“Er—yes, my lady. It is from”—he took a steadying breath and spat out the words—“his lordship.”

Gillian read the brief contents of the note. It consisted of three lines, stating that Weston felt it important that he be in London while Parliament was sitting, and since he knew Gillian would be infinitely happier in the country with her dogs, he trusted she would amuse herself until his return.

She carefully folded the note and, ignoring the expectant look on Tremayne’s face, turned her back and scanned the lush, perfect grounds of Nethercote. Life was funny—one moment you could be deliriously happy with everyone and everything, the next moment that happiness seemed to crumble and fall to pieces. Gillian felt as if she was standing on a threshold: one step forward and her life would follow one path, a step backward and it would go in another direction. The question of which path to choose was not at issue—she would follow Noble. He needed her, whether or not he knew it. Last night’s intimacies made that quite clear in her mind. No two people who could share the experience they shared could doubt that they were soul mates, intended from the very beginning of time for each other. She sighed heavily. Bringing the Lord of Obstinacy around to see that truth was another matter. The walls he had erected around his heart were formidable ones, and she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to scale them.

She sighed again. “I am, however, quite good at climbing trees, and I shouldn’t think there is too much of a difference.”

“Beg pardon, my lady?”

Gillian turned back and met his confused countenance. “It is of no consequence. Tremayne, would you have my maid pack my things in preparation for a trip to London?”

“I will indeed, my lady, with all due haste. And may I say, good for you, my lady?”

She matched his jubilant smile. “Would you also have my son’s things packed? Nick will be accompanying me. I believe we will ride rather than take the carriage.”

“Very good, my lady, I’ll order…did you say you would ride rather than take the carriage?”

She nodded and started toward the house. “We shall leave in an hour. You can follow later with the trunks and any servants who are needed at the town house. Oh, dear, Piddle and Erp; I forgot about them. It wouldn’t be fair to leave them here with strangers…Tremayne, I don’t suppose—”

“No, my lady, I couldn’t. Please don’t ask me to.”

“But they are very well-behaved dogs, and I could not stand the thought of leaving them behind.”

“It’s not their behavior I object to, my lady.”

Gillian sucked on her lower lip for a moment. “Has Lord Weston an old carriage? One that is not used frequently?”

The butler met her gaze with a slow smile. “He does, my lady. I shall see to the hounds’ removal to London myself.”

“Pettigrew likes them,” she said as they strolled toward the house. “Tell him we’ll need a boots in town, and send him to guard over their safety.”