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“ A toast!”

Dante stood from his chair at one end of the long dining table, raising his wine glass before him. The dining room at Seagrave House was blazing with candlelight, the table covered with a feast, for this, their last dinner together before they all went off for different corners of the kingdom.

“To our host and hostess, Rolfe and Cassia. You prepare to leave for your bucolic existence in Sussex. As you pass away the long lonely months ahead, may you always remember to keep a warm fire burning in your hearth by day, and,” he added, winking, “a warmer fire yet burning in your bedchamber by night!”

“Here, here,” chorused the others sitting around the table.

Cassia laughed, shaking her head at Dante’s jest. “Somehow I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“We obviously need not press the same advice upon you, my friend,” Rolfe said to Dante. “I hear tell the fires in France burn even hotter than their English cousins.”

Dante grinned. “Yes, well, I’ll be sure to let you know whether there is any truth to that rumor upon my return—if I am ever permitted to return to England, that is.

Which is whenever our good sovereign sees fit to allow me back in the country.

He was none too pleased with me when he summoned me to Whitehall to inform me of my new position.

A special envoy to France, he called it, but we really know what he means.

When last I checked, I was to be occupied with this assignment well into the next century. ”

“I warned you to be careful,” Rolfe said.

“I had only good intentions in this,” Dante said in his own defense. “His Majesty will realize that once he has the chance to cool his anger and think on it with a sensible head. In the meantime, a journey abroad is just what I need right now.”

“His Majesty must have been beside himself when he learned that Frances Stuart and the Duke of Richmond had eloped,” Cassia said.

“Especially after she indicated that she would finally be willing to allow the king her favors. But, what still puzzles me is how he ever learned of your involvement in it, Dante?”

“I owe that to that harpy, Barbara Palmer. She came upon Frances and me at that little gathering of hers that night. We were in the midst of a discussion about the plans for Richmond to come and spirit her off. When Lady Castlemaine questioned me in that, eh, subtle way of hers, I managed to throw her off the scent, so to speak. But when the elopement became known, she must have figured it all out and ran straight for the king to fill his ears.”

He smiled then, a wicked sort of smile. “You needn’t worry though. I will find a way to pay her back in kind.”

“And you’ll have plenty of time to think of a fitting retribution while you’re frittering away the months in France.” Hadrian said. “You’re lucky you weren’t thrown in the Tower.”

“You’re lucky you weren’t castrated,” added Rolfe.

“Good God, Rolfe, bite your tongue. His Majesty may have been angry at my involvement, but I don’t think he is completely off the hooks.

Castrate me? The Rakehell Earl? It speaks of insanity.

Actually, I’m looking forward to my little journey.

Exile in France at the court of the Sun King can hardly be called punishment for a man with my tastes in amusement. ”

He took another sip of his wine, turning to Rolfe. “That explains my hasty departure, but what of you, Rolfe? Why this sudden eagerness for the countryside?”

Rolfe shrugged. “My work here is done. My assignment is concluded.”

“With the Duke of Manton having confessed to killing my father,” Cassia said, “my innocence has been proven and I am finally free.”

“Yes,” added Rolfe, “I promised my wife a quiet life in Sussex. Now that he has been publicly identified as one of the Regicides, the duke is occupying a cell in the Tower, detained at His Majesty’s pleasure to await what will be done with him.”

“And to think Cassia was nearly wed to his son,” Mara said. “Thank heavens you managed to avoid that one. I shudder to think what your life would have been had the match gone forward.”

Cassia nodded. “Malcolm still insists he had no knowledge of his father’s involvement with The Regicides, and as there is no proof of it otherwise, so he shall remain free.”

“And what of your cousin, Geoffrey, Cassia? We were all so certain he was the real culprit.”

Cassia shook her head. “The only thing I believe Geoffrey guilty of is stupidity. Despite the fact that he seemed so suspect, he was never actually involved with any of it. His only vice was his greed and his liking for the gaming tables. When the duke offered to pay him for stealing my father’s watch, Geoffrey had no suspicions.

He was far too busy counting the promised coin.

The night of Lady Castlemaine’s party, he was working for the duke again.

He was acting as a decoy to lure Rolfe away from Seagrave House so the duke could get his hands on the document.

Geoffrey has since agreed to accept Rolfe’s offer of financial support in occupying my family’s seat in Cambridgeshire and settle down into a life in the country.

His agreement is much owing, I’m sure, to his need to avoid the debt collectors who are now looking for him throughout London. ”

“If I were you I’d be sure to keep a sharp eye on any valuables,” Dante said.

“That has already been arranged,” replied Rolfe. “Seagrave’s solicitor, Mr. Finchley, will be supervising everything. We’re hoping the venture will keep Geoffrey occupied and far enough from the city to allow him to mend his ways.”

“What about you and Mara, Hadrian?” Dante asked then, “When are you off for Ireland?”

“We’ll be traveling to Dorset by way of Sussex with Rolfe and Cassia. Then, after a brief visit with my Aunt Hesteria at Rossingham, we will be off to return to Kulhaven. We hope to be back home by spring so Mara can ready herself for the birth of the next little one.”

“So, it seems,” Rolfe said, “everyone is off to their own parts of the world.”

“Not exactly.”

Cordelia was sitting beside Cassia in an ensemble made entirely of red, down to her silk stockings, she assured them. She had been heretofore listening silently to the conversation, but suddenly spoke up.

“With all of you leaving, I will be left here alone.”

At that moment, a knocking came on the door in the hall outside.

Rolfe stood.

“If you would be so kind as to hold that thought, my dear Lady Haslit.”

“What?” Cordelia looked around the room. “What does he mean?”

Everyone remained silent while Rolfe left the room. He returned a short time later, only to remain in the doorway.

“My dearest Cordelia, Cassia and I discussed this very thing at length when we first decided to quit the city for Ravenwood. After you refused our offer to accompany us, we came to the conclusion that it just wouldn’t do for us to leave you here among the vice and debauchery of the royal court.

I mean, there is your unsullied reputation to consider.

So, I have employed the services of a chaperone for you . ..”

Cordelia went wide-eyed. “A chaperone! But I am a married lady. I have no need of a chaperone. I ...”

The door swung opened to reveal a very large man waiting in the entrance hall.

“Percy!”

Cordelia flew from her chair in a flurry of red silk and ran straight into her husband’s arms. She started covering his face in kisses while the rest of the party looked on.

“This is Percival?” Dante said quietly.

“If I were you,” Rolfe muttered lowly, “I wouldn’t call him by that name. To anyone except his wife, he prefers to be called either Haslit or just plain ‘Pierce’ for his, ahem , well-known ability with his sword.”

Dante raised his brow. “I’m much obliged for the warning.”

“Everyone,” Cordelia announced then, beaming like a giddy schoolgirl. She turned, dragging her mammoth of a husband by the arm into the room. “This is my husband, Percival Fanshaw, the Earl of Haslit. Percy, dear, these are all my friends.”

Percival had to stoop his head to make it clear through the doorway. He surely stood a number of inches over six feet.

“A pleasure to meet you all,” he said, his voice a deep, rich baritone. “Thank you for taking such good care with my wife while I have been away.”

“But why didn’t you write and tell me you were coming?” Cordelia asked him, still smiling, still clinging to his great hand.

Percival motioned to Rolfe. “It was Lord Seagrave who arranged it all with the king. Even I didn’t know of it. We were off the coast of northern France when I received a summons to return to the city for an extended leave of absence. I left immediately.”

“But how did you ever manage it,” Cordelia asked Rolfe, looking at him as if he had just worked a miracle.

Rolfe smiled. “I had a long talk with His Majesty over a bottle of his finest brandy. Being a man who is inclined to epicurean and passionate pursuits, he agreed with my thoughts on the matter. We both came to the conclusion that your husband had done more than his duty in his service to the Crown.”

“I never would have dared to dream that you’d be coming home,” she said, sniffing, eyes glistening with happy tears. She stared up at her husband as if she expected him to vanish at any moment.

Rolfe put his arm around Cassia’s waist and pulled her closer to his side. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, saying more to her than to Cordelia, “Some dreams, my dear lady, are well worth the chase.”