Son of a rogue and a gypsy, Hero Fiennes Tiffin was a notorious rake until a shattering betrayal left him alone and embittered in the Welsh countryside. Desperation drives quiet schoolteacher Josephine Langford to ask Hero Fiennes Tiffin to help sav...
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As Josephine entered the house with Hero, she felt a distinctly unchristian desire to wring his neck. It was common knowledge in Penreith that on the night when the old Earl and Caroline had died, servants had found Hero in the countess's bedroom. In spite of that strong circumstantial evidence, Josephine had been reluctant to draw the obvious conclusion. Though at the time she thought she was being nonjudgmental, in retrospect she supposed that she simply hadn't wanted to believe Hero could be so base. Now, however, she was likely to learn the truth by seeing the two of them together, and she found that she didn't want to know what had actually happened.
As the dignified butler admitted the visitors and asked their names, a naked toddler ran shrieking through the front hall. It quite ruined the formal effect. A panting nursemaid came racing through in hot pursuit of the child, followed a few seconds later by a laughing lady in her mid-thirties.
Her gaze went to the visitors, and her expression changed. "Hero!" she exclaimed, holding her hands out to him. "Why didn't you tell me you'd returned to England?"
He caught her hands, then kissed her on both cheeks. "I only arrived in London yesterday, Emily."
Josephine watched in stiff-faced silence, thinking that she had seen Hero kiss entirely too many women today. The dowager countess was glowing with health and happiness and looked a decade younger than when she had lived in Westgate. And judging by the obvious affection between the two, it was easy to believe that they had been lovers.
Hero turned and drew Josephine forward. "Perhaps you remember my companion."
After a moment of perplexity, the countess said, "You're Miss Langford, the Penreith schoolmistress, aren't you? We met when Hero was setting up the endowment for the school."
It was Josephine's turn to look perplexed. "Hero set up the endowment? I thought the school was your project."
"Since my husband tended to disapprove of Hero's progressive ideas, it was better for me to do the public part," the countess explained. "I hope the school is doing well. Are you still the schoolmistress?"
"Most of the time," Hero interjected. "She's taken a three-month leave of absence in an attempt to educate me."
The countess's curious gaze went from him to Josephine and back again, but before she could comment, the young nursemaid returned, her bare-bottomed charge gurgling in her arms. "I'm sorry, ma'am," she said apologetically. "I don't know how Master William managed to sneak off like that."
The countess leaned forward and kissed her son's cheek. "Amazingly inventive, isn't he?" she said proudly.
"'Ventive, 'ventive, 'ventive!" the child echoed.
"So this is my godson." Laughing, Hero took William away from the nursemaid. "Considering how much he hates wearing clothing, he's going to be inexpensive to dress in years to come. Maybe he has some of the Gypsy love of freedom."
