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compromised&
However, he could not seem to stop it from happening.
Faced with this inevitability, Nick had no choice but to give in to it. And day after day, he let it drift
farther inside him this precarious, giddy warmth that he could only identify as happiness. He was no
longer bedeviled and driven, no longer hungry for things he couldn t have. For the first time in his life, he
was at peace. Even his nightmares seemed to have retreated. He slept more deeply than he ever had in
his life, and if his dreams began to trouble him, he awakened to find Lottie s small body snuggled against
his, her silken hair trailing over his arm. He had never been this idle& lazing in bed, making love to his
wife, taking long rides or walks with her, even going on a damned picnic and enjoying himself despite the
feeling that he should be in London with Morgan and the runners, doing something useful.
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It began to bother him, though& the old familiar urge to prowl the rookeries, the addictive excitement of
pursuit and capture. He did not know how to be a viscount, and he felt vaguely out of place here, at his
own childhood home. No magical change had occurred with the arrival of the writ of summons. Blue
blood or no, he was a product of the streets.
 I ve been thinking about what you need, Lottie told him one morning as they strode away from the
house along a paved rose walk that overlooked a long, formal pool adorned with water lilies. Beyond the
pool, a broad curving lawn led to a chain of artificial lakes bordered by a forest of cedar and elm. Nick
had taken her on a shortcut he had used often as a boy, circumventing the lawn by jumping over a short
stone wall and heading straight into the forest.
Smiling at Lottie s statement, Nick lifted his arms to help her descend from the wall. Although she could
easily have jumped by herself, she accepted his help, resting her hands on his shoulders as he took hold
of her waist.
 What is it that I need? he asked, letting her slide down his front until her feet touched the ground.
 A cause.
 A what?
 Something worthwhile for you to pursue. Something not related to estate management.
Nick let his gaze wander blatantly over Lottie s small, trim form, clad in a peach-colored walking-dress
trimmed with chocolate brown.  I already have that, he said and settled his mouth over hers. He felt her
smile before she accommodated the warm pressure of his mouth, opening for the gentle exploration of his
tongue.
 I mean something that would keep you busy in your spare time, she said breathlessly when he ended
the kiss.
He slid his hand along the side of her uncorseted waist.  So do I.
Lottie pulled away from him with a laugh, her flat ankle boots tromping on the carpet of leaves as she
strode into the forest. Thin shafts of sunlight filtered through the ancient canopy of foliage-laden branches
overhead, catching the pale gleam of her pinned-up hair and making it flash like silver.  Sir Ross has his
interest in judicial reform, she pointed out,  as well as his concerns for the rights of women and children.
If you were to take up some pursuit that would benefit the public in some manner, you could put your
seat in the Lords to some good use 
 Wait, he said warily, following her through the maze of trees.  If you re going to start comparing me to
my saintly brother-in-law 
 I merely used him as an example, not as a basis for comparison. Stopping beside a huge elm, she ran
her hand along the deep furrows of mottled gray bark.  The point is, you have spent the past few years
of your life serving the public and helping people, and for you to stop so suddenly 
 I haven t been helping people, Nick interrupted, affronted.  I ve been rubbing elbows with felons and
whores, and chasing fugitives from Tyburn to East Wapping.
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