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“Then we should heat up some more for you,” he said, coming to his feet.

“Oh no, please do not trouble yourself, my lord.” The color in her cheeks deepened, and she attempted to rise.

“Wait. Allow me to relieve you of your squirming bundle.” William reached for the lamb.

She relinquished it with a small laugh. “It’s marvelous to see him moving so much.”

“It is.”

He tucked the lamb under one arm and extended his free hand to her. She took it. Awareness of her touch hummed through him. Her small hand fit perfectly within his larger one, her soft skin so unlike his own. He helped her to her feet.

“Thank you, my lord,” she said, but he did not immediately release her hand.

“William,” he said. “After all we have shared this evening, I believe we have moved beyond being general acquaintances.”

“Thank you, William,” she repeated, her smile causing his pulse to quicken. “My name is Charlotte.”

The lamb squirmed, attempting to wriggle free of his arm. Reluctantly, William released Charlotte’s hand to calm the creature.

“I’d best return him to the barn,” he said. “My head shepherd, Ralph, will know what to do with him.”

Charlotte tipped her head to one side, studying him curiously. “If we are to be friends, may I ask why you are working in the barn this late at night? You have already admitted to having at least one shepherd who is surely trained for such work.”

William considered his response. It would be very easy to offer a vague answer about lambing season being a time that required extra hands, or that he preferred to be intimately involved in the workings of his farm. But for some reason, he felt that he owed Charlotte a more honest reply. Besides, if there was anyone whom he could fully absolve of involvement in the recent rash of sheep stealing, it was the lady before him.

“I am always more heavily involved in the farm during lambing season,” he said, “but this year, my presence in the fields and barn is all the more important. Over the last few months, someone has been stealing sheep from Tribbley Hall. My men are spread thin trying to monitor the flock and the new births, so I take my turn with both.”

Her eyes widened. “How many sheep have you lost?”

“Over two dozen.”

She gasped. “That number must be a severe blow.”

“It is, indeed, and I cannot afford to lose another.” He set his jaw. “Unfortunately, it would seem that the felon does not consider the fact that the crime is punishable by death to be deterrent enough.”

“Do you have any idea how he is managing it?”

“No.” William released a frustrated sigh. “It could be that he is taking the sheep from the estate at night. Alternatively, he could be luring the sheep from the fields by day and hiding them somewhere on the property until he returns at night to remove them.”

“Do you have men watching the fields at night?”

“Every one of them except Ralph, who is needed with the laboring ewes,” he said.

She wrinkled her brow, as though deep in thought. “What kind of place would a thief use if he wished to hide the sheep until he could return?”

William shrugged. “An abandoned hut or walled enclosure, a cave, or a ravine. I have ridden the length and breadth of my land searching for just those things, but to no avail. Other than the woodland to the north of the upper pasture, my land is predominantly open fields.”

If anything, her blue eyes were even wider now.

“What if he took the sheep and hid them just beyond your fields. Close enough that he could remove them quickly, but far enough that you would not see or hear the animals before he returned for them?”

“If such a place existed, I have no doubt a thief would take advantage of it,” he said.

“I believe it does, my lord.” She took a small step closer to him, her expression eager. “My grandmother and I spent a good portion of the day at the beach. Whilst she rested in the shade, I walked almost the entire length of the bay. Just before I turned around to return to Grandmama, I saw a man disappear over the ridge above the cliffs. And then I heard bleating. I could not tell exactly where the sound came from, but it seemed closer than the pasture above.”

William stared at her. His father had planted hedges along the tops of the cliffs to prevent the sheep from falling. He and Thomas had checked the hedge’s integrity only two days ago. But there was a gate on the far corner of the upper pasture that connected to a public footpath. It would allow a man easy access to the cliffs. Was it possible that the upper cliffs boasted caves large enough to hide a sheep or two?

“When daylight comes, would you be willing to show me exactly where you heard the bleating?” he asked.

She shook her head. “We cannot wait until then. Do you not see? If the man I saw was your thief, then the sheep I heard had already been taken from the flock. He will undoubtedly move them from the cliffs before morning.”

She was right, deuce take it. But he could not ask her to go out in the dark, dressed in a nightgown.

“As soon as I return the lamb to the barn, I will locate my steward, Thomas. He’s currently watching the lower pasture, but I will take him with me to the bay.”

Again, she shook her head, but this time she also seized his hand. “Let me go with you. In the time it will take you to return the lamb to the barn and locate Thomas, I can be dressed. If we ride out to the bay now, I can show you exactly where to look.”

Her suggestion was ludicrous. It was one thing for him and Thomas to be riding the beach at night, searching for missing sheep and a criminal. It was quite another for a young lady to do the same—particularly one who was here as his mother’s guest. And yet, with her hand on his, he was finding it exceptionally difficult to refuse.

“Do not hesitate, William,” she urged. “Every minute we waste may cost you another member of your flock.”

He could not deny the truth of her words. “Very well,” he said. “I will send a stable boy to the lower pasture for Thomas and will have a horse saddled for you. We will meet you outside the barn in twenty minutes, but if you choose not to come, I shall know that you allowed common sense to prevail.”

Her eyes sparkled. “I rarely allow common sense to prevail, my lord. Particularly when it comes to stray cats, puppies, lambs, or righting a wrong.”

And then, before he could so much as formulate a response, she had taken the candle on the table and exited the kitchen on running, slippered feet.