A Highland Duchess by Karen Ranney Page A

became—a thief with a castle in Scotland and a large home in London.
    “Yet you left your home for the sake of a mirror,” she said.
    “Not exactly,” he admitted. “I was due to be in London on business, and decided to take advantage of the opportunity.” When she didn’t respond, he leaned forward. “You aren’t here because of a mirror, Emma,” he said softly. “I didn’t want to leave you alone to explain the presence of a man in your chamber to your uncle.”
    She nodded. “That would have been difficult,” she said. “But not impossible. I doubt my uncle cares much for my reputation.”
    “Can you trust him to choose a husband for you?” he asked.
    She turned her head and looked at the profusion of plants surrounding her. Crimson lilies and deep red roses contrasted with the brighter oranges of the vivid gerberas. What a lovely place this was. Indeed, an island in the midst of London.
    She would have loved to talk to the gardener about the plantings. Anything but answer Ian’s question. In the end it didn’t matter what she thought or believed. Only that she was subject to her uncle’s will.
    He leaned back, folded his arms and regarded her steadily.
    “I haven’t heard many good comments about you, Emma. You surprise me.”
    “From Lady Sarah? I can understand only too well. Any woman who would attempt to take her mother’s place would be looked upon with disfavor.”
    “She never said a word. Other than to comment that she didn’t know you, had never met you.”
    “Ah, rumors, then.”
    Women had been among some of the most dissolute guests at Chavensworth. Women who were doyennes of society, showing a serene and flawless face to the world. No one saw the rot beneath the surface. Would any of those hypocritical women have meekly acceded to another marriage?
    The appearance of virtue was truly its own reward.
    She didn’t even have that—no woman married to Anthony would have.
    “You’ve been an exemplary prisoner.”
    What would he say if she told him that she’d had four years of imprisonment?
    “Perhaps I should abduct a duchess more often,” he said. He was trying to be charming again, and succeeding only too well.
    “You mustn’t relegate yourself to only duchesses,” she said. “There are few enough of us. You might consider a countess or two, or even a baroness.”
    “In all honesty, I doubt I shall do this again. The journey across your roof was a little more adventure than I choose to have. I’m a better scientist than I am a thief.”
    “A scientist?”
    He nodded.
    “What do you study?”
    “Water,” he said. A moment later his smile deepened. “You have the most amazing look on your face. As if you’re deciding whether or not to ask—why water?—or to remain silent.”
    “Why water?” she asked.
    He began to laugh, and she had no choice but to smile with him.
    “Omne vivum ex ovo ,” he said.
    “Every living thing comes from an egg?”
    “You know Latin?”
    She nodded. “Not extensively,” she admitted. “But my governess considered that a woman should know a great deal about many subjects.”
    He evidently didn’t consider that important enough to comment upon, or perhaps women in Scotland were educated in a similar fashion.
    “Do you know anything about spontaneous generation?”
    She shook her head, finished her tea, and set the cup down.
    “I presume, however, that you’ve heard of Aristotle.”
    ‘ “You are what you do,’ ” she quoted.
    His surprised glance amused her. “The governess?”
    She nodded.
    “Aristotle also believed that living things could be born from nonliving things.”
    She sat back, interested. “Or spontaneous generation,” she said.
    He nodded.
    “Aristotle’s theory is being proven wrong. Instead of spontaneous generation, there is something called a bacterium, an organism we think capable of producing disease.”
    He leaned toward her, turned his hand over and stretched out his index finger. “Imagine, if