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R oland had kept an eye out of the various windows of his house to see if he might catch Lady Serenity taking her dog for a walk. He’d confided in Quinn, who also kept an eye out, and who had a discreet word with the footmen, who also were keeping an eye out.

He was signing papers at his desk when he heard one of the footmen shout from the hall. “The lady with the three-legged dog is on the square!”

Roland jumped up and threw the doors to the library open. “Find Havoc and get a leash on him and tell my valet to bring my coat.”

One footman ran down to the kitchens. It was well known in the house that if Havoc was not at Roland’s feet, he was at the cook’s feet waiting for accidents of the dropped variety.

Another flew up the stairs to pass on the order for his coat.

Roland straightened his neckcloth into better order as he left the library for the drawing room and a better view.

He did not know what he expected, he supposed it would be as it was the night it snowed. Lady Serenity, her dog, and the matron who accompanied her.

That was not what he saw this moment. It was a veritable crowd of people, all of them women but for a very young gentleman with them.

His valet ran in with his coat, hurried him into it and brushed it. One of the footmen brought Havoc, who was beside himself with excitement. He could not know what the cause of his excitement was, but dogs were very good at sensing something interesting was in the offing.

Roland took the leash. “Calm down and attempt to appear dignified,” he pointlessly told the dog. Or perhaps he told himself too. It was hard to know.

Quinn had the front doors open and Roland strode out. The party had gone past his house and got ahead of him. They were just now turning into the gate that led into the square’s garden.

He picked up his pace, Havoc joyfully keeping up. “Lady Serenity,” he called.

En masse, the group of ladies stopped and turned to him. Lady Serenity said, “Lord Thorpe, how fortuitous we should unexpectedly encounter you here.”

She was looking delightfully pretty, wearing a dark green velvet pelisse and matching bonnet.

He reached the party and bowed. There were various expressions in response to unexpectedly encountering him.

Two of the ladies, who he knew of in society, Lady Grace and Lady Felicity, looked amused.

Two of the younger ladies looked him over suspiciously.

One of the ladies, who seemed she must be the youngest of them, did not look at him at all.

Rather, she stared in horror at Havoc and slowly backed up.

The nursemaid that accompanied them appeared bored, as if she’d seen it all before.

The young gentleman said, “Does he bite?” hooking a thumb at Havoc.

“Of course he bites,” the youngest lady shouted. “Look at how big his mouth is!”

“He does not bite,” Roland said. “He only feels terrible that people are afraid of him because of his size. He does not mean to be so big.”

“Really,” the girl whispered.

As the young gentleman inched up to Havoc to test out the idea, Lady Serenity said, “Lord Thorpe, these are my sisters, the ladies Felicity, Grace, Winsome, Verity, and Valor. That is Grace’s son, Miles, and Nurse carries Felicity’s daughter, Isabelle. And Nelson, of course.”

Just as young Miles was doing, Nelson edged ever closer to Havoc. Roland prayed Havoc would remain calm and not frighten anybody.

Seeing that he was approached, Havoc threw himself on the ground and rolled on his back. Good dog.

Nelson was particularly delighted by this turn of events, as Havoc had sent the clear message that he wished to be friends and would not attempt to boss about his new, and very much smaller, acquaintance.

Roland also noticed that Nelson wore the red leather collar he’d sent over.

At that moment, Lady Serenity seemed to notice it too. “It was very thoughtful to send a collar for Nelson,” she said. “I had not thought to have engraved his home address on the collar he’d been wearing.”

Roland did not say that he had sent it as a compliment to her, rather than Nelson.

“You would be surprised to know how often I have worried that somebody might take him,” the lady went on. “My father jokes that nobody but us have any use for a three-legged dog.”

“And half blind, too,” Lady Winsome added. “As Thomas says, our Nelson has been through the wars.”

“But I think he is just so charming, and of course there must be people who would think just the same. What if they could not resist their worst instincts and stole him?”

“I understand perfectly,” Roland said. “I am not so worried about Havoc these days as he is so big, but when he first came to me I guarded him very carefully.”

Havoc and Nelson took that moment to leap to their feet, knocking Miles off his own. He landed with a thud. Before Grace could run to him, exclaim, or otherwise assert her motherly role, he sat up. “I am all right, Mama.”

Roland gave him a hand up. “Perhaps we’d better get these two dogs walking, else they trip up the whole party in their enthusiasm. Lady Serenity?”

The lady nodded prettily and they set off through the gate to the square’s paths through the trees.

The rest of the party followed behind, which Roland was beginning to see as awkward in the extreme.

They were a silent following party, seeming to prefer listening to what might be said between him and Lady Serenity.

Aside from them occasionally stopping to sniff one another, Havoc and Nelson were relatively behaved and seemed to enjoy walking together.

“They like one another,” Roland said.

Lady Serenity nodded. “I have not known how Nelson would be near another dog, as he has not had any friends. The only other dog we encounter here is Lady Maribel’s bad-tempered Pekinese who hates everybody, even Lady Maribel, I believe.”

Roland laughed. “I know the dog you speak of. Lady Maribel is rather terrified of the little beast—it has a habit of biting ankles and she’s had several staff leave on account of it.”

“Havoc is very well-behaved,” Lady Serenity said.

“It is his temperament,” Roland said. “He is an easygoing, small dog hoping to be approved of, walking round in a very large body.”

“I believe you are right about temperament,” Lady Serenity said. “We cannot know what happened to Nelson before we found him, but certainly many terrible things. He ought to be bitter over it, but he is not.”

“He was surviving on scraps!” Lady Winsome said loudly behind them, a further reminder that their conversation was not at all private.

“And yet, he is such a darling, despite it all,” Lady Serenity said. “I wonder if temperament is rather fixed, despite whatever might befall a person.”

This of course did give Roland pause, considering he was determined to modify his own temperament.

“Perhaps only mostly fixed,” he ventured. “I do think one’s circumstances and preferences can move inclinations a bit one way or the other.”

Lady Serenity looked thoughtful over it.

“Serenity,” Lady Valor called from behind, “did you thank Lord Thorpe for the roses, but tell him not to send any more, because you have decided not to ever leave the house?”

“Valor!” Lady Grace said.

“She doesn’t have to leave if she does not want to. I’m not ever leaving my papa,” Lady Valor said.

Lady Serenity’s cheeks pinked. “My youngest sister is not approving that my three older sisters have married.”

“No, I am not,” Lady Valor confirmed.

Roland could hear Lady Felicity hushing the youngest of the Nicolet sisters. They had reached the other side of the gardens and followed the turn on the path that would take them back round to their own side of the square.

Havoc and Nelson were ahead of them, walking side by side in a surprisingly rational fashion.

Nelson’s head only came to Havoc’s shoulder and he did not have the same stride, what with him being smaller and down a leg, but Havoc seemed to be making allowances.

“As they have seemed to become fast friends,” Roland said, “perhaps it would not be kind to forever separate them. Perhaps they would like going on further walks in the square.”

“Oh, I think that must be right. I could not bear to disappoint Nelson and this is the first friend he’s ever had. That I know of, anyway.”

“I find eleven o’clock in the morning is a good time to walk a dog. Perhaps we ought to arrange it?”

“I am almost always free at eleven,” Lady Serenity said.

“As am I.”

“Excellent,” Lady Felicity said behind them. “There will be dog walking at eleven each morning.”

“If, of course, your father approves the plan,” Roland said to Lady Serenity.

“I’ll tell him not to,” Lady Valor said. “This dog walking idea is terrible!”

“I am certain he will approve,” Lady Serenity said, ignoring her youngest sister’s opinions.

They had come to the gate leading out of the gardens. Roland would like to suggest going round a second time, though it would be rather preposterous. It would also likely send Lady Valor into fits, as she currently wished he’d disappear into a puff of smoke and never be seen again.

“I suppose I’d better take Havoc inside,” he said, “he’ll wish for water by now.”

“As will Nelson, I’m sure.”

Roland turned and bowed. “Ladies, and young sir,” he said. Then he led Havoc away toward his house, attempting to ignore that he had an audience in doing so.

The audience was not all behind him either. As he approached the house, curtains dropped in all the front rooms.

There was something embarrassing in publicly courting. But no matter, there were to be dog walks at eleven each morning. Hopefully with less of a crowd.

*

It was the most natural thing in the world that all her sisters should dissect their impressions of everything that had been said on the dog walk with Lord Thorpe.

Valor remained entirely against him, as he posed a threat to her plan to keep her remaining sisters in the house forever.