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“Lady Ashcombe, are you blushing?”

She looked away quickly.

He laughed softly. “I don’t believe it. I’ve never seen you discomposed. I didn’t know you were capable of it.”

“Stop it,” she muttered.

She heard the cracking of the lid, then he was taking her hand and curling it around the bottle. “So, what was the dream?”

His voice had a teasing note, but there was tension too. He’d guessed.

She drank from the bottle, just a few sips, then replaced it on the bedside table before sliding beneath the covers and pulling them all the way up to her neck. “Some things are better left unsaid,” she promised. “Sorry to wake you.”

He stood, staring down at her, and her pulse was still hammering from the things he’d done to her in her dream. When he reached down and lightly touched her cheek, she had to bite down on her lip to stop from groaning. Good God. This was a nightmare.

“Sleep tight, Tia.”

She nodded once, but when he walked away with a throaty laugh, she grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him, delighted to see it hit its mark. To her relief, he kept walking. If he’d come back to her bedside again, she might have grabbed him with both hands and pulled him down on top of her, to hell with the complications that would arise from that.

After the dreams she’d had, it was little wonder Tia was awake with the dawn. She slipped out of bed, a quick glance all she allowed herself to throw in Hamish’s direction before she moved beyond the sofa and into the en suite. She knew it was stupid but she pulled a pregnancy test from the drawer—she’d packed ten—and took it, staring at the stick well beyond the two minute mark, waiting, waiting, waiting, hoping she’d see a second line appear and then accepting it wasn’t there.

She tried to smother her disappointment. It was the first day she could conceivably test from, and even then, they’d said it was the ‘earliest’, not the most likely. After taking a quick shower, she padded out in a robe, another quick look in Hamish’s direction showing him still sleeping. But this time, she kept her eyes on him, just as she had the pregnancy test, staring with an intensity that confounded her. Because it was almost like she was willing him to wake, in the same way she’d been silently willing the pregnancy test to reveal she was expecting. It hadn’t. And that was okay. It was their first cycle. They’d try again.

She changed into exercise gear, braided her hair, moisturised her face then tiptoed towards the door of Hamish’s suite. His rhythmic breathing stirred something to life inside of her; she escaped while she still could.

To Tia’s surprise, Eleanor was already up when she stepped outside. She could see her in the rose garden, a pair of secateurs in her gloved hand, a thoughtful expression on her beautiful features.

Tia hesitated a moment, then moved in that direction.

“Oh, good heavens, you’re up early,” Eleanor said in obvious surprise.

“I could say the same to you.” Mentally, Tia added, given how much wine everyone enjoyed last night.

“I’m always up before the sun. A curse from my childhood.”

“How so?”

“My father was in the military; not in an honorary sense, though there was that, too. He was very highly decorated by the Queen herself. But he actually served, too, and he abhorred laziness. We were never allowed to relax as children—we had two hours of chores to complete every morning before school.” Eleanor laughed. “You look appalled.”

“I’m not. I’m—it’s not what I would have expected.”

Eleanor glanced up at the house, admiration a mask on her face. “I didn’t grow up like this.”

“Hamish said you were from an aristocratic family.”

“Yes, but not all families have the same wealth as the Ashcombes. My parents, unfortunately, inherited a house in need of much repair, and very little arable land. The death duties were immense, lifestyles extravagant. Money was always tight. We had no staff.”

A small smile tinged Tia’s lips. There was poverty, and there was poverty. She suspected Eleanor’s idea of money being tight meant only a few million available at any one time. A vast difference to Tia’s experience of genuinely wondering if there’d be food in the fridge.

“I know things are complicated,” Eleanor said, turning back to face Tia. “But I’m glad you’re both here. I’m glad Ewan and Cressie are, too.”

“Really?” Tia’s voice must have shown disapproval.

Eleanor rolled her lips. “They’re my children. More than anything, I want to think that they will have each other, when I’m not here.”

Tia’s heart twisted. It was a perfectly natural way to feel. “Years ago, I lost my best friend. She died suddenly, and I wasn’t prepared. I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through it without her brother. He’s my best friend, but for a long time, he kept me going.”

“So you understand,” Eleanor said, urgently, not moving, yet Tia almost felt as though the older woman had reached out and grabbed her wrists. “You know what it means to have support.”