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unlike the women in your harem, I do not desire your company.”
    He seated himself at a table and motioned for her to come forward. “I wonder why you should feel thus, Jillianna. Have you not been shown every kindness since I brought you to my home? I would think you would want to come here tonight, if for no other reason than curiosity about your benefactor.”
    “You do not have to remind me that I owe you, my lord. I am not ungrateful that you saved me from the slave market.”
    “I was not reminding you, Jillianna.”
    She took a timid step toward him. “I have been treated kindly, and I must confess to a certain amount of curiosity concerning you,” she admitted. “But I have no wish to know you better, my lord.”
    “I see. It was by my orders that you were left alone until you felt comfortable with your surroundings. Unlike you, I have anticipated this night because I want to know you… much better.”
    Reluctantly, she moved across the room toward him, her fear lessened by her need to make him understand her feelings. As she stood before him, she looked into his eyes, thinking how dark and foreign he looked.
    “I do want to talk to you, my lord,” she said, in a voice that came out in a painful whisper. “Will you hear what I have to say?”
    “Please be seated, Jillianna, and then we can converse much more easily. I find it very difficult to talk to you when I am looking up at you.”
    She dropped down on a cushion, glancing at the food with interest. “I could not eat a bite until I have had my say, my lord.”
    He smiled. “I can see why your husband accused you of being a strong-willed woman.”
    Her green eyes sparkled with feigned innocence. “Oh, I am most dreadfully strong-willed, Lord Simijin. You should be rid of me without delay. Most probably I shall soon disrupt your whole harem. I am not in the least humble. I could never be subservient to a man, and trouble seems to follow me wherever I go.”
    Simijin picked up a golden plate and piled it high with food before handing it to Jillianna. “You must eat, for the health of your baby. I am told you take very little nourishment. Do you not find my food to your liking?”
    Without thinking, she shoved the plate aside. “I suppose the food is all right. But, I find it difficult to accustom myself to eating without the aid of a knife and fork. I have not been taught to eat with my fingers, like some…barbarian.”
    His laughter was soft. “It is a good thing that I do not take offense at being called a barbarian, Jillianna.”
    Her face reddened. “Oh, my lord, I did not mean to imply that you are…that you—”
    He held up his hand to silence her. “I have long admired the English and many of their customs. I shall see to it that you are furnished with whatever it takes to make you feel at home here.”
    Her eyes met his. “My lord, I could never feel at home here. Will you not send me to England? Be rid of me with all haste, and save yourself grief later.”
    He leaned forward and pressed a date between her teeth. When she shook her head, he persisted until she took it in her mouth. “Tell me about your home, Jillianna.”
    She swallowed the date without tasting it. “There isn’t much to tell. I grew up in London, since my father, an impoverished nobleman, had lost his lands and holdings. I am certain my father despaired of ever being rid of me. So, when an offer of marriage came from a distant cousin from Philadelphia, my father quickly accepted the proposal on my behalf and sent me to America. There I was married and lived for four years.”
    “I was certain that you were from the nobility, Jillianna. It shows in the proud way you carry yourself, and in your delicate features.”
    He picked up a thin slice of lamb and offered it to her. This time Jillianna took it in her mouth and found it delicious.
    “So you went to America to marry a distant cousin?”
    “Yes. I was but fifteen, and Matthew was thirty-five. He and his