wickedness.
“A Winter?” her sister asked.
More shock hit Caro, for she had not expected Pen to recognize Gavin. And now that she had—if she were to reveal Gavin’s identity before him—
“Please go, Pen,” she said, imploring her sister with her eyes.
But Pen was undeterred. She remained where she was, her gaze narrowing as it flicked over Gavin with blatant curiosity. “Is he the secret, then? I heard—”
“Get out!” Caro blurted, startling herself with the vehemence in her tone.
But what was she to do? She was conflicted, torn between the promise she had made to her brother and the newfound emotions roiling through her. Gavin Winter’s kisses had utterly ruined her. She could scarcely make sense of anything.
Pen blinked. “Caro.”
“Please,” she entreated, more softly this time.
“Forgive me,” Gavin said, flicking a cautious gaze from Caro to Pen, then back to Caro again. “I should not have overstepped.”
Yes, she wanted to tell him. You should have. And you should do it again.
But she tamped down the unworthy sentiment. Had she learned no lessons at all after Philip? It would seem not.
“Pen, I will find you in a few minutes. If you will excuse us?”
“If I excuse you, are you going to smear more ink on him?” her sister queried with an unrepentant grin.
“Pen, just go.”
With a superior lifting of her eyebrows, Pen turned and left the work room, the door clicking closed in the silence that had descended.
With another sigh, Caro faced Gavin, wincing as she took in the manner in which she had mussed him. Bloody blazes, she had stained a good portion of his garments and nearly untied his sullied cravat in the process. She had not recalled her fingers working the knot.
“I am sorry, Caro,” he said softly, his gaze dipping to her lips, then back. “I should not have kissed you.”
For a reason she could not define, the sentiment bothered her. She did not want him to regret their kiss. Although she knew she should regret it, and that it must not be repeated, she hated to think she had been alone in the kiss’s effect.
“I am sorry as well,” she said nonetheless.
“I have no right to kiss you when I do not know who the hell I am,” he said, frowning.
Guilt pricked her anew.
Tell him, urged her conscience. Tell him who he is now. Tell him he is Gavin Winter.
She wanted to. Heavens, how she wanted to.
But when she opened her mouth to speak, his name did not emerge. “We were caught up in the moment. Think nothing of it.”
He nodded slowly, his countenance still unhappy. “Who was that just now?”
It occurred to her that she had not introduced them. Partially because Pen had somehow already known who he was, and partially because she could not offer a name to her sister. She was not ready to discuss Jasper’s demand that she keep Gavin’s presence at The Sinner’s Palace a secret, along with keeping his name from him.
“It was my sister, Pen,” she managed. “I must speak to her so that she does not go to our brothers.”
That was only a partial falsehood, she reasoned.
Gavin’s jaw tensed. “I need to speak to your brothers, Caro. My honor demands it.”
She hated the deceptions she was perpetuating. “We will speak to them together when the time is right.”
“The time is now. Do you not suppose your sister is already running to them?”
Was Pen? Caro thought it unlikely, though she could not be certain.
“All the more reason for me to seek her out now and for you to return to my room.” She studied her handiwork once more, the inky handprints on his chest and shoulders, the smears on the pristine white of his neck cloth. “You need to change before you confront anyone, I am afraid.”
He glanced down at the ink and cursed.
“Wait for me here,” she said. “I will speak with my sister and return.”
“You were kissing Gavin Winter.”
Pen’s proclamation made Caro wince and cast a glance around to make certain no one else was within listening distance. “Keep your voice down, Pen.”
Her sister raised a brow. “All this time, I thought you were bedding Randall. But you’ve been keeping Gavin Winter in your room, haven’t you?”
She had found her sister in the hall outside the kitchens, waiting for her. But Pen had refused to go elsewhere to speak, and Caro had felt oddly placated by the notion of remaining near to Gavin anyway. Now, she regretted her hasty capitulation.
“Cease saying his name, if you please.”
“Does Jasper know you’re