“No.”
“I'm terribly sleepy.”
No response.
Caroline decided to try a different tactic. “What do you suppose happened to the marquis?”
“I don't particularly care.”
She blinked. How odd. Then she yawned again, unable to help herself. “Is it your intention to scold me?” she asked. “Because if it is, I might as well warn you that I'm really not up to it, and—”
“You're not up to it?!” he fairly roared.
She shook her head and headed for the door. There was no use trying to reason with him when he was in such a mood. “I'll see you in the morning. I'm certain whatever it is that has you so upset will keep until then.”
Blake caught a handful of the fabric of her skirt and hauled her back to the center of the room. “You are not going anywhere,” he growled.
“I beg your pardon.”
“Just what the hell did you think you were doing tonight?”
“Saving your life?” she quipped.
“Don't make jokes.”
“I wasn't. I did save your life. And I don't recall hearing one word of thanks for it.”
He muttered something under his breath, followed by, “You didn't save my life. All you did was endanger your own.”
“I won't quibble with the latter sentence, but I certainly did save your life this evening. If I hadn't rushed out to Prewitt Hall to warn you about Farnsworth and his ten o'clock tea, he would surely have shot you.”
“That's a moot point, Caroline.”
“Of course it is,” she replied with a disdainful sniff. “I saved your miserable life, and Farnsworth was never given the opportunity to shoot at you.”
He stared at her long and hard. “I am going to say this only once. You are not to get involved with our work bringing your former guardian to justice.”
Caroline remained silent.
After a moment Blake clearly lost patience with her lack of response, so he demanded, “Well? Don't you have a reply?”
“I do, but you wouldn't like it.”
“Goddamn it, Caroline!” he exploded. “Don't you give even a thought to your own safety?”
“Of course I do. Do you think I had fun risking my neck for you this evening? I could have been killed. Or worse, you could have been killed. Or Oliver could have captured me and forced me to marry Percy.” She shuddered. “Good God, I'll probably have nightmares about that last scenario for weeks.”
“You certainly seemed to be enjoying yourself.”
“Well, I wasn't. I felt sick the entire time, knowing that we were in danger.”
“If you were so petrified, why weren't you crying and carrying on like a normal woman?”
“A normal woman? Sir, you insult me. You insult my entire gender.”
“You must admit that most women would have needed smelling salts tonight.”
She glared at him, her entire body shaking with fury. “Am I expected to apologize because I didn't fall apart and simper and cry and ruin the entire operation? I was scared—no, I was petrified, but what good would I have been if I hadn't kept up a brave front? Besides,” she added, her expression growing sullen, “I was so angry with you most of the time I forgot how scared I was.”
Blake looked away. Hearing her admit her fear made him feel even worse. If anything had happened to her that night it would have been his fault. “Caroline,” he said in a low voice, “I won't have you endangering yourself. I forbid it.”
“You have no right to forbid me anything.”
A muscle started to twitch in his neck. “As long as you are living in my house—”
“Oh, for goodness sake, you sound like one of my guardians.”
“Now you insult me.”
She let out a frustrated exhale. “I don't know how you bear it, living constantly in such danger. I don't know how your family bears it. They must worry terribly about you.”
“My family doesn't know.”
“What?” she screeched. “How is that possible?”
“I've never told them.”
“That is abominable,” she said with great feeling. “Truly abominable. If I had a family I should never treat them with such disrespect.”
“We are not here to discuss my family,” he ground out. “We are here to discuss your foolhardy behavior.”
“I refuse to acknowledge my behavior as fool-hardy. You would have done the exact same thing were you in my shoes.”
“But I wasn't in your shoes, as you so delicately put it, and furthermore, I have nearly a decade of experience with these matters. You do not.”
“What do you want from me? Do you want me to promise I shall never interfere again?”
“That would be an excellent beginning.”
Caroline planted her hands on her hips and jutted her chin forward. “Well, I won't. I should like nothing more than to keep myself out of peril for the rest of my life, but if you are in danger, and I can do something to help, I certainly will not remain idle. How could I have lived with myself if you'd been hurt?”
“You are the most muleheaded woman I have ever had the misfortune to meet.” He raked his hand through his hair and muttered something under his breath before saying, “Can't you see I'm trying to protect you?”
Caroline felt something rather warm tickling within her, and tears formed in her eyes. “Yes,” she said, “but can't you see I'm trying to do the same?”
“Don't.” His word was cold, clipped, and hard, so hard that Caroline actually took a step back.