Carousel of Hearts by Mary Jo Putney

that. My bringing such a dire fate on his head would be a poor return after all Adam has done for me.” Lord Launceston’s deep-blue eyes met hers earnestly. “If he hadn’t helped me when I inherited the title, I would have been in dire straits.”
    At Antonia’s inquiring glance, he elaborated. “I hadn’t expected to inherit, so I was ill-informed about the family holdings. More than that, I have no head for business. Then my father and older brother died unexpectedly of a fever. The Launceston finances were in such a shambles that the family man of business, a lawyer, came all the way to Bombay to break the news and force me to make some quick decisions. My brother had been gambling heavily and the estates were badly encumbered. The lawyer thought I should dispose of most of the property to cover the debts. I would have been left with a modest independence, but nothing more.”
    He grimaced. “I’ve always been rather vague about money. I took the lawyer at his gloomy word and was ready to sign whatever he put in front of me. It was Adam who stopped me, read all the papers, asked the right questions. It became obvious that the lawyer’s advice would benefit himself much more than me.
    “Adam recommended a new man of business, then steered me into the right investments to rebuild the family fortunes. It’s taken four years to get the debts under control, but thanks to your cousin, the estate has been preserved and there will be something to pass on to the next generation of Launcestons.”
    As Antonia listened, she forgot to be ladylike, pulling her knees up and looping her arms around them as she gazed unseeing at the hills. “While my opinion of Adam has always been of the highest, it’s strange to think of him as a merchant prince, a legend,” she said reflectively. “On the other hand, it is easy to see him as a man who will go an extra mile to help a friend.”
    “It was far more than an extra mile,” Simon said. “He even lent me the money to take advantage of his investment suggestions. I could never have come about without him.” A husky note entered his soft tenor. “Yet his financial help is not the greatest service he has done me.” 
    Antonia felt a premonitory shiver at his words. For the last week they had behaved with perfect propriety, saying nothing that could not be overheard by the world, but the awareness between them was acute.
    Praying that he was about to declare himself, she turned to him, knowing that her eyes were filled with longing.
    “Best of all, Adam introduced me to you,” Simon finished. His blue eyes were so close and intense that Antonia felt that she would melt right there, the force of her emotions causing her to dissolve like sugar in the rain.
    He leaned forward, closing the inches between them to kiss her with exquisite slowness. At the feel of his warm lips on hers, Antonia gasped and pressed against him, raising her hand to bury her fingers in the dark curls at the back of his head. She had dreamed of this magic moment for a lifetime, and it was everything she had hoped for.
    As his arms circled her waist and drew her nearer, the kiss extended and deepened, passion building until finally Simon broke away. He pulled her into a rib-crushing embrace against him while he fought to regain his breath and his self-control. “I’m sorry, Antonia,” he said raggedly. “I had thought to behave with some decorum, but that was impossible.”
    “I’m not sorry, Simon.” She lifted her head. “I don’t want decorum. I feel like shouting from the rooftops.”
    The lean, beautifully sculpted planes of his face were classical statuary brought to warm life, and his dark lashes were ridiculously long, framing eyes the intense blue of cobalt. As their gazes locked, he began to smile, gently brushing a wisp of apricot hair from her cheek. “I have trouble believing that you might return my feelings.”
    “But I do, Simon, I do.” She tilted her face, hoping he would