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“But we can’t talk about today during that visit.

” Connor gently nudged his sister as they walked side by side.

“Then her brother would know we saw her in those clothes. We would have to act like we just met her and talk about something else.” He looked up at Wolfe.

“What could we talk about? People sound foolish when they always talk about the weather. It’s either raining or not.

Hot or cold. What difference does it make about the weather?

And you are not going to tell her brother you saw her, are you?

She helped us, and it would be rude to get her in trouble after she helped us. ”

“Yes, brother,” Sissy chimed in, “quite rude and ungrateful.”

Wolfe scrubbed a hand across his face and rubbed his tired eyes.

Gads, these two would be the death of him.

They had not even been punished for this latest adventure and were already plotting their next one.

At least this time they had decided to include him.

“I will not mention her manner of dress if and when I ever speak to her brother.”

“If and when?” Connor stared at him in horror. “We have to visit them—or would you rather me and Sissy go alone, since Grace put you in your place?”

“Grace—Lady Grace—did not put me in my place. And you will not go anywhere without the proper supervision of either myself or someone from the household that I have assigned to watch over you. Is that understood?”

The children shared one of the secretive looks, then replied in unison, “Yes, brother.”

Wolfe had no doubt they would plot a visit to the Broadmeres at their first opportunity and preferably engage in that visit without any supervision.

As they descended the last gently rolling hill, he pointed out the flurry of activity around Wolfebourne Lodge, the stables, the dovecote, and the other small buildings. “You see? Everyone is still searching for you.”

“How did you know where to look?” Connor asked.

“I didn’t. I intended to ride across every inch of the estate until I found you.”

“Sorry,” Connor said. This time the child sounded as if he meant it. “But I couldn’t let Hector go off on his own. He would have never found his way back.”

“And Galileo and I had to help,” Sissy said. “He guarded us while we tried to get Hector loose before Grace—I mean Lady Grace—came along.”

“There is Miss Hannah,” Wolfe said, needing a stout drink and his comfortable chair in the quiet of the library before he sorted through this latest uproar any further. “Go to her. I shall decide your punishment and inform you of your fate before you have your dinner.”

“We still get our dinner?” Connor brightened. “Good. ’Cause I bet Miss Hannah will tell us we can’t have our tea.”

“You will have your tea. Tell her if she has any doubt about that to see me.” Wolfe did not believe a child should be denied food or drink for poor behavior.

He preferred they work off their punishment by cleaning stalls in the stable, scrubbing floors, or emptying chamber pots.

That not only punished them but gave them an awareness of the unpleasantness servants dealt with every day.

“Off with you now, and you may also inform her that Mr. George is to see to Hector’s leg. ”

Connor tromped through the tangle of meadow grass until he stood in front of Wolfe and looked up at him.

“Thank you, brother, and me and Sissy are sorry for running off and making everyone look for us. But you see now it was ’cause we had to help Hector and not ’cause we was just trying to be bad. You see that, right?”

Sissy moved to her twin’s side, staring up at Wolfe with her big, imploring eyes that always twisted his gut and made him feel guilty about not being a better guardian. “We didn’t mean to disobey Miss Hannah. It just sort of happened.”

Before Wolfe could respond, Miss Hannah reached them. “Lord Connor! Lady Susannah! Shame on you both for giving me such a fright. I told you to stay in the garden. Did I not?” She dropped a quick curtsy to Wolfe and kept her gaze lowered. “To their beds without their tea and dinner, Your Grace?”

“No.” Wolfe scrubbed a hand across his face again, at a complete loss when it came to being a proper guardian—especially when his siblings were so convinced that their existence mattered to no one but themselves.

Lady Grace’s admiration of the children’s loyalty and courage regarding their animals came to mind as he noticed his little brother and sister holding their pets as if ready to defend them to the death.

Such loyalty and courage were indeed admirable qualities.

“They are to have their tea and their dinner, and also inform Mr. George to have a look at Hector’s leg.

It appears to be injured. Galileo will also be needing a saucer of cream.

I am sure he is hungry after his adventure. ”

Her ruffled white cap askew, the young maid stared downward while wringing her hands. “Am I to be dismissed, then, Your Grace?”

Wolfe studied the woman the children seemed to tolerate better than any of the others who had attempted to manage them.

She had never been cruel, nor had she ever taken it upon herself to fill their heads with hurtful opinions that would make them think themselves any more unwanted than they already felt they were.

After so much trouble with the last governess, he had repeatedly asked Connor and Sissy about Miss Hannah’s treatment of them.

They always told him she was fair and reliable—she just never exhibited any emotions toward them.

It was as if they were expensive trinkets she had been charged to guard and keep well dusted.

At least, that was what Sissy had told him, and Connor had nodded his agreement.

“You are not to be dismissed,” Wolfe told the nervous maid. “See to the children’s tea and ensure Mr. George aids Hector, as I instructed.”

Miss Hannah curtsied again. “Thank you, Your Grace. I will.” Still unsmiling but not in an unkind way, she shooed the children toward the main house.

Wolfe had taken naught but a few steps farther before a stable lad met him and took possession of his mount.

His horse, loyal Tenebrae, so titled with the Latin word for darkness because of the gleaming blackness of his coat, planted his enormous feet and refused to move until Wolfe nodded permission.

Buoyed by the horse’s devotion, Wolfe’s spirits fell as he turned toward the house and spied the tall, bony-faced Lady Longmorten headed his way.

He had often wondered if the matron’s disposition would improve if she ate more—or ate at all, for that matter.

All he ever recalled her doing at meals was picking at her food and rearranging it on her plate.

As far as he had noticed, she never actually consumed anything.

“Your Grace,” she said with her usual shrillness that always triggered the same unpleasantness as metal scraping against stone.

“I just passed Lady Susannah. The girl has completely ruined her gown. I am sure those rips can’t be repaired.

The embroidery along the hemline is frayed beyond all recognition, and that muslin shall never be white again with all those grass stains. ”

His ability to be civil had worn dangerously thin, so he drew in a deep breath through his nose, held it for a long moment, then whistled it out through his clenched teeth. “Lady Longmorten, it appears you are more concerned about my sister’s wardrobe than her wellbeing. Might I inquire as to why?”

Mouth agape, the woman stared at him as if he were the devil himself—which lifted his spirits considerably. Perhaps he should practice curtness toward the dowager countess more often.

“My concern for the child is all encompassing,” she finally said, her pale blue eyes snapping.

“I could plainly see she was unharmed even though the same could not be said for her attire.” She marched forward with the stomping grace of an angry bull about to charge.

“Lady Susannah’s future would be better served traveling abroad with my cousin, the one I spoke to you about.

Lady Gransorrie would see to her proper training and return her to you as she should be. ”

“Both my sister and brother are exactly as they should be .” Wolfe advanced on her, forcing her to retreat several steps.

“While you and Lady Margaret are welcome guests, your advice is not. How I see fit to care for my only remaining family is no one’s affair but my own. Is that understood, Lady Longmorten?”

The dowager jutted her long, angular chin even higher.

“While my daughter is not yet your wife, Your Grace, she has been a promised member of your family since she was born. My advice is not ill-intentioned but rendered for the benefit of all. I feel certain Lady Susannah would come to thank me someday.”

Wolfe forced a polite bow. “This conversation, along with my patience, has reached its end, Lady Longmorten. I shall see you and Lady Margaret at dinner—and not before, if either of you value your sensibilities.”

He strode past her, allowing himself a faint smile when she fired an indignant huff after him.

The insufferable woman should be thankful he had reined in the inclination to suggest that she and her daughter were more than welcome to take rooms at the local inn rather than remain guests at Wolfebourne Lodge.

In fact, he would gladly pay for the length of their stay.

The coin it would cost him would be a great deal less painful than their presence in his home.

Gads, he should have told her every bit of that. He berated himself for allowing that opportunity to slip through his fingers. The moment was past.