Stephen glanced up from the fire he had been morosely contemplating, and lifted an eyebrow at the sight of his butler. “You have a guest, my lord,” the man announced. Stephen started to say that he had no wish for company, to send whoever it was away, when he spotted Pru’s gamine face peeking around his butler’s ample girth. He lurched out of his seat. “Prudence! What are you doing here?” he cried in astonishment, waving the butler away as he hurried forward to greet her. “I had to talk to you.” “But you could be ruined if anyone—” “No one saw me,” she assured him quickly. “And I will stay only a moment.” His expression easing somewhat, Stephen nodded and led the way toward the two chairs in front of the fire, gesturing for her to take one. He waited politely while she seated herself, then moved to lean against the fireplace. “You did it, didn’t you?” she asked the moment he was settled. Stephen shrugged, not bothering to ask what she spoke of. He knew she meant her father and his gambling debts.
