Chapter 13

His gaze dropped to the white plait of her fingers, and a lazy smile crossed his face. "I suppose to you, I am the devil." He nodded toward the other side of the settee she occupied. "May I?"

Catherine gave a short nod and waited until he had seated himself. "Why did you send for me?" Her voice was brittle.

"It was an amusing scene this morning, wasn't it? Your Hathaways were a delight. They're certainly not your run-of-the-mill society misses."

Slowly Catherine raised her gaze to his, trying not to flinch as she stared into the vivid depths of green. Harry excelled at hiding his thoughts . . . but this morning he had stared at Poppy with a hunger that he was usually too well disciplined to reveal. And Poppy had no idea of how to defend herself against a man like Harry.

Catherine strove to keep her voice even. "I will not discuss the Hathaways with you. And I warn you to stay away from them."

"You warn me?" Harry repeated softly, his eyes bright with mocking amusement.