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by the front window. She began her quest. What seemed an eternity but in truth only a few minutes, she came across what she sought. Quite literally out in front of her eyes, sitting upon the night table! Not the middle of his bed, but not far from it.
    A beautifully carved wooden box sat upon the table , unsuspecting what it contained inside. She opened it tentatively. Pearls, beautiful glistering pearls. Her hands reached in. The strands fell over her hand. They were gorgeous, comparable to Julia’s. Eloise rubbed them between her fingers. She hadn’t any jewelry. She wore only what Julia let her borrow and the occasions weren’t often.
    She closed the box. She hadn’t time to speculate to why Lord Lenister had received pearls. Beneath the box lay the letters. Suddenly, a rustling noise disturbed her concentration. She froze, but all she could hear was the pounding of her own heart, not knowing whether she imagined the noise or Orlando hadn’t found Jemma’s diversion to his liking.
    Swiftly , she grabbed the letters. She would read them in the privacy of her room and return them before the men arrived back home. Abruptly, she turned and exited, closing the secret door to his room behind her.
    Hurriedly, she leaped upon her bed, not even bothering to close the secret door to her room. Examining the letters, they hadn’t been sealed. Her heart sank. She doubted untold secrets were held within unsealed letters, but she opened the first one. It was from Lord Lenister’s cousin’s wife.
    Her eyes rapidly began reading.
     
    Dear Gerard,
    I received your letter and have complied with your wishes. I gave your mother’s pearls to Seamus and the ring. To marry! Oh, Gerard! So quick! Why, I’m disappointed that neither Bridget nor I can attend. I realized that you would marry but the Granville girl and so swiftly! I know you said not to pay attention to unfounded rumors, but I know your heart when it comes to women in distress. I have heard of her beauty, but I hope that history isn’t repeating itself. I urge caution only because Bridget and I hold you so dear. I don’t know what we would have done if not for you after Thomas’ death. Please take only what I say with the knowledge I say it only because I care. I distinctly remember teasing you so at Christmas about the need to marry. But that was before the news about the children. And with all that you are dealing with at this time with trying to save the children, are you certain it is the right time to marry? Colonel Ralston said that…
     
    Eloise sat and read the letter. Tears welled in her eyes and ran down her face. She read the ending, over and over again. So engrossed was she in the letter she didn’t hear the footsteps enter her bedroom. She noticed no one until someone said her name.
    “ Lady Eloise?” he repeated.
    She looked up , surprised to find Lenister standing before her. He had walked in from the secret corridor. For an instant, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Dressed casually, his white shirt hung loose around his waist. His hair fell down to his shoulders. His face had relaxed. The intensity that had encompassed his eyes, at least for a brief moment, softened.
    “That letter was not meant for your eyes,” he said forcibly, but not harshly. He held the box in his hand, but laid it down on her table stand.
    She shook her head, wiping back her tears. “I’m sorry. It was only…only…” She choked back her words.
    “ Anne said to me the words as she would have a brother. She is as a sister I never had. The other letter is to you. If you had waited…”
    “Why?” she uttered, fluttering her hand in front of her for him to be silent. “Why, my lord, did you not tell me the children you seek are your own?”

Chapter Four
     
    Eloise’s chest heaved. The explanation she sought after lay in her hand. “Why? Why did you not tell me immediately?”
    Lenister met her eyes. He wiped his hand over his mouth in a manner as if