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At last, she placed her hand upon his sleeve. “I would enjoy a tour.”

His smile deepened. “Excellent.”

They had taken scarcely a dozen steps when a great, shaggy dog bounded toward them with all the enthusiasm of a creature who had never once considered that his attentions might be unwelcome. His thick coat was a handsome mixture of golden sable and white, with a magnificent ruff about his neck and chest, and a long, bushy tail that swept merrily from side to side as he approached.

“Good heavens!” Katherine exclaimed.

The animal came to an abrupt halt before Cordelia, sat upon his haunches, and regarded her with enormous, hopeful brown eyes. His pointed ears were pricked attentively, though the tip of one flopped forward in a most endearing fashion, and his long, intelligent face seemed positively eager for her approval.

Cordelia was enchanted. “Oh, you beautiful creature.”

“He is a Scotch collie,” George murmured.

She bent carefully, resting one hand upon her cane while extending the other toward the dog.

He immediately pressed his great head beneath her palm.

“Oh!” She laughed, scratching behind his ears. “You are a darling, are you not?”

The dog’s tail thumped enthusiastically against the gravel.

George watched them with an expression she could not quite decipher. “This is Barnaby,” he said.

“Barnaby,” Cordelia repeated, delighted. “What a perfectly wonderful name.”

“He is also an incorrigible thief.”

“Surely not.”

“I assure you, he has stolen more slippers, gloves, and articles of clothing than any respectable household ought to tolerate.”

Cordelia looked down at the dog. “Is that true?”

Barnaby gazed up at her with an expression of such profound innocence that she immediately decided George must be exaggerating. “I do not believe a word of it.”

“Of course you do not.”

“He has an honest face.”

George scoffed. “He has a practiced face.”

She laughed again, and as she did, she glanced up to find George watching her rather than the dog. There was something tender in his expression, something so unguarded that her breath caught. For one suspended moment, the sounds of the estate seemed to fade around them. Cordelia could not understand why he looked at her so, or why that look made her want, with an intensity that frightened her, to believe every wonderful thing he had ever made her feel.

Then Barnaby nudged her hand impatiently, demanding that she resume her attentions, and the moment passed. Cordelia smiled down at him and obliged.

“I cannot imagine how you came to possess so many animals, my lord, and I should very much like to meet every one of them,” Cordelia said, glancing toward the sprawling lawns where several dogs were now engaged in what appeared to be a spirited game of chase.

“That is a rather ambitious undertaking. I fear you may require several days,” he said, his eyes glinting with amusement.

“Then I suppose I shall have to remain here for several days,” she promptly replied.

“Cordelia!”

Her sister’s scandalized exclamation brought her swiftly back to her senses.

Katherine regarded her with raised brows. “Before you begin deciding to extend our visit, perhaps we might first consider refreshing ourselves. We have been traveling for a few hours, and I confess I am rather tired.”

“Oh, of course.” Cordelia felt a small pang of guilt. “Forgive me, Kat. I had quite forgotten the journey.”