“A few gardens over from Mrs. Renshaw’s. There was another dog, female, I believe, but it was difficult to tell. I’ll call on them tomorrow to explain the situation—they’ve a hole in their garden wall they need to repair to avoid future visitors. Next time, it may not be a friendly creature like Ash.”

“You’ll call on them?” Foster asked as they made their way back to Evie’s.

Belatedly, Gregory realized how that would look. Why would he be concerned with a dog when he lived nowhere nearby? “Mrs. Renshaw will do it.”

They walked in silence until they were nearly to the garden gate. Foster stopped, prompting Gregory to do so as well.

“Lord Gregory, I feel I should tell you that we all care for Mrs. Renshaw very much. She is more like family to us than an employer.”

Gregory wanted to ask several questions about his statement. Why were they like family? How had they come to work for Evie? What was the reason for their depth of feeling? Instead, he said, “How wonderful.”

Foster went on, “I won’t presume to guess at your relationship with Mrs. Renshaw, but you should know that we will all look out for her.”

He sounded like a protective father. Gregory stifled a smile. Here, he’d been absurdly jealous that Evie’s butler was a handsome young man. “She is lucky to have all of you looking after her. I care for her too.” A great deal more than she wanted him to.

Foster smiled, and damn if he wasn’t even handsomer than he’d been a second earlier. “That is good to hear, my lord.”

“Shall we go inside, then?” Gregory asked pleasantly.

“Of course.” Foster opened the gate and gestured for Gregory to precede him. “I’ll make sure it’s locked securely.”

“Excellent.” Yes, Evie was quite lucky to have such loyal and caring people in her household.

Gregory went into the library and was followed by Foster, who asked if Evie required anything further, as if searching for a dog in the wee hours of the predawn were as regular as serving tea.

“No. Thank you, Foster. For everything. What would I do without you, Maggie, and Delilah?”

“Fortunately, you’ve no need to find out,” Foster said with a reassuring smile. “Good night, then.” He took himself off, leaving Evie and Gregory alone.

Well, not alone. Ash was asleep on a chair next to where Evie stood.

“He wore himself out with all that,” Gregory said.

Evie looked down at Ash with a pained expression. “You should take him home.”

“Not right now, I shouldn’t. I practically ran here, which means I’d have to carry him all the way home. He needs to sleep.”

“Can you carry him upstairs?”

“Certainly.” Gregory gingerly picked Ash up, careful not to wake him, which likely wasn’t even possible given the depth of the dog’s gentle snores.