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ma'am." Mary scurried out of the room.
    Sophy began to pace the floor, her soft slippers making no sound on the dark,
    patterned carpet. She barely noticed the bit of lace trim that had come loose
    from the lapel of her dressing gown and was dangling over one breast.
    The overbearing, unspeakably arrogant man she had married thought he had only to
    touch her and she would succumb to his expertise. He would badger her and pester
    her and otherwise keep after her until he had his way with her. She knew that
    now. Bedding her was obviously a matter of masculine pride to him.
    Sophy was beginning to realize she would get no peace until Julian had proven
    himself her master in the privacy of the bedchamber. There was little chance to
    work on the harmonious relationship she dreamed of while Julian was
    concentrating only on seducing her.
    Sophy halted her pacing abruptly, wondering if the Earl of Ravenwood would be
    satisfied with a single night of conquest. Julian was not, after all, in love
    with her. At the moment apparently she constituted a challenge because she was
    his wife and she was refusing him the privileges he considered rightfully his.
    But if he thought he'd finally proven to both of them he could seduce her,
    perhaps he would leave her alone for a while.
    Sophy went quickly to her beautifully carved medicine chest and stood looking
    down at the rows of tiny wooden trays and drawers. She was simmering with rage
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    and fear and another emotion she did not want to examine too closely. There was
    not much time. In a few minutes Julian would come sauntering through the door
    that connected her bedchamber with his dressing room. And then he would take her
    into his arms and touch her the way he touched his little ballet dancer or
    actress or whatever she was.
    Mary opened the door and came into the bedchamber carrying a silver tray. "Your
    tea, ma'am. Will there be anythin' else?"
    "No, thank you, Mary. You may go." Sophy managed what she hoped was a normal
    smile of dismissal but Mary's eyes seemed brighter than ever as she bobbed a
    small curtsy and let herself out of the room. Sophy was sure she heard a muffled
    giggle out in the hall.
    Servants seem to know everything that goes on in a large house such as this,
    Sophy thought resentfully. It was quite possible her maid knew perfectly well
    that Julian had never spent the night in his wife's bed. That thought was rather
    mortifying in some ways.
    Fleetingly, Sophy wondered if part of Julian's irritation had to do with the
    fact that he knew the entire staff was speculating on why he was not visiting
    his new bride in her bedroom.
    Sophy hardened her heart. She was not about to turn aside from her goal merely
    for the sake of Julian's male pride. He had more than enough of that commodity
    as it was. She reached into the herb chest and took a pinch of chamomile and a
    pinch of something far more potent. Deftly she stirred them into the pot of
    brewing tea.
    Then she sat down to wait. She had to sit down. She was trembling so much she
    could not stand.
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    She did not have long to anticipate the inevitable. The connecting door opened
    softly and Sophy gave a start. Her eyes went to the doorway. Julian stood there
    in a black silk dressing gown that was embroidered with the Ravenwood crest. He
    regarded her with a quizzical little smile.
    "You are entirely too nervous, little one," he said gently as he closed the door
    behind him. "This is what comes of putting matters off for far too long. You
    have built the whole business into an event of terrifying proportions. By
    tomorrow morning you will be able to put everything back into its proper
    perspective."
    "I would like to beg you one last time, Julian, not to pursue this any further.
    I must tell you again that I feel you are breaking the spirit, if not the letter
    of