Chapter Nineteen
When Roland hadarrived back in the courtyard and untied his horse, he was not entirely certain how Nelson would feel about being taken anywhere on horseback. He should not have worried though. He put Nelson under his coat to secure him and the dog divided his time between wagging his tail, licking Thorpe’s face with his eerily long tongue, and growling at the doors to The Albany. It was Spartacus who was perhaps more alarmed at this recent development. His horse’s eyes were wide and he kept straining his neck to get a look behind him.
As much as he wished to hurry, Roland did not return to Grosvenor Square as fast as he had left it. He kept his horse to a calm walk. The last thing he needed at the moment was for Nelson to become frightened and leap out of his arms, thereby setting off a chase through London to get him back again. As well, the more time he had to compose himself the better. Nothing felt more fraught to him than a horse or dog in danger of harm, and the relief of finding Nelson alive and safe had really almost tipped him over the edge.
The slow and regular hoofbeats seemed to quiet the dog and finally, Nelson gave himself a little shake and yawned. A dog’s shake and yawn was a sure sign that whatever had been troubling had been left behind.
Roland felt just the same. He could not say with any surety what Charles would do next, but he was not at all worried thathe would attempt to meddle with his elder brother again in any near future. The punch to his jaw had been a long time coming, it had been delivered, and Charles had seemed shocked to receive it. He would just now be rubbing his jaw and attempting to explain to Michaels how it was that his elder brother had punched him in the face and taken his aunt’s dog.
As he turned on to the square, he could see the lights of the duke’s house blazing ahead of him. The doors swung open and a footman leaned out, looking forlornly down the street. The young man was on the verge of closing the doors again when he spotted Roland. Nelson gave a little bark. The footman dropped his hands from the doorknobs, stared at him, and then raced indoors.
*
Serenity had beendabbing at her eyes with her napkin while Valor talked about all the people who could be hanged for stealing dogs when Charlie burst into the room. “Nelson! He’s outside! Lord Thorpe has got him!”
“Clever fellow,” the duke said, throwing his napkin down.
Serenity was out of her seat like a shot. She was out the doors in a trice. There he was! Nelson was home. Lord Thorpe had just dismounted his horse with Nelson in his arms. He had found Nelson.
She threw herself at her beloved dog, which coincidentally meant she had thrown herself at Lord Thorpe too. He caught her and Nelson wagged his tail between them.
“Where did you find him?” Serenity whispered.
“My brother had him,” Lord Thorpe answered.
“Lord Charles? I would not have thought…”
“Nor would I, until I did.”
“What ho, Thorpe,” the duke said jovially. “Returning as the conquering hero, eh?”
“I am sure not, Your Grace.”
“Dispense with the modesty,” the duke said. “My head pounds from the amount of weeping that has gone on in this house today—Nelson returned to us is better than any willow bark tonic my physician could give me.”
“I am sorry that one of my own family should have caused such distress, Your Grace. I have just retrieved Nelson from The Albany.”
“Why did Lord Charles do it, though?” Winsome asked.
“I expect he wished to raise himself in my estimation by returning a dog he stole in the first place,” the duke said, shaking his head. “Second sons, nobody ever knows what to do with them.”
“Is Lord Charles going to hang, Papa?” Valor asked with rather macabre delight.
“Never mind a hanging,” the duke said. “Let us all go inside.”
The duke ushered everyone into the hall, his daughters hovering round Nelson and petting him and saying all sorts of encouraging things to him. As Nelson was still in Lord Thorpe’s arms, both man and dog were surrounded by feminine assurances.
“Listen here, girls,” the duke said. “Nelson has just been through a very trying experience. We will not wish to overwhelm him with so many people. Two is all I think he’ll be up for just now. Serenity, Thorpe, take Nelson into the drawing room and see that he’s made calm. The rest of you, back into the dining room to eat that stale cake.”
As Lord Stanford looked the littlest bit befuddled and wondering if he were to have to eat more stale cake, the duke said kindly, “Don’t worry, Stanford, I’ll open a bottle of the good claret to wash it down.”
Serenity was very grateful for her father taking everyone in hand. Though, a little surprised that she was sent to the drawing room alone with Lord Thorpe.
The duke hustled them both toward that room. At the doors, he slapped Lord Thorpe on the back and said, “Take aim and fire, that’s my advice.”
He pushed them both in and shut the doors behind him.
Lord Thorpe set Nelson down on the carpet. The dog seemed delighted to be in a setting he knew so well. He promptly hopped on the sofa that he was not at all supposed to be on, seeming to know that nobody would scold him over it on account of his recent adventure.
