In spite of his casual reply, however, she could feel his tension, his wariness and suspicion-feelings she was well used to discerning. But underneath those, she felt something else that, in spite of her anger, called out to her.

Loneliness.

Sadness.

Guilt.

They surrounded him like a dark cloak and her heart pinched in sympathy. She knew those feelings all too well, how much they hurt the spirit, ate at the soul.

She, too, had regrets she wished to atone for. Could she, perhaps, help him? Would that ease her own guilt?

Determined to convince him she wasn't crazy and that he had truly desired her for a moment, she whispered "You wanted to kiss me. You wondered what I would taste like. You imagined leaning forward, brushing your lips over mine, once, twice. Then you deepened the kiss…"

His eyes flickered, his gaze darkening then dropping to her mouth. "Go on."

Heat curled through her when she imagined what he'd thought next… his tongue caressing hers. "I believe I've proven my point."

"Do you?" Austin regarded her through narrowed eyes. It was one thing to hazard a guess that he'd thought about kissing her, but it was damned odd that her words had so exactly mirrored his thoughts.

Jesus, what if she were right? What if William was alive? Impossible, illogical hope rushed forward with such force he nearly staggered, but sanity quickly returned. Several soldiers had witnessed William going down in battle. Even though the gunshot wound had destroyed his face, he'd been positively identified by the engraved timepiece found under his body.

There was no mistake. William was dead. If he wasn't, he would have contacted his family and come home.

Unless he were a traitor to the crown.

His mind reeled. It was damned suspicious that Miss Matthews made this claim on the heels of the disturbing note he'd received a fortnight ago, a note that confirmed his worst fears regarding William's loyalty to the crown. Could she know something about that letter or William's war activities? Might she know something about the Frenchman he'd seen with William?