Archie, Poppy and Heath joined MJ on the floor with the puppies, and the conversation continued with only the two oldest Spencers remaining seated on the sofa.

"So, Archie, I don't know much about Harrow, I'm the first to admit, but I thought it was a pretty conservative school? MJ queried. "Are they okay with your, um, pony tail?"

Archie's grin was bewitching as he held up a puppy and kissed it. "No, they hate it. I'm not allowed to have it when I'm there, actually. They're veddy, veddy fussy and strict, have blow-pokes rammed up their arses," he continued, making his voice very RP, sounding remarkably like Sir Richard Attenborough. "So I let it go when term's nearly over, so it's almost too long on the very last day, then I can get a decent length by the end of summer, see?" He ignored the looks his parents were giving him. "Then I just whack the whole thing off when term starts, though it seriously affects my sex appeal."

This drew a snort of derision from Poppy. "Oh god, Archie, please, give a girl some warning before you say something like that so she doesn't choke on her tea!"

Archie gave her a wounded look before picking up another puppy. "You think I have sex appeal, don't you, petal?" he crooned to the puppy, who licked his nose in reply.

"Well, that pup you picked up is a boy, so perhaps you should call him 'Butch,' instead of 'Petal'," Poppy suggested kindly.

She turned to her father. "Speaking of which, dad, when is everyone going for their surgeries?" She gestured to Pringle and the pups.

"Well, Pringle can't be spayed until after the babies have been weaned, and the babies should be at least six months old, so we're thinking the whole lot should go right after Christmas," Hugh said, picking up a puppy, holding it on his lap and stroking it as he spoke.

"Makes me quite angry," he continued, "that people could be so irresponsible. They're darling, of course, but poor Pringle was nearly dead! Whoever let her get in such a state should be taken somewhere and shot!"

MJ looked at Heath, eyebrows raised.

"Pringle wasn't ours until a couple of months ago," he explained. "We do have two other dogs, Noel and Budgy, who are around here somewhere. Archie found Pringle under the fence out there, near the road."

Archie took over the story, scratching Pringle's head, which she'd laid in his lap. A few of her puppies had come to nurse. "She looked awful. She was huge, her belly was all distended, obviously ready to whelp any moment, but at the same time she was emaciated, you know? Hadn't had a decent meal in weeks, it looked like." He shook his head. "She had an embedded collar, and was covered in bugs, and was just miserable. I actually saw the people who dropped her off, though I didn't know that's what they were doing.

"They were in a panel van, and they pulled over, and the man opened up the back, and put what I thought was a bag of rubbish at the side of the road. He moved it off to the side with his foot, and then he got back in and they drove away. It was nearly dark, so I couldn't see very well, and I didn't give it another thought, you know? Sometimes people drop off old furniture or books out there, and other people will go by and pick it up or whatever."

The rest of the family was nodding.

"But the next day Silver, he's our old gelding," he said to MJ, who nodded, "was over there, sniffing over the fence, interested in something, so I went to have a look. And she was there, in the tall grass, just wretched."

By now, all of the puppies had found their mother, and were nursing, while Pringle, eyes closed, enjoyed the feel of Archie's fingers behind her ears.

"Archie was here alone for the day, so he carried her back here to the mud room, and tended her as best he could," Poppy said, putting a hand on Archie's arm and giving a squeeze.

"I bathed her in the sink and soaked the collar off with hot water and a cloth," Archie continued. "Pringle was so good, even though it must've hurt like Hades, you know?" He stroked her head. "What she needed more than anything was rest, good food, and water. She whelped that night. It was amazing."

MJ could hear the awe in Archie's voice, and she smiled at Heath, who smiled back at her. It was obvious that his older siblings loved Archie a great deal.

At that moment an absolutely huge cat strolled in. Ignoring the dogs completely, he walked up to Heath, and began kneading his thigh. He was a long hair, with tuxedo markings, and he obviously felt he owned this, and any other room he entered.

"Well, hello, Valentino," Heath said with a smile. "I guess this means it's time for bed?" Heath looked at MJ. "He likes everyone else, but he loves me," he explained. "He'll sleep with my parents when I'm not here, but if I am, he won't. It doesn't matter that I don't live with them, and sometimes I'm not here for months at a time. And this is his signal that he wants to go to bed. He won't leave me alone."

Heath looked around. It had gotten dark as they talked, and MJ could hear crickets through the open windows.

Hugh rose. "I guess if Valentino says it's bedtime, that should be good enough for all of us. I'll get the horses put away, then."

He turned in MJ's direction. "Good night, dear MJ, and welcome once again. See you in the morning."

Archie waved from his place on the floor, where Pringle still had her head in his lap. "I won't get up," he said, motioning toward the happy mama dog. "Good night."

Poppy rose to her feet and kissed MJ's cheek. "Sleep well, MJ, and welcome to Tanglewood. See you in the morning."

Margaret walked with MJ and Heath, out to the foyer and up a beautiful staircase that split in two at the landing. Sure enough, Valentino followed them up the stairs and down the hall, like a fat, furry shadow. Margaret showed MJ where the bathroom was, and opened the door to her room.

"I aired the room out, and left the window open, so you can close it if you're cold, though the air smells lovely this time of year," she said, turning on the light. "If you get too cold, there's another duvet in the chest at the foot of the bed."

She turned and spoke from the door. "And if you need anything, Heath is just next door, okay? Sleep well, MJ, and welcome."

She kissed Heath, who had remained in MJ's room. "Good night, son, see you in the morning."

"Night, mum, thanks," Heath called.

He turned to MJ.

"I wanted to show you something, and to ask you something," Heath said to MJ.

MJ turned to him from where she'd been looking out the window. The room was absolutely gorgeous, and the view out the window was incredible. She could see fields, and woods, and the lights from a couple of other large houses, off in the distance. The bed had a beautiful flowered coverlet.

"Hmm? What?" she asked.

Heath held out his hand, and MJ took it, smiling.

"Well, the thing about this room is that, not only is my room next door, our rooms are connected, see?" he said, leading her to the corner of her room, where there was, indeed a door. He opened it and they entered Heath's room.

He flipped on the light, and MJ could see that the large room had shelves full of books, musical equipment, some exercise stuff. His bags stood neatly next to the door. Valentino immediately made himself comfortable on the bed.

Heath squeezed her hand. "So what I wanted to ask was if you'd consider perhaps sleeping in here?"

MJ was quiet. "So you mean switch rooms? You want the flowered bedspread?" she finally asked.

Heath turned to stare at her, and he'd taken a deep breath to speak before he noticed her mouth twitching at the corner.

"You brat!" he said, grabbing her around the waist and throwing her down on the bed. Valentino looked annoyed at the noise.

So they had some good tickling fun, until MJ finally just kissed Heath, hard, and he stopped.

"Won't your family mind?" MJ asked.

"What? No, of course not," Heath answered. "Mum was actually surprised when I asked for a separate room for you. So I told her we hadn't worked all that out yet, and she suggested the adjoining one, to keep our options open." He grinned. "Those were her exact words," he assured MJ. "She's a very cool person," he finished, nodding.

"I guess she is," MJ agreed.

Heath kissed MJ again. "Mmm," he breathed. "So? Will you? I mean, I know we're not there yet, but god, I just miss you when you're not there, you know?" He looked into her eyes. "It's so weird, but I feel like you should be next to me, you're supposed to be next to me, when I go to sleep, and when I wake up. It's not about shagging, it's not, I swear."

"So, knickers on?" MJ asked, biting her lip, looking so cute as she lay on Heath's bed.

Heath nodded. "Knickers on," he repeated firmly.

"Okay," MJ said, smiling.

She continued to lie there, partially under and next to Heath.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Heath finally asked.

"Well, I don't know what you're waiting for, but I'm waiting for you to let go of my hands, so I can go change and brush my teeth," MJ said with another smile.

"Oh. OH, course, right," Heath said, releasing MJ's hands, which he'd been holding pinned above her head so he could tickle her.

"Thanks. Back in a jiffy," MJ said rising and going to her room.

Valentino watched her go and yawned.