Chapter One

      Over her years of caring for unwanted animals, Lady Penelope Campion had learned a few things.

      Dogs barked; rabbits hopped.

      Hedgehogs curled up into pincushions.

      Cats plopped in the middle of the drawing room carpet and licked themselves in indelicate places.

      Confused parrots flew out open windows and settled on ledges just out of reach. And Penny leaned over window sashes in her nightdress to rescue them—even if it meant risking her own neck.

      She couldn’t change her nature, any more than the lost, lonely, wounded, and abandoned creatures filling her house could change theirs.

      Penny gripped the window casing with one hand and waved a treat with her other. “Come now, sweeting. This way. I’ve a biscuit for you.”

      Delilah cocked her plumed head and regarded the treat. But she didn’t budge.

      Penny sighed. She had no one to blame but herself, really. She’d forgotten to cover the birdcage completely at sundown, and she’d left a candle burning far too late while she finished a delicious novel. However, she’d never dreamed Delilah could be clever enough to reach between the bars with one talon and unlatch the little door.

      Once the parrot had escaped her cage, out the window she flew.

      Penny pursed her lips and whistled. “See, darling? It’s a lovely biscuit, isn’t it? A gingersnap.”

      “Pretty