Andrea Pickens - [Lessons in Love 03] (31 page)

For some reason that eluded him, they seemed to think he had a chance of success.

In the face of such formidable forces, his defenses had quickly crumbled. But rather than engendering any sense of defeat, the admission of his feeling had been more liberating than he had ever imagined. Freed from the shackles of the past, he dared hope for the future.

Hope, however, had seemed a dim prospect when he considered the obstacles in his path. With a sigh, he had said as much.

From there, his family had sprung into action with dizzying efficiency. The earl had used his considerable influence with the government to learn on which vessel Octavia and Emma had set sail, while his brothers had pulled all manner of strings to help him deal with a number of important matters in Town. In the meantime, the ladies had passed the days preparing Wright House for additional guests, as well as spending considerable time behind closed doors making arrangements they refused to discuss with the gentlemen.

Frequent updates from the Admiralty on the progress of the ships and their naval escort kept them alerted as to when the convoy was expected to tie up at the Greenwich wharves. Even now, as Alex craned his neck to peer out of the paned window, he could see a billow of white canvas ghosting in with the current. Swallowing a gulp, he turned to the other occupant of the carriage and forced a show of nonchalance. "Well, Nicholas, it looks as though they will soon be here."

The boy's nose pressed up against the glass too, his nervous anticipation not nearly as well hidden. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "I can hardly wait to... find out what will happen to Emily and Valancourt."

Alex gave a low chuckle in spite of his own overwrought nerves. "I should have thought you would have finished that book long ago."

Nicholas squirmed in his seat, causing the corner of a much worn leather binding to peek out from the folds of his coat. "I—I did not think it right to go on without Emma," he replied in a hesitant voice. "Perhaps you think me—how do the English say it—less of a man for caring about the opinion of a mere girl, but..."

He reached over to ruffle the boy's hair. "On the contrary, lad. Loyalty to one's friends is one of the qualities of a true gentleman. And Emma has shown herself to be more than worthy of your esteem, regardless of her skirts and braids."

A sudden jolt of the wheels indicated that the horses had pulled to a halt. Sucking in a deep breath, his hand groped for the door latch. "I think it best if you wait here to greet Emma while I have a few words in private with Miss Hadley. There are, er, a number of things that the two of us need to discuss regarding... plans."

Nicholas regarded him with owlish intensity, then gave a solemn nod.

Offering a silent prayer to the heavens, Alex turned up the collar of his coat, stepped down to the muddy cobblestones and pushed his way through a bevy of swearing sailors trying to wrestle a load of salt beef off of a nearby wagon. It was some time before the heavy hull of the merchant ship was maneuvered into place alongside the barnacled pilings and the thick hawsers snugged around the iron stanchions. His pacing grew more impatient as the gangplanks seemed to take an age to be set in place. Finally, after a line of officers had descended from the quarterdeck, he spotted two females, half hidden by the tarred shrouds, their familiar profiles silhouetted against the scudding grey clouds.

They disappeared among the jostling of the other passengers seeking to disembark, then were visible again just as they stepped onto dry land. Alex hung back, waiting for them to move away from the milling crowd. Even at that distance, he could recognize the tilt of her chin and the determined set of her slender shoulders. He even imagined he could see the exact shade of her eyes, and how they were alight with...

In that instant Octavia turned toward him. She froze, her whole frame going rigid as an icicle. Then taking firm hold of Emma's hand, she continued on, her gaze locked on the small cluster of hansom cabs gathered near the end of the wharves.

Hell's teeth, he swore to himself. How was he ever going to melt the coldness he had glimpsed in her eyes?

There was no ice in Emma's reaction. Catching sight of Alex, she tore away from Octavia's grasp and ran at him with a shriek of delight. "Alex, Alex! I knew you would not forget us!"

He swung her up into his arms. "There hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about you, sweeting," he murmured, a fierce constriction in his chest making him realize just how true his words were. Good Lord, how he had missed those thin arms wound around his neck and that soft cheek pressed up against the hard line of his jaw.

The girl's companion made to go by, but he turned to block her way. "Octavia," he began, placing Emma back down on her feet. "Please wait—"

"What for?" she countered, falling back a step to elude the hand reaching out for hers. "You made it abundantly clear how quickly you wished to submerge the memory of your sojourn—and the company you were forced to endure—in Russia. Well, I, too, wish to forget that unfortunate interlude." Her jaw was set in the stubborn tilt he had come to recognize all too well. "Please move out of my way now. There is nothing more we need say to each other, Mr. Sheffield." There was a fraction of a pause. "Or is it really 'my lord'? It is hard to keep track of all your lies."

"I never lied to you, " he said quietly. "And actually I have a great deal I wish to say to you, if only you will listen for a moment."

Octavia's gaze seemed to waver for an instant before regaining its martial light. "Why should I? Indeed, a better question is why did you even bother to show up here? Now that you are back in London, I am sure you have more interesting things to occupy your thoughts than an aging governess and an orphaned girl." A slight quiver of her voice showed she was not quite as composed as she wished to appear. The realization seemed to make her scowl grow even blacker than before. "No doubt you are back to your usual revelries—drinking and... and gaming... and visiting your latest mistress."

Emma's eyes went very wide. "Alex has a mistress?"

"Of course I don't!" he said through gritted teeth. "Damnation, Octavia, please—"

"Don't swear. Have you forgotten there is a child present?" she scolded.

"How can I!" he exclaimed with mounting frustration, "They have rarely been out of our company, making it deucedly hard for me to tell you how much I—" His words cut off with a harried sigh. "Emma, you see that black and yellow carriage standing over there? Hurry along and climb inside it."

The girl pulled a face. "Why do adults always send us away just when the conversation is getting interesting?"

"NOW!"

"Oh, very well."

"There is someone inside who is anxious to see you," he added as she started to stalk off with deliberate slowness.

A radiant smile replaced the petulant pout and the girl broke into a exuberant dash. His own lips curved upward. "At least the children seem happy at the prospect of being reunited," he murmured, searching Octavia's face for the least glimmer of welcoming warmth.

She looked away, just enough to throw her features into shadow. "Well? Make it quick, Mr. Sheffield. I have a great many arrangements to make this afternoon."

"Lord, you aren't going to make this easy for me," he whispered, half to himself. "Not that I deserve any quarter." Despite the obvious lack of encouragement, he forced himself. "Let me begin by addressing the accusations you have just raised—"

Alex got no further as Octavia's eyes suddenly narrowed and two hot spots of color appeared on her cheeks. "Speaking of high flyers," she said with a barely concealed sneer. "There are two very fancy females waving handkerchiefs and blowing kisses in our direction. As they are complete strangers to me, they must be friends of yours. Quite intimate friends, by the look of it."

He looked around quickly, and couldn't help from swearing under his breath at the unfortunate timing.

"Aren't you going to wave back?" Her tone couldn't have been more scathing.

"Those two very fancy females are my sisters-in-law." He was somewhat gratified to see that his explanation caused her mouth to scrunch in embarrassment, but before he could go on, his relatives had swept down upon them.

* * *

Octavia was having a hard time regaining her equilibrium—it was as if there were still a lurching deck beneath her feet rather than terra firma. The mere sight of Alex had set her heart to turning somersaults, and on seeing the wistful tenderness that shaded his expression when he took up Emma, she had to restrain the urge to throw herself into his arms as well.

Drat the plaguey man! If such emotions were not bad enough, she had also been thrown off balance by the fierce stab of jealousy that had knifed through her breast on seeing the two elegant ladies seeking to attract his attention. Though why she should feel the least—

"You must be Miss Hadley." Augusta flashed a brilliant smile as she reached for Octavia's hand.

"Allow me to introduce Lady Wright," began Alex in a slightly dazed murmur.

"Oh, you must call me Augusta. And I hope we may call you Octavia. We have heard so much about you from Nicholas that I feel we are already... friends."

"From Alex as well." Olivia's eyes held a mischievous twinkle. "I am Olivia. Knowing how exhausted you must be from the arduous sea journey, we decided to come fetch you ourselves."

Octavia bit at her lip, too overwhelmed for the moment to reply.

"But I had planned—" Alex made another attempt to speak, only to be silenced yet again by Augusta.

"And no doubt overlooked any number of practical details. Men have not a clue about such things," She gave an airy wave of her hand. "Run along with the children, Alex. We will bring our guest back to Wright House after we have made several stops in Bond Street."

"Yes," chimed in her sister-in-law. "I imagine Octavia could do with a few new gowns and sundries after all she has been through. We have already made a number of purchases. There are just a few final fittings to be done."

"G-guest... g-gowns?" Somehow Octavia managed to recover her wits enough to stammer a reply. "S-surely you can't mean for me to stay with you. Or to incur such extravagant expenses on my behalf. After all, I am a complete stranger, naught but a country parson's—"

"Nonsense! As far as we are concerned... " Augusta stole a sly look at Alex. "...you are part of the family."

"You journeyed through the wilds of Russia with two cold, tired children and Alex, all the while braving wolves, kidnappers and Bonaparte's army?" added Olivia, her lips taking on a humorous twitch. "My dear, you deserve more than a few gowns—you deserve a medal. On second thought, a whole row of them."

Octavia's gaze darted from the two smiling faces to Alex's countenance. His wore a more enigmatic expression. What were his feelings about the prospect of being together under the same roof, if only for a short while? There was, she admitted to herself, little question as to her own emotions. While she had managed to feign an outward indifference to his presence, the thought of a reunion, however temporary, had her insides sliding around like jellied aspic.

Her jaw tightened. Only a naive gudgeon would fail to see that real life rarely provided a storybook ending. There was no point in starting another chapter, one that would only result in more... disappointment.

"It is a most generous offer, but I am afraid I cannot possibly accept it."

Neither of the ladies batted an eye at her refusal.

"Of course you can," replied Augusta firmly. "Both you and Emma would be much more comfortable with us Wright House rather than in some hotel surrounded by strangers."

As there was no credible argument to that, she stared down at the tips of her half boots, hoping to hide the flicker of longing that lit in her face for just an instant.

"Besides, Nicky would be quite devastated. The stack of books he has picked out for his young friend reaches nearly to the ceiling of the schoolroom."

"But—"

"No more 'buts' about it." Octavia suddenly found herself between the two ladies being whisked toward the waiting carriage. "Come along. We must hurry. One of the first little rules you must learn here in Town is not to be late for an appointment with Madame Celeste."

* * *

Hell's teeth!

Alex listened in glum silence as his sisters-in-law regaled their guest with yet another pithy bit of gossip about Prinny and the Carlton set. If they were trying to help improve his standing with Octavia, he groused to himself, they were certainly going about it in a deucedly peculiar fashion! Why, he had not had the chance to exchange a private word with her since her arrival at Wright House four days ago. If truth be told, he had scarcely set eyes on her, what with the flurry of sightseeing activities and shopping expeditions that his relatives has organized for her and the children.

At the moment, however, his eyes were riveted on the lady in question. From his seat at the far end of the breakfast table, he had clear view of the stylish new sprigged muslin day dress she was wearing. Despite its modest cut, it still exposed a good deal more of her creamy flesh than he was used to seeing. The design also emphasized the natural curves of her figure instead of shrouding them in a billow of sack-like folds. The sight was rather... mesmerizing.

"...isn't that right, Alex?" Augusta turned, one brow rising in pointed question.