As Adhemar sat at the table and ate, he listened to Lady Claire prattle on about the ton in London. He noticed that Caelyn was quiet as her stepmother discussed things she felt important. What Adhemar wanted to hear was the sound of Caelyn's voice. He felt drawn to it. Even when she was dressed in boys clothing and he did not know who she was, her voice intrigued him. She did not cower when he yelled at her; instead she stood up to him. It became apparent to him that Lady Claire was flirting with him and he was outraged that not only was she married but also she was doing it in front of her own husband. Adhemar was far from a saint, he had bedded a married woman or two in his past, but Claire was not for him. As beautiful as she may be, the price of sleeping with her was too high for him to pay. Lord Andrew had been his father's best friend and had taken him in when he was hurt. No, he would not do anything to be disloyal to Lord Andrew. If anything, he owed him for his kindness. Besides, right now he would rather find out where Lady Caelyn had wandered off. Caelyn stirred feelings in him that he hadn't felt in a long time. But she was not someone who he could ever consider for a wife. He knew at some time he must find a docile woman to provide him with an heir, but he would not allow any woman of his to dress like a man and practice jousting. "A woman of his." he caught himself making that statement in his head in context with Caelyn and shook his head. "No? You would not like to adjourn to the parlor to play cards?" Lady Claire looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry." Adhemar realized what had happened. "I was lost in a thought." Lord Andrew cleared his throat and gave Adhemar the out he needed. "Darling I am sorry but I have some business to discuss with Adhemar and we will take our brandy in my study." he got up and went over to Claire's chair pulling it back for her to get up. "Besides I'm sure you are tired after your long journey." Lady Claire looked at her husband and smiled. "Of course my husband." she placed a kiss on his cheek. "I will see you both in the morning." "Come sit down Adhemar." Lord Andrew pointed to a high back chair near the fireplace. "Brandy?" "Yes please." Adhemar sat down in the leather chair. He gazed up at the mantle and saw a miniature of Caelyn. Whomever painted it captured the golden highlights of her red hair perfectly as well as the gold flecks in her green eyes. Feeling a slight tightening in his trousers, he shifted in his seat and tugged at his coat to hide what he didn't want to have to explain. Andrew returned from behind his desk with two snifters of brandy and a leather envelope. He handed the envelope to Adhemar. "Are you familiar with Thomas Berg?" Adhemar took the dark brown envelope and untied its side. "He's the solicitor who handled my father's estate."

Andrew nodded his head as he sat back down. "Thomas, your father and I grew up and went to school together. He is also my solicitor." He watched as Adhemar took the papers out of the envelope. "Tell me what you think of those." Adhemar was silent as he perused the papers. After a few minutes he looked up at Andrew. "Well I'd say that someone was stealing money from your accounts. Granted it's only a little at a time, but it is disappearing." He said of one of the papers. "And these papers here are forgeries. Good ones, but still, they are forgeries. Do you have any idea as to what is going on?" Andrew drained his brandy snifter and set it back down. "Claire." Adhemar blinked. "Lady Claire?" "Yes. It is not her alone I have found out." Andrew rose from his chair and walked over to the windows overlooking the garden. He saw Caelyn sitting next to the fountain. His heart ached when he thought of the things he had found out. He had done a lot of thinking and he needed to take action. His daughter would be angry, but it was the only thing he could do and in time she would come to know he did what was best for her.