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argument of long standing between us.”
    Maddie turned to look at the other woman. She had seen her from a distance at various ton parties, but had never really had the opportunity to look at her up close. She was every bit as beautiful as she was reputed to be. Her deep brown hair shone in the candlelight, and the crimson gown she wore fit her curvaceous figure like a glove.
    “Yet you still remain friends?” Maddie asked, fascinated by the other woman’s words. “That is quite a feat.”
    “I daresay it is because I cannot be bothered to maintain a grudge when Tinker is such a very good whist partner,” Lady Emily said with a grin. “What can I say? I am easy to please.”
    Tinker bowed to acknowledge the compliment, then turned back to the baize table where a dealer called out the cards as he turned them over before each player.
    As she watched the table, Maddie felt a male body step up close behind her. Startled, she jumped and turned to look up into a familiar green gaze.
    “Lady Madeline,” Gresham said, stepping back to allow her to turn. “I would like a word.”
    Annoyed, but knowing that she would have to speak to him sooner or later, Maddie excused herself to Tinker and Lady Emily. Grudgingly she followed the earl to an alcove on the edge of the chamber.
    “What the devil are you doing here?” he demanded in a low tone that only she could hear. She could feel the frustration emanating from him in waves. “More importantly, what the devil was Linton thinking bringing you here?”
    “You know perfectly well why I am here,” she said in an equally low voice, trying to ignore the jolt of attraction she felt despite her anger. This is not how you are supposed to respond to Gresham, she informed her pounding heart. “I told you last night that I needed to be here so that I might write about a gaming hell in my novel. And what business is it of yours that my brother brought me here? I do not see you ringing a peal over the heads of the other ladies here.”
    “They are not related to my best friend’s wife,” he hissed, apparently unaware of the response his nearness was causing in her. “And their presence here will not somehow end up biting me in the—”
    “Oh, do not be melodramatic,” Maddie interrupted, annoyed both at herself and him. Leave it to Gresham to be attractive to her even when he was setting her back up. Curse him. “You are not responsible for my presence here. My brother is, and as he didn’t seem to find the idea overly disturbing, I do not see why you should.”
    Gresham shoved a hand through his light brown curls. “You’ll pardon me,” he said, “if I do not use your brother’s behavior as a guide for my own. He is not best known for his moderation or good sense.”
    At the slight against her brother, Maddie’s attraction transformed into anger. It was all well and good for her to criticize a member of her family, but Gresham had no right to do so. “How dare you speak of my brother in that way, you … you … hypocrite!” Bristling with anger she continued, “If you are such a paragon of virtue, what are you doing here?”
    Though they had started out speaking in undertones, both Maddie and Gresham had allowed their voices to rise a bit in their exasperation with one another. So much so that Linton, his luck at faro having run out, turned his attention away from the gaming table and hurried over to the bickering couple.
    “Madeline,” her brother said in a hiss, conveniently ignoring Gresham and addressing himself to his sister. “You are causing a scene. Do you not recall the terms of our agreement?”
    The injustice of being taken to task by her brother, whose behavior—despite Maddie’s defense of him to Gresham— was frequently outrageous, made Maddie’s teeth clench. “Yes, I remember, but that was before I knew that I would be accosted by this interfering baboon.”
    Gresham raised his brows. “Baboon? Really?”
    “Be quiet,” Maddie ordered.