"And there was nothing that could be done?" Tess persisted.

Brenn held a chair out for her and then, with easy negligence, dropped into the one across the small round table from her. "Look, rack of lamb, my favorite. Do you care for some?"

Tess stared at him. "You don't want to talk about this, do you? You didn't even like it when Sir Charles bragged about your heroism."

"There are no heroes in war." He placed a slice of lamb on Tess's plate before helping himself to a generous serving. He was about to take the first bite when he noticed she hadn't moved. "What?"

"You're not bitter either. I've never heard you complain."

"Why should I? I'm alive and I have my health. I also have plans. I'm going to build the sort of life I'd only dreamed of. As you know, the only thing my leg stops me from doing is dancing," he said pointedly."I don't-dance-much either." Fl.u.s.tered, she picked up her fork and knife.He smiled at her, filling her gla.s.s with red wine. "Laughing la.s.ses should always dance.""I don't have the rhythm for it. I trip over my own two feet."He laughed with genuine amus.e.m.e.nt. "At last, a c.h.i.n.k in the perfection of Tess Owen."The sound of her married name made her hesitate. Tess Owen. It reminded her of their sharing a bed, something that she'd tried not to think about.

Her appet.i.te left her.

"What is the matter? What did I say?" he asked.

She looked up at him, surprised that he had noticed her change of mood. "Nothing, nothing," she averred

quickly. She forced herself to take a bite of meat. It was tasteless. She swallowed it down and took a sipof wine before saying, "Neil said that you haven't had the t.i.tle long."Brenn nodded, tearing off a piece of bread. "I didn't even know I had an uncle who was an earl."

"How is that?" Tess asked, genuinely curious.

"No one told me," he answered simply. "My father was estranged from his family. He'd sinned in the eyes of his family by falling in love with an English girl."

"Why was that a sin?" She took another bite of lamb. Finished with his meal, Brenn set his napkin aside. "The Welsh are proud people and probably the most independent in all the world. My father's family had sent him to Chester to sell horses. Instead, he met my mother. She was the local horse dealer's daughter and it was love at first sight. She said he proposed on the spot. Worse, Father was so distracted, he practically gave the horses away to her father. His family was not amused to receive such a poor price and an English daughter-in-law."

Tess laughed, completely charmed by the story. "Do you believe in such a thing? Love at first sight, I

mean? It has always sounded so fantastical." She speared several peas in her mouth.

He played with the stem of his winegla.s.s, a small smile hovering around his lips, before shrugging. "I don'

t know. But I have learned over the years to never disregard anything. The most incredible bit of nonsense can turn out to be true. And it is true that my father renounced everything for his English bride."

"The family didn't like her just because she was English?" She lathered a healthy bit of b.u.t.ter on her

bread and took a bite.

"Worse than not like. They informed him he could have had his choice of half a dozen Welsh beauties and a Saxon wench was not what they had in mind."

"A Saxon wench?"

"The Welsh still call the English Saxons. Old habits die hard there."

"What happened when he refused to give her up?" Tess prompted.

"They showed him the door."

"How cruel!"

"How like my father's family is more like it. The truth is," Brenn said, leaning both elbows on the table,

"Father's family was more than a bit eccentric. Father claimed he had never fit in with them and said he

was happy to leave. He bought his commission and joined the army."

"But what of your mother?" Tess asked. "How terrible for her to have left behind the life she knew only to be rejected by your father's family."

"What an imagination you have," he said with a laugh. "I don't think she ever regretted her decision to marry him. She loved him. Wherever he was sent in the army, she traveled by his side." He added almost as an afterthought, "She was a brave woman."

"Yes," Tess agreed thoughtfully. She'd cleaned her plate. She set her knife and fork aside and asked, "What happened after that?"

"Happened? Not much. I was born three years later."

Tess glanced down at her wedding ring. "Yes. You said you had been in India."

Brenn poured them each another gla.s.s of wine. "I served in India," he corrected. "I was sent there right after I purchased my commission, but Mother never let me live there with them."

"Why not?" she asked, sipping her wine.

"She feared fever. I grew up here, living with relatives or a family my parents hired to take care of me. Irarely lived with my mother and father."Tess frowned. "That must have been lonely.""It wasn't. The family had six boys. I didn't have a moment alone until I went off to school.""Yes, but didn't you want someplace that was your own?"He sat back. "That is exactly how I felt," he admitted softly. "Amazing that you who have always had everything could understand that."

Tess pulled a face. "Since Neil married Stella, I have felt as if my home wasn't my own anymore. As if I no longer belonged there."

Brenn nodded. "I felt that way until I saw Erwynn Keep. I promise you, Tess, Erwynn Keep is the most

beautiful place on earth. The lake, the sky, the mountains...it's the first true home I've ever had.""But what of your family?""There is no one of my father's family left, except for the villagers who live within a mile of the great house."

"What did they say when your father's half-English son inherited? What will they say when you bring home a Saxon bride?"

His eyes gleamed with amus.e.m.e.nt. "This is the best part of the story. My uncle, the earl, who never

married one of those half a dozen fine Welsh la.s.ses, was apparently a very strange character given to bad

moods and spouting off nonsense. After his parents died, his behavior was so exceedingly odd, the Welsh would have welcomed anyone in his stead, including me. I am now considered their only hope to return Erwynn Keep to its former glory."

"Returning it to its glory? What is the matter with the estate? It looked perfect lovely in the picture."

He seemed to falter a bit. "It is," he quickly said. "Very lovely." But his rea.s.suring smile didn't quite go

past his cheekbones...and then he admitted, "But it does need work. My uncle was not a good businessman."

"Oh, I can understand that a bachelor residence would need work. I shall look forward to the challenge."

"Ummm," he said, noncommittally. "But what of you? We married so quickly there are many things I don

't know about you."Tess was not accustomed to taking about herself. "There isn't much to say.""Tell me about your parents." He again filled their winegla.s.ses, finishing the bottle.Tess crossed her arms. "My mother died when I was five.""So you don't remember much about her."Tess nodded, unwilling to talk. Funny that he should hone in on what distressed her most. She couldn't remember what her mother looked like. She remembered her smile, but not her eyes. She could recall her touch, but not the texture of her hair. "I remember how she smelled. She'd designed her own fragrance and was known for it. It was a combination of lily, rose, and a hint of lemon verbena."

"Your fragrance."

Her gaze met his. "Yes," she confessed with a touch of surprise. "That is my scent. You noticed?"

"I notice everything about you, Tess."

His words started that dizzy little awareness of him.

"So." His hand came across the table and rested a mere inch from her own. "Were your parents a love

match?"

She almost laughed. "No. Papa always said that heiresses like Mama and myself are too valuable to beturned loose to their own inclinations. Their marriage was arranged." Heiresses! She'd forgotten.Tess closed her eyes, wishing her papa was alive. Wishing everything was different. "I miss him."Brenn's hand covered hers. Where his fingers touched, her skin tingled. She opened her eyes, staring at where their hands rested together. What would happen if she confessed the truth? Right now, this minute?

"Tess?"

She started. "Yes?"

"You seemed miles away. Is something the matter?"

She pulled her hand out from underneath his. "I was just remembering."

He nodded as if she had confirmed his suspicions and then pushed his chair back from the table. "Are

you ready to turn in for the night or would you enjoy a walk around the stables?"

"A walk, please," Tess answered. Fresh air would help clear her mind of this terrible guilt that weighed heavy with her. She wasn't anxious for the day that would inevitably come when he'd learn the truth.

Nor was she anxious to "turn in for the night."

Outside, mists of fog rose from the ground. There was rain in the air. Inside the stables the smell of it mingled with that of hay and horses, a not unpleasant smell. Brenn's horse, Ace, nickered a greeting.

Tess stepped over the fresh straw and ran her hand along his coat. She'd not worn her gloves and theanimal's skin felt warm against her palm."He's not a beautiful beast," Brenn observed. "But he's rugged and he has great heart. Don't you, boy."Ace b.u.mped Tess's hand with his nose, begging for another pet. "I think he is very handsome.""I value him more for the fact that he succeeds at whatever he sets his mind to-much like his owner."Tess didn't think those words were mere lighthearted banter. She glanced around them. The stable lads and posting boys were busy swapping tales at the other end of the barn. "What are you trying to tell

me?" she asked Brenn carefully.

His hand came down to her waist. He turned her to face him, her back to the horse. "Last night was awkward for you. But tonight will be different."

It was what she'd feared. "Are you offering to forgo your husbandly rights?" she queried tartly,

attempting to take a step away from him.