*
Three-quarters of anhour later, Alden guided Harvey along the path toward the wrought-iron gate with the griffin.
Milford had amazingly seen Featherstone and Colliver gone, Alden washed, shaved, and changed,andHarvey rewarded with more beef in a highly efficient whirl. Alden hadn’t even had time to do his usual growling and complaining. He’d definitely be giving Milford a raise in wages.
Alden walked swiftly, his heartbeat quickening with every step. The impulsive kiss Clara had touched to his lips lingered, his mouth tingling with it.
At the gate, he drew a breath, pausing with his hand on the latch. He’d spoken with the earl over the years whenever they’d encountered each other on the Heath, but strolling into the man’s home after Alden had thoroughly kissed his daughter was another matter.
Harvey, impatient, put a paw on the gate.
“Yes, you’re right,” Alden told him. “Courage.”
Harvey pawed again, probably more fixed on appetite than courage.
Alden opened the gate and entered the garden. He found himself in a space that was small but well laid out, with paths around stands of roses and flower beds. Bright-yellow late-autumn blossoms lent color to the dark brick surroundings.
The house before him, smaller than his home, was covered with ivy and rose vines, windows peeking out from under the eaves. Cozy, Alden thought. Warm. Happy.
The French doors to the garden were closed, with a room full of people around a table behind them.
A girl who appeared to be a few years younger than Clara glanced up, saw Alden and Harvey peering inside, and screamed.
Chapter Five
Alden froze inplace, but then the doors to the garden burst open, and a horde of people swarmed around him.
Only seven, he realized after a startled moment. Clara, two young women he knew were her sisters—one of them had been the screamer—the earl and Lady Duxford, and two maids, who were beaming along with the family.
“Is that Harvey?” the young woman who’d screamed demanded. “Oh, he’s adorable.”
“Manners, Emily,” Lady Duxford chided her. “Good morning, Lord Alden. Shall you join us? We’ll bring out a bowl for Harvey.”
“Let me not put you out,” Alden said quickly. “Harvey has eaten plenty already today.”
“But he needs fattening up.” Lady Duxford eyed Alden as though he did as well. “And it would be rude to eat in front of him. Come in. There’s plenty of room at the table.”
Emily had already fallen to her knees to embrace Harvey. The youngest sister—Alden remembered her name was Anne—came to pat him as well. The dog happily leaned into them.
Clara seized Alden’s coat sleeve and pulled him into the dining room. “Sit there.” She pointed to a chair near the head of the table, where a place setting awaited. “We began without you, though I assured the rest you’d come.”
“I was as grubby as Harvey,” Alden said, letting Clara tow him to his place. Any touch of her hand was welcome. “Took a while to remove the mud.”
“So was I.” Clara grinned up at him. “But here we all are, right as rain. Harvey is a handsome lad, isn’t he?”
With the sunlight gleaming on the dog’s golden-brown coat, Alden had to agree. He again wondered who’d lost or abandoned him, but regardless, Harvey had a home now.
A manservant hustled into the garden with a large bowl for Harvey, who thrust his head inside it and began to eat with gusto.
The rest of the family trailed back into the dining room, resuming places at the table. One of the maids shoved a plate of eggs, potatoes, meat pie, and sausage in front of Alden. The food steamed, and his stomach rumbled.
The rest returned to their half-eaten breakfast as though rushing outside in the middle of it was commonplace.
“We are so pleased to see you out and about, Lord Alden,” Lady Duxford said from the foot of the table. “You shouldn’t shut yourself away so much, or confine yourself to clubs. Take more brisk tramps about the Heath. Just the thing.”
“Mama sets a store by brisk tramps, Lord Alden,” Emily confided. “Be warned. Clara told us all about how you helped her rescue Harvey. In the middle of the night, no less. I grew so worried about her that I nearly summoned all the constables to begin a search.”
“Constables Harrison and James needed their sleep more than they needed to hunt for me,” Clara returned with amusement. “I came home as soon as Harvey was settled with Alden.”
