in him. Vaguely he recalled feeling this way once, a long, long time ago.
“I rest my case,” Will mumbled. He swung off his horse and opened his arms in invitation. Izzy put the pup in its padded basket on the bench and flew into her brother’s arms.
Enjoying the scene, Ashby swung down and tossed his and Will’s reins to a waiting groom. “Don’t I get a kiss?” He smiled, meeting her eyes while she rested her cheek on Will’s chest.
Isabel extricated herself from her brother’s embrace and timidly approached him. Her color was high; her girlish smile melted his heart. “Captain Lord Ashby.” She bobbed. He bent his head, and she rose on tiptoe to softly kiss his cheek.
“Major now,” Will corrected.
“Congratulations! You’ve made it before Will did.” The glorious smile Isabel bestowed on him put Ashby in a daze. She didn’t mind; she applauded him. No one but his servants ever did, and they were paid to be respectful.
“Thank you.” Ashby nodded stiffly, his throat clogged.
“And he’ll probably make lieutenant colonel by the time he’s thirty,” Will remarked. “Do I smell Eccles cake?” He sniffed the air, tripping after his nose.
“You’ve smelled every meal from Cuidad Rodrigo to St. James’s Street.” Ashby smirked.
Izzy shook herself. “Will, wait. I need you to take a look at my new puppy. He won’t stand on his left foreleg, but I couldn’t find anything wrong with it.”
“What do I know of pups? Ask the expert.” He waved his arm at Ashby. “Here’s your man with the special skills.” He went inside the house, announcing his presence to everyone else.
Izzy stared at Ashby. He ambled to the bench. “Let’s take a look at your pup, shall we?” They sat side by side. Izzy lifted the tiny black ball from its basket and put it in Ashby’s hands.
“I don’t know how he got here. He seems but a few days’ old. I wonder what happened to his mother and siblings. I couldn’t find them anywhere within a mile of Dover Street.”
The tiny thing filled the palm of his hand. Ashby caressed it, running his finger along the pup’s neck and making it gurgle with pleasure. “Left foreleg, you say? Let’s see.” He rolled the dog gently onto its back and examined the leg. “No scrapes. No bruises. No broken bones.” He tried to set the pup on its feet, but favoring its left foreleg, the pup tilted aside and fell. Ashby scooped it up tenderly. “Where did you say you found this black ball of fur?”
“He was ruining Mama’s roses,” Isabel replied. “She wanted to toss him in the street.”
“The rose garden…” Ashby smiled. He took the tiny leg and carefully examined its paw. “Uh-ha.” He plucked out a thin, almost invisible thorn and offered it to Isabel. “Here’s your problem.”
Isabel’s eyes shone. “You’re a great gun, Ashby…beg pardon, Major Lord Ashby.”
“Call me P…” His heart began thudding. “You may call me Ashby. Everyone else does.”
“Thank you,…Ashby.” As she pressed another chaste kiss on his cheek, the pup leapt from his lap, onto the drive, and hopped up the front steps. “Dear lord! Not in the house!” She dashed after the dog, burnished locks bouncing on her shoulders, short blue skirts swelling around the pantalets concealing her slender calves, and vanished inside the house.
Ashby came to a decision; it was the most shocking one he’d ever made: He wanted a wife. He wanted this, what Will and Izzy had, a home, with children and puppies to greet his face, with mouthwatering treats cooking in the kitchen. He wanted someone other than solicitors, bankers, or estate managers to correspond with from the front line. He wanted a family. It was the only sane thing worth living for, the one thing he’d want to return to when the war was over.
Whistling with satisfaction, he walked into the familiar bedlam of Seven Dover Street and met Will at the foot of the stairway. Will’s mouth was stuffed with cake. “Fixed the dog?”
“I fixed the dog.”
The anarchy upstairs grew louder. “Let’s find out what’s so bloody interesting up there.”
They padded upstairs and nearly tripped over the pup as it dashed downward. Shrieks and footfalls followed as an army charged straight at them: Teddy and Freddy, Will’s eight-year-old twin sisters—miniature duplicates of Izzy—were at the lead, followed by Izzy herself, and three anxious servants cringing from Lady Hyacinth’s infuriated, shrill voice. “If that dirty thing is not out the door in one minute, you’ll be looking for new posts first thing tomorrow morning!”
“Welcome to Seven Dover Street.” Will chuckled.
Ashby grinned. A home, with children and puppies to greet his face. Firmly resolved, he followed Will to the first floor drawing room to greet the dragoness.
“Oh, William! My dearest boy!” Lady Hyacinth swooped on Will, pasting a loud kiss on his cheek. “And my dear Captain Lord Ashby, how good of you to come. Oh! You must join us for dinner. I absolutely insist. I care not what elaborate dishes they are presently preparing for you at Lancaster House. You must sit with us and tell us all about Wellington.”
“I would love to stay for dinner, Lady Hyacinth.” Ashby smiled.
“Good. Then it’s settled. Now I must send someone to fetch Stilgoe from White’s. Norris!”
“Your brother lives well,” Ashby remarked to Will with half a smile.
Will shrugged. “Yes, well, not everyone is like you, Ash.”
“Don’t judge him. He has a family to look after, as most of the aristocracy. I don’t.”
“Of course you do.” Will slapped his back fondly. “What are we, little goats? Besides, if anything should happen to you, Izzy will never speak to me again.”
Ashby cracked a smile. “You know, I just might run off with her to Gretna Green, if she keeps smiling at me like that.”
“Please! Do! Go off with her! Restore our peace of mind!”
“Your mama won’t like it.” Ashby grinned.
“Are you serious?” Will’s face wrinkled comically. “My mother would make an offering to the gods! I think she secretly does, anyway…” Will hushed up as Lady Hyacinth reentered.
“Oh, dear. Look at you.” Scowling, she perused their dusty regimentals. “You must wash and change before dinner. Will, show Ashby to the guest chamber, why don’t you, my love?”
“Ashby knows where the guest chamber is, Mama.” Will strolled out, leading the way, nonetheless. “By the bye, Ash, my sister’s bedchamber is over there,” he pointed at the opposite direction while they traversed the hallway, “should you ever decide to run off with her.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“Just a thought…” Will threw his hands in the air as he walked into his bedchamber.
Ashby continued down
