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Kate took his arm, and they walked the few steps across the room towards her brother-in-law and Nathaniel.

"Well, well! Who's this fine lady, then?" George called cheerfully as he sauntered past her on his way to join his wife.

Her father gave a little squeeze to her arm before releasing her and following his son-in-law across the room.

Nathaniel was standing beside the fireplace, but he did not look at all himself. His usual easy grin had disappeared, and his eyes were wide as he stared at her. He looked thunderstruck. Kate had been looking forward to seeing his reaction to her new gown, but now she was standing before him, she began to worry that something was amiss. He had not spoken a word. His eyes travelled slowly over her face and then down to the emerald resting against her chest before returning to meet hers. His lips parted, but no words came.

"Have I something on my face?" she asked, raising a hand to her cheek. "Do you not like the dress?"

"Kate," he said in a low voice, "you are trying to kill me."

She frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

He shook his head slowly, as if attempting to recover his senses, and then that infectious grin she loved so well began to spread across his face. "You cannot walk into a drawing room looking like a goddess made flesh and expect a man to behave himself."

Kate felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She looked down at her gown, suddenly conscious of the way the silk fitted around her waist and the amount of neck and shoulders it left exposed. She had thought the dress beautiful when Sarah had finished dressing her, but Nathaniel's expression made her feel extraordinary.

"I had no intention of causing you any harm," she said, looking up at him with a shy smile.

"Well, it is too late for that," he whispered. "You have torn my heart from my chest, and I am entirely at your mercy." He took her hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss against her gloved knuckles. When he straightened, he did not release her fingers.

"You look beautiful, Cathy. I am sorry I did not say so at once. You have robbed me of my wits." He laughed, and Kate felt some of her nervousness slip away. There was her Nathaniel and she breathed a little easier.

"You are wearing your green waistcoat," she said, looking up at him again. She reached out and ran a finger over one of its shiny buttons. "My favourite."

"Your opinion on this garment has changed very decidedly," he said, looking down at the green silk of his waistcoat and then at her gown before grinning. "We are a matching pair."

Kate laughed and looked down at their matching colours. How strange that the gentleman she had once thought a silly peacock should now be so dear to her, she thought, shaking her head in amazement.

"Are you well, sweetheart?" he asked, squeezing her hand. But before Kate could answer, Johnson appeared in the doorway and announced that dinner was served. There was a general movement towards the door as her mother rose from the sofa and called for everyone to come along before the food grew cold.

Nathaniel offered Kate his arm, and she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. As they followed her family towards the dining room, he bent his head a little closer to hers. "I warn you, Miss Darcy, I shall find it difficult to keep my eyes upon my plate this evening."

"Then you must try very hard to pay attention, Mr Briar. I should hate for you to starve on my account."

Nathaniel laughed, and she felt his hand close warmly over hers as they followed the others into the dining room.

If the last meal the family had enjoyed in Nathaniel's company could be characterised as awkward and stilted, this gathering was anything but. Conversation flowed merrily, and laughter rang out across the dining room.

"I understand you went over to the barrow today, Mr Briar," said her father.

"Indeed, sir, I did," said Nathaniel. "The men have done an excellent job of clearing away the damage and adding extra supports. We are now back to the point we had reached before the storm. I hope to spend the next few days uncovering what I suspect is the burial chamber, and then we shall open it and take a look at what is inside."

"And what do you expect to find?" asked George. "I have my heart set on hidden treasure, Briar. Please do not disappoint me."

"I shall do my best, Harwood, but I fear you may be disappointed. If the chamber has remained undisturbed, we may find an urn containing cremated remains, or perhaps a burial laid within a stone-lined grave. There may be pottery vessels, implements of flint or bronze, or even ornaments of jet or amber. There is always the possibility of gold, of course, although it is unlikely."

"Well, I shall keep my fingers crossed for gold. It will make a much better story at my club than bits of old flint."

"Do you remember that fox skull you brought home, Kate?" said Mina conversationally. "You kept it on the windowsill for six months. It used to scare me every time I looked over at it."

"Yes, well," said Kate, blushing and looking down at her soup, "I do not believe that is a discussion for the dinner table."

"Everyone is discussing pulling some poor sorry skeleton from the ground. I do not see how it is any different," Mina continued. "She was absolutely obsessed, Mr Briar. She used to study it every day and make notes and refer to books in Father's library. I was only tiny, of course, but she must have been ten or eleven and should have known better."

"I think possessing a scientific and enquiring mind at any age is something to be celebrated," said Nathaniel, smiling down at Kate, who was sure she must now be burning as red as a beacon.

"Yes, well," said Elizabeth, laughing, "enough of human or fox remains at the dinner table. What are your plans once the Pemberley excavation is complete, Mr Briar?"