What have I done? Gideon fastened his trousers, his mind reeling.

He stared down at the bloody handkerchief before shoving it into his pocket. Though he didn’t fully understand what happened, he had managed to hurt Amelia very badly tonight.

And last night as well. He sucked in a deep breath as the suffocating twin weights of grief and confusion crashed down on him.

Amelia had been married to his cousin when they were both eighteen. Martin had died years later. All his letters had been full of affection and praise for his clever and kind bride. Theirs had been an affectionate and loving marriage.

His cousin would have told him if she had denied him his marital rights. Wouldn’t he? Had Amelia somehow convinced Martin that theirs should be a chaste union?

No, that made no sense. Like all young ladies of the middle and upper classes, Amelia would have been raised with the expectation that it was her duty to give her husband an heir. The idea would have been drummed into her while she was still in the schoolroom—especially in Sir Clarence’s house.

Whatever the truth was, his cousin must have accepted the state of his marriage. To all appearances, he had been content. But clearly, there were many things Martin hadn’t confided in him. Only one thing was certain.

Amelia had never been Worthing’s lover.

Suddenly, he could breathe again. Gideon needed to speak to Amelia right now.

Someone cleared their throat. Adolfo, the butler, was in the doorway. A burly footman was standing next to him.

“My deepest apologies, my lord, but we must ask you to leave.” Adolfo’s voice was high and thin, betraying the anxiety he felt at having to eject an earl out of the townhouse.

A muscle in Gideon’s cheek twitched. “Is that so?”

“I regret to say yes,” Adolfo squeaked. He gestured to the hallway.

Gideon stalked toward them. The butler hurriedly got out of his way, but when Gideon pivoted on his heel and headed for the stairs, the oversized footman scrambled to block his path.

Though the servant was the same height, he was thinner and less muscular than Gideon. Confident he could deal with the man without hurting him too badly, he leaned close.

“Your mistress has nothing to fear from me…but if you don’t get out of my way, I will break both your arms.”

He smiled, and the footman paled. The poor man looked back at the butler, but Adolfo winced and shrugged. Gideon swept past him without a second glance.

It wasn’t until he was at the top of the stairs that he realized he had no idea which room was Amelia’s. He was about to start knocking on the nearest one when Carlotta emerged from the last door on the left—the room whose windows would face the garden courtyard.

The tall Italian woman quailed as he approached. Reining his temper, he stepped in front of Amelia’s door. He raised his fist to pound on it, but then he remembered Westcliff’s and only allowed himself one short knock.

“Amelia,” he began, stopping short when he saw the maid was watching and listening to him.

He gestured impatiently and the servant ran down the hall, disappearing. He turned back to the door. “Amelia, I realize what happened downstairs was not what you were expecting. It…it wasn’t what I was expecting either. But I didn’t mean to hurt you. If I had known you were innocent, things would have been different. I—you and I need to have a long talk.”

He broke off, unable to believe that he was explaining this to a closed door.

There was no answer from the other side. “Very well. I will let you gather your thoughts first. I know it’s not likely one of your married friends can call at this hour, but there must be at least one married woman on your staff. If you won’t talk to me, at least talk to one of them.”

Still nothing. The idea that she was behind that door, crying because of him, was killing him by inches.

She believed he hurt her on purpose. Her ignorance of the married state had been total and complete. The magnitude of his crime was starting to dawn on him.

“This conversation is not over. I’ll return in the morning. And Amelia—don’t think about turning me away.”

He sighed and headed for the stairs. His difficult conversations were not over for the night. Amelia did have one confidant. And Gideon was going to get his answers from him.