"Very well, then," Andrew said. "You have two more questions before I start asking more questions."

Lady Blackburn's face lit up with pride because he gave in. But in all honesty, he did not mind giving her what she wanted if he got a beautifully happy face like that in return.

"Is it all true what the newspaper wrote of your brother?"

Andrew was not quite sure how he felt about the question. No, he did not like talking about his family's decision, and yes, he knew everyone was curious for the details. But she was the first to ask him straight away about Arthur.

She noticed his silence, and filled it with uncertain words. "I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable, my lord. There are not rules saying you must answer every question asked."

He smiled at her, thankful that she did not push him into a confession. He gave her a short answer, whatever he was comfortable with. "Yes, what they wrote in the newspaper is correct. But there is much more to it."

A smile played her lips as she said: "isn't there always?" He absently nodded his head. This lady was truly different from anyone he knew.

"My last question. You said your name is not cleared, but I do not understand what makes you think that. You have many friends, do you not?"

"If you mean my brother and two sisters, then yes, I have many friends."

"Surely you have other friends as well. At balls I see you talking with many lords. Do you not consider them your friends?"

"I believe that was a fourth question, my lady," Andrew said, happy to change the subject. No sane person likes talking about his failures. "My turn for another round of three questions." He took a deep breath, giving him more time to think of his next question. "I have always been curious: are stays comfortable?"

Lady Blackburn's laughter filled the room, making the conversation lighter.

"I was fearing a harder question, my lord," she said through her laughing. "Well, I sure do envy men, who do not have to wear it."

"And the skirt?" he asked newt. "Is that comfortable?"

"Well, my lord," she said with a smile on her lips. "Everything of our dresses is quite comfortable. But I assume men's clothing give much more freedom. And I do have a love for dresses."

"Then I assume you have many," he said, feeling her smile wearing off on him.

"Is that your third question, my lord?"

He thought of it. He had many question he wanted to ask her, but mayhap it was better to be careful with this lady and ask her easy, superficial questions.

"Yes," he answered, "that is my third question."

"I did not think a man would be interested in dresses," she admitted. "But to answer your question, yes, I have many dresses. I have transformed one of the bed chambers to a room full of wardrobes so that every dress would have its proper place."

"Truly? I do not think the dresses of my two sisters could fill an entire room."

She laughed again, a sound he seemed to enjoy. "Like I said, my lord, I have a love for dresses."

"What I do wonder-"

"No, my lord. Three questions each."

He silently laughed. This was one special lady!

"The lords you talk to at balls. Do you consider them your friends?"

He sighed. Did she really have to get back to this subject? He had hoped she would forget about it, but she seemed to be too smart to forget anything.

"No," he answered honestly, "I do not consider them my friends."

"What lords do you consider your friends, then?"

"My brother Thomas, and brother-in-law William."

"The lord of Hawthorne?"

"Yes. We were friends even before he married my sister."

"And you do not believe you have more friends than two?"

"No, there are my sisters and my mother as well."

"And that is all?"

"Yes. Why are you surprised? Do you perhaps have more true friends than five?"

"No, I have merely one: my brother. But everyone seems to know your family, yet you do not consider everyone your friend."

"My family might," he said, almost whispering. This was the first time he was admitting this to someone who did not belong to his list of true friends. "But the ton has never accepted me after they heard of what I did."

She nodded. It seemed she understood what he was talking about. When his brother was stealing from rich family's houses, he did the same. The newspaper enjoyed the story, but it never mentioned why Andrew did it, nor that he only tried once. He had corrected people when they accused him of being a thief, but no one had believed him. So he let the newspaper write what they wanted and he let the ton think what they wanted of him. He only cared for the opinion of his five true friends.

"Next question," she said. He was happy she changed the subject. "You are the oldest brother and a lord. I assume you own an estate. Which is it?"

Andrew let a small smile appear on his lips. "Duncan."

"Why does no one call you lord of Duncan, then?"

"Because I do not like it," he said, hopeful she would not need more explanation than that. But it was lady Blackburn he was talking with. Of course she wanted to know more than that. He sighed. "I do not feel like I have the right to own the estate. It is my brother's, not mine."

Lady Blackburn opened her mouth to say more - probably to argue his believe like his mother had always done - but she did not say anything. Instead she gave him a pity smile.

He was happy for the silence that fell between them, because he was not certain if he would be able to answer any more of her questions without taking a breath to compose himself. It had been years since his brother left, yet it was the only story people seemed to remember. Twas also the only story he could tell of his family. He knew people were not bothered by funny tales of a clumsy Mary or a lovesick Elizabeth. No, people wanted stories they could whisper about behind their fans and cards, rumours that could be told over the dining table while all the servants were listening. They wanted to hear stories their servants' families had heard so that they could be the first to have knowledge of it and tell their friends. They wanted to be special by knowing what they should not know.

"My last question," lady Blackburn said, breaking the silence that had fallen between him. She had asked more than three question and he was certain she knew, but he let it slip. "Can you tie your own cravat?"

He felt laughter come up and he could not stop it. Now he understood her laughter when she expected a less shallow question. He enjoyed the lighter mood, though.

She ignored his laughter and said: "my brother cannot. I was merely curious if he is the norm."

"Can you?" he found himself asking.

"Yes. Can you?"

"Yes."

Silence

"My turn." He looked at her. He liked asking her shallow questions, for she did not have a worried look on her face when he did. "If you love dresses so much, why do you only wear boring ones at balls?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You took notice of my dresses?"

A proud smile filled his face. "You are not the only perspective person in the room, my lady. So why the boring dresses?"

She smiled, but twas a smile that tried to hide her discomfort. "I don't want to show off," she jested.

He took pleasure in that answer because he knew she would not say more without him pushing. But he did not want to push, because he might push her away again. So he asked his second question. "For a woman as female behaving as you, it remains a surprise for me that you believe you cannot dance. Whatever happened that made you think this?"

"It is not merely something I believe, my lord. It is the truth."

"I cannot believe that," he blurred.

She shyly smiled. "You cannot know what you have never learned."

Andrew eyes widened in surprised. Did she just say she never learned to dance? It seemed he had completely misjudged her. He had thought she was shy and not self-confident, but it seemed she was not at all.

Before he could put his thoughts into words, she said: "your third question."

He wanted to ask her more about her previous statement, but decided against it. He still did not want to push her away.

"My third question," he said, leaving a short silence while he was thinking. "May I call you lady Victoria?"

She laughed again, and when it died down, her eyes looked into his. "If I may call you lord Andrew."

He smiled, relieved that she did not deny it. "If course."