed a lingering kiss on her wrist. But they were nothing compared to the galvanizing shock that hit her when, without giving any intimation of his intent, he bent his head and his lips found hers.

From Felix's point of view, he was behaving with admirable restraint. He knew Emma was sound asleep and that his manipulative and normally composed eldest ward was well out of her depth. Yet he turned in his desire and kept the kiss light, his lips moving gently over hers, gradually increasing the pressure until she parted her mouth, then, inwardly smiling at the response she had been unable to hide, he withdrew and watched as her eyes slowly refocused.

Margaret, eyes round, looked at him in consternation. The. Her shocked gaze flew to Emma, still curled in her corner.

"Don't worry. She's sound asleep." His voice was deep and husky in the dark carriage.

Margaret, stunned, felt oddly reassured by the sound. Then she felt the carriage slow.

"And you're safe home," came the gently mocking voice.

In a daze, she helped him wake Emma and then Felix very correctly escorted them indoors, a smile of wicked contentment on his face.