She stared mutely back at him. Her hands fidgeted with the fringe on her shawl.

"Shall we put each other to sleep, Miss Moore?" he asked softly. His eyes were on her lips, which were parted with what he thought was probably unconscious provocation. "After suitably pleasurable exercise, of course."

He sensed a change in her suddenly, though she did not move and her hands continued busy.

"I think you are under a misapprehension, my lord," she said, her voice low and steady. "I am not available for dalliance."

He smiled and raised his eyes to hers again. She was looking full at him, her gaze startlingly direct. "Why do you hide your beauty?" he asked, though he knew the answer full well. "Why the daytime disguise?"

"I am a governess," she said. "I dress in a manner suited to my calling."

"With some encouragement from your employer, I would guess," he said.

She did not reply.

"It must be a very dull life," he said.

"Life is what one makes it, my lord," she said. "I do not complain. I do not seek the kind of diversion that you suggest."

"You wish to be persuaded," he said. "I believe I have some skill, Miss Moore. And I am not the sort of man who considers only his own gratification. I believe that a woman is as entitled as a man to be thoroughly pleasured in a bed where she has chosen to give herself. Come, let me give you a foretaste of what you may expect."

His hand moved around and twined itself into the thick silkiness of her hair. He had to make a concerted effort to give her time to respond. He wanted to drag her against him without more ado. He suspected that those firm breasts were not the only delight hidden from view beneath the loose nightgown.

She raised her chin an inch. "I will not be ravished, my lord," she said. "If you do not release me immediately and let me pass, I shall scream very loudly. I shall of course be dismissed from my employment without a character for having had the audacity to have tempted the Earl of Rutherford to seduce me. But I shall do it nonetheless."