Free Dangerous Joy by Jo Beverley Page A

at breakfast. Miles was alarmed until he heard she had eaten earlier and was now in the library. After taking his own meal, he went to find her, trailed by a smug little cat who pranced along, jaunty tail announcing to the household that she'd caught a particularly fine prey.
    Females!
    In the library he found Felicity at the desk looking unusually flustered. Her long hair was escaping in coiling tendrils around her flushed cheeks and her fingers were inky.
    He picked up Gardeen and strolled over. "You look like a schoolgirl slaving over a primer, cailin."
    She scowled up at him. "This is all your fault, Miles Cavanagh!"
    "Now how do you come to that conclusion?" He picked up a paper and saw it was a letter of invitation, carefully written in reasonably neat handwriting. The problem, he assumed, was the number of discarded efforts scattering the floor.
    "Faith, did you never go to school?"
    She threw down her chewed pen. "I had a governess."
    "Whom you bullied, as you've bullied everyone else in your life, so she never taught you anything useful."
    She surged to her feet. "Bullied? Why, you wretched man, if there's a bully here, it's you. If you don't care for my penmanship, why don't you write the things yourself?"
    He nudged her out of the way and took her seat, placing Gardeen on the desk, safely away from the ink. "Very well. But don't think you've been as clever as this little puss. You aren't escaping scot-free. Play to me while I scribe for you."
    She swept a curtsy. "My pleasure, sir. You see, Miss Herries did teach me something useful. She just didn't place great weight on calligraphy." She sat at the harpsichord and began a sparkling performance. Three cats ran in, as some always did when she played, to leap onto the instrument and enjoy the music, tails almost seeming to sway in rhythm.
    Gardeen stayed on the desk, but her tail swayed as well.
    With the fire crackling merrily and music filling the air, this was one of the dangerous moments when Miles began to think fondly of living this way for the rest of his life.
    He shook his muddled head, trimmed the battered pen, and began to write out the letters of invitation.
    All was well until he came to one name. "You're inviting Dunsmore?"
    Her clever fingers missed only one note. "It would be impolite not to."
    Miles supposed that was true, but he wondered if she wanted to invite the man. He realized he'd been avoiding the subject altogether, hoping it would go away.
    "How is Dunsmore regarded by the other gentry hereabouts?" he asked, writing the invitation. "I haven't encountered him in anyone's house."
    "You know how it is. No one has a choice in neighbors, so everyone rubs along. Which doesn't mean one has to arrange to meet them all the time." The music flowed smoothly from her fingers.
    "And was Kathleen more acceptable?"
    "Kathleen lived here all her life."
    "So, as her husband, Dunsmore was accepted everywhere?" It was like pulling nails out of oak.
    "He spent most of his time in Dublin or England."
    Miles gave up and moved on to the next invitation.
    He doubted he'd get much out of his ward by direct questions, but it would be interesting to see how Dunsmore behaved, and how everyone acted toward him. Miles had the feeling that Kieran's father might be an inconvenience in his life.
    It would be surprising if Dunsmore were completely accepted, being a foreigner. But unless he was an outright proven scoundrel people would be civil.
    Of course, Dunsmore might not attend. He must realize he was unpopular, and that the whole area would be enjoying the tale of his trouncing by the Farmyard Boys.
    On the full-moon night of the ball, however, Rupert Dunsmore turned up, coolly arrogant toward his more hearty neighbors. Miles noted that he was practically ignored by the local people but treated more warmly by some of the imported hopefuls. Perhaps they were hedging their matrimonial bets.
    Miles didn't at all like the look in Dunsmore's eyes when he greeted Felicity,