"Fine."

"But your leg?"

"Is fine."

She obviously didn't believe him but didn't press the issue. In reality, it was nice to have someone fuss a

bit about him. It was-he searched his mind for the right word-it was domestic.

They turned onto the drive leading to the house. Tess stared up into the pine boughs. "I didn't realize it was like a canopy over your head."

And she shouted with delight at her first glimpse of the lake through the trees.

Brenn steeled himself for the moment of truth. It was taking more courage for him to make this little walk

with his wife than it had to face a company of French dragoons.

They pa.s.sed his uncle's cottage. It was a rambling affair built into the hillside. Across the way from the cottage, a distance off the road, was a huge barn. Several paddocks were built around it and there was a

small pond. A cow lowed in the distance as if welcoming them. Tim and Clarence waited by the coaches there.

Over on the far hillside was a flock of sheep. "Those are mine," he told her.

Tess nodded, uninterested in sheep. "Where's the house?"

Then they turned onto the piece of road leading toward the lake.

Tess stopped. Her gaze searched the skies and the mountain. The lake reflected the heavy gray of leaden

clouds. The Black Mountains loomed around them.

Brenn waited, wishing it could have been a brighter day.

She spoke. "Why, it is almost pagan." She looked at him. "Do you understand my meaning? It's bold

here and uncompromising."

Yes, he understood. He'd felt the same sense of awe in the face of this majestic, seemingly uncivilized country.

But his grin faded as he realized he must now tell her the truth. He held out his hand, hoping for the best.

"Come."

They only needed to walk a hundred feet further for her to see the crag of land jutting out of Llyn

Mynydd. On its summit was the skeleton of a house, two stories high. It had walls a foot thick but no door, no windows, no roof.

Willa came down from the barn with questions but Brenn waved her off. This was his moment with his

wife.

He waited. She didn't say anything. Taking her hand, he guided Tess to the lichen-covered granite steps

leading up to where the front door used to be. Miles climbed along with them until he saw something move in the gra.s.s and he hied off in pursuit of it.

Tess grinned. "I think he likes it here."

Brenn didn't answer. Instead, he stopped on the top step and turned her so that she could have the full

impact of the view overlooking the lake.

"It's breathtaking," she said, before innocently looking up at him and asking, "But where is the house?"

"Here, Tess."

"Where?"

Brenn gently turned her by the shoulders in the direction of the ruins. "This is it, Tess," he said in her ear.

"You have to use your imagination. It doesn't look like much now but come a year's time, there will be

no finer house in Wales. I promise you that."

"A year's time?" she repeated blankly. She glanced around her, her gaze following the walls and taking in the stone stairs leading to the second floor. And then understanding came upon her swift and sure. "This is Erwynn Keep?"

"Yes."

Tess rocked back against him. "But the drawings...I thought it was a full house with doors andwindows.""It has doors and windows," Brenn said. "They just aren't filled in yet."She shot him a look that said his wit wasn't appreciated. She placed her gloved hand on the pitted red limestone of the doorway.

"The rock is from a quarry around here," he hurried to say. "We can get the slate tiles for the roof from the same quarry, too."

She didn't utter a word in reply. Her footsteps echoed on the slab floor. The earth beneath the slabs had shifted, and now gra.s.s and weeds grew here and there. Then she pointed to the staircase. "Is it safe to walk up there?"

"Yes. The foundation is solid...although the floor must be redone. We will lay a new stone floor and then overlay it with wood mosaic. I saw it done that way in a French chateau."

When she didn't comment, he added, "They haven't built houses like this in years."

"For a reason," she noted dryly. "I imagine all of this stone is cold in the winter. It makes me wonder how the nuns kept warm."

Brenn interpreted her small jest as a good sign. She was growing accustomed to the idea. He relaxed a bit.

She started up the stairs. "I take it the dragon weathervane doesn't exist either?"

He followed her up the stairs. "Cedric Pughe, the local blacksmith, says it can be done. He has my design."

Tess poked her head into one room and then another. The back wall of the third had caved in and the room had a clear view of the stream winding its way to the lake.

She started down the back stairs. "How many years has this house sat abandoned?"

"Two hundred," he answered.

She turned. "But I thought you said your grandfather moved back here. And your uncle lived here.""I didn't say my uncle lived here." He pointed to the floor. There was no longer any purpose in evadingthe truth. "The family lived in London until two generations ago. Unfortunately, my grandfather was agambler-a terrible one. He was caught cheating at cards and lost almost everything when his markerswere called in as a result. For that reason, the family was forced to leave London."

"And they moved here.""Yes, and built that barn you saw on the way in.""Ummm hummm.""But they didn't have the money to rebuild the house.""So where did they live? Where will we live?" Tess asked."The little cottage."She took a step away. "Well, I wasn't expecting that, but if you are going to rebuild the house...?""I am." Brenn straightened, feeling hopeful. She was taking this very well. He had expected her to demand to be returned to London immediately.

He took her hand. "Tess, this house has wonderful possibilities. Plus, we can correct the mistakes that were made years ago."

"What mistakes?"

"Like the location of the kitchen." With renewed enthusiasm, he pulled her to the back of the house. "The kitchen was located in an out-building because of the heat of the fire, but of course we will modernize." He kicked a stone, which skittered across the floor. "I propose that we put the kitchen on this floor where the dining room and breakfast room will be. Right between them."

"Between them?" Tess frowned. "In London, the kitchens are below stairs."

"Yes, but the food is never hot. If we place the kitchen between the two rooms that use it-"

"Then you will find the smells of roasting things will completely overwhelm the house." Tess walked

through the rooms to be used as dining room and breakfast room. She turned. "Could this wall come

down?"

Brenn walked over. "Of course. We can make any changes we like. Expanding the house is a definite possibility."

"What if we built a cooking wing off of these rooms?"

He considered her suggestion. "It could be done."

"If we do that, we move the kitchen out of the path of guests and the family but we'll also have the

convenience of it on this level."

"You're right!" He grinned. She was as challenged by the project as he was. "Do we want to build upanother story above the kitchen? Maybe a workroom of sorts?""No," Tess said. "I've heard the newest kitchens are being designed with the ceiling built with gla.s.s so that light comes through."

"Then that is what we'll do," he agreed. "I'll take some measurements and do some sketches. You canpick out the kitchen you like best."Tess bit her bottom lip. "I don't know that much about kitchens."He placed his hands on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. "It doesn't matter, Tess. This is our house. We can do whatever we wish."The worst was over. He'd confessed the truth-and she had accepted it.With adorable shyness, she looked around the dining room. "My mother's dining set will look good here."

"Come look at the sitting room." She had to skip to keep up with him. "What do you think of in here?"