He made the decision instantly. Sometimes it was the best way. “Can you clear your schedule today and come with me?”

“Yes.”

“No questions?”

She moved her shoulders. “All right, if you want one. Where?”

“To the little farm.” He waited for her reaction, but she only watched him. “I think it’s time we worked together.”

She closed her eyes a moment, then crossed to the bed. “Thank you.”

He felt his emotions rise and tangle again. They always would, he realized, with her. “You might not be grateful later.”

“Yes, I will.” Bending, she kissed him, not in passion, but in friendship. “No matter what.”

The corridors were dim when she left Reeve’s room to go to her own. But her spirit wasn’t. She had hope again. This wouldn’t be a day where she just followed the schedule that had been set for her. Today, at last, she’d do something to bring the past and present together. Perhaps the key was at the little farm. Perhaps with Reeve’s help she’d find it.

Quietly Brie opened the door to her bedroom, anxious to begin. Humming a little, she walked to the windows and began pushing aside the curtains so light could spill in.

“So.”

She jolted, whirled, then swore under her breath. “Nanny.”

The old woman straightened in the chair and gave Brie a long, steady look. If her bones were stiff, she gave no sign. Brie felt the patience, the disapproval, and felt the blood creep into her cheeks.

“Well you should blush, young lady, tiptoeing into your room with the sun.”

“Have you been here all night?”

“Yes. Which is more than you can say.” Nanny tapped a long, curved fingernail against the arm of the chair. She saw the change, but, then, she’d seen it days before when Brie had come back from sailing. When a woman was old, she was still a woman. “So you decided to take a lover. Tell me, are you pleased with yourself?”

Defiant, and amazed that she felt the need to be, Brie lifted her chin. “Yes.”

Nanny studied her—the tumbled hair, the flushed cheeks and the eyes where the echo of passion remained. “That’s as it should be,” she murmured. “You’re in love.”

She could have denied it. It was on the tip of her tongue to do so, when she realized it would be a lie. Just one more lie. “Yes, I’m in love.”

“Then I’ll tell you to be careful.” Nanny’s face looked old and pale in the morning light, but her eyes were ageless. “When a woman’s in love with her lover, she risks more than her body, more than her time. You understand?”

“Yes. I think I do.” Brie smiled and moved over to kneel at Nanny’s feet. “Why did you sleep all night in a chair instead of your bed?”

“Perhaps you’ve taken a lover, but I still look after you. I brought you warm milk—you don’t sleep well.”

Brie looked over and saw the thick cup on the table. “And I worried you because I wasn’t here.” She brought the woman’s hard little hand to her cheek. “I’ m sorry, Nanny.”