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"No," Melisande answered "Lord Vale and I don’t have that type of e"

And that hat she wanted, wasn’t it? She’d loved once before and had [bef0" been wounded to her very soul She siain Melisande felt a shrinking, a sadness, infuse her being as she acknowledged this fact She would never have one of those glorious

"Ah," Mrs Fitzwilliaether silently and watched the children and Mouse

Finally, Mrs Fitzwilliam turned to her and smiled, a wonderfully beautiful smile that si the"

As Melisande opened her mouth to answer, she heard a shout from behind her "My lady wife! What a joy to find you here"

And she turned to see Vale riding toward them with another man

MELISANDE HAD BEEN so deeply in conversation with the other woman that she didn’t even notice Jasper until he hailed her As he and Lord Hasselthorpe rode closer, the other wonized the woman She called herself Mrs Fitzwilliam, and she’d been the Duke of Lister’s mistress for al, talking to a demimondaine?

"Your wife keeps fast coet the idea in their head that they can becoes of respectability Best warn her, Vale"

A biting retort was on Jasper’s lips, but he sed it He’d just spent the prior half hour ingratiating hirit his teeth and said, "I’ll keep it inhis horse to a stop before they’d reached Melisande "No doubt you wish to discuss matters with your lady wife, so I’ll part ith you here You’ve given me much to think about"

"Does that mean you’ll help us find the traitor?" Jasper pressed

Hasselthorpe hesitated "Your theories sees If my brother Thomas was indeed killed because of some cowardly traitor, you will have my help But I would like to contemplate the matter further"

"Very well," Jasper said "May I call on you tomorrow?"

"Best make it the day after," Hasselthorpe said

Jasper nodded, though he hated the delay He shook hands with the other man and then rode toward Melisande She had turned to watch him approach, her hands folded at her waist, her back as usual iht She didn’t look at all like the woht before For a moment, he wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her, make her lose her impenetrable poise, , of course; one didn’t accost one’s wife in a public park in thewith persons of low repute

Instead, he st?"

Mouse caught sight of hi a s frantically The dog really did have the brains of a peahen Fortunately, Belleat her hooves

"Mouse," Jasper said sternly "Sit down"

Miraculously, the dog planted its arse in the grass

Jasper swung down froed his tail Jasper continued to stare until Mouse lowered his head, his tail still wagging so vigorously that the dog’s rear half wriggled as well Mouse laid his head alround and crept toward Jasper on his elbows, his rimace of submission

"Oh, for God’s sake," Jasper ’s behavior that he’d beaten the animal

Mouse took his words as permission to jump up, trot toward him, and sit expectantly at Jasper’s feet He stared down at the dog, nonplussed

He heard aan eye at Melisande, he saw that she now had one hand over her mouth "I think he likes you"

"Yes, but do I like him?"

"It doesn’t matter whether or not you like him" She strolled closer "He likes you and that’s that"

"H Mouse had his head tilted to the side as if awaiting instructions "Go on, then"

The dog gave one bark and ran in a wide circle around Jasper, Melisande, and the horse

"You’d think he’d dislike me after I shut hiave an elegant shrug "Dogs are funny that way" She bent and picked up a stick between forefinger and thumb "Here"

Jasper eyed the stick It was htfulness, my lady"

She rolled her eyes "It’s not for you, silly Throw it for Mouse"

"Why?"

"Because he likes to fetch sticks," she said patiently, as if talking to a very slow child

"Huh" He took the stick, and Mouse i the stick as far as he could, absurdly aware that he was showing off

Mouse raced after the stick, pounced on it, and shook it vigorously Then he trotted off around the pond

Jasper frowned "I thought he was supposed to bring it back tofetch"

Jasper looked down at his wife Theair had pinkened her nored him, and she lookedlovely Quite, quite lovely

He had to s before he could speak "Are you inforood stick?"

There was a h the stick

Melisande winced "I’m not sure you’d want it back noay"