Fannie edged forward.The curling papers in her hair wobbled as she spoke, “We cannot find her anywhere.We fear she has gone!”
Perry wore a nightshirt, a banyan, and the red Morocco slippers he’d received for Christmas.He towered above their sisters’ heads as he added his own voice to the crisis.“We’re worried about her,” said the lad.“We wanted her to stay.To hell with Lord Mathieson.Mama hated him anyway.”
Selwyn was touched that his siblings cared.He took heart that they were willing to fight for Aurelia, to challenge society on her behalf.Mama had left them a proud legacy, and they were willing to carry the torch.
Again, Fannie spoke.“You love her, Selly, I know you do!You wouldn’t let such a silly thing as her parentage come between you.”
Perry slung his arms over the girls’ shoulders, hugging them both.“Anyway, she would be a Charlton, and it wouldn’t matter where she came from.She’d be one of us.”
Selwyn’s throat felt tight, and he struggled for a moment to find the words without his voice breaking.“Do you mean that?”
His siblings all agreed that they loved Aurelia.
Margie said what everyone knew to be true, “It was as if she was meant to be here from the moment she arrived.”
Selwyn was overjoyed.He couldn’t imagine a better, more beloved Christmas gift than the trust, support, and acceptance of his family.He was so glad to be a Charlton—not because they were an old and noble family, wealthy and powerful beyond anybody’s wildest dreams, but because they were just plain good people.
He grinned at them.“Get dressed and we shall have a family meeting over breakfast,” he said, careful to keep Aurelia’s location in his bed a secret.“Don’t worry, all will be well.”
After shooing the trio off, he pivoted to face her.He closed the door at his back and rested his shoulders against it.His heart was filled to bursting, and he feared he was closer to tears than ever before.
He had worried that the festive season would not be the same since Mama and Papa’s deaths, and in many ways, things would never be the same, yet life went on.One grew, and matured, and strived to accommodate what they couldn’t change.Love carried on.
Mama might not have hand-selected Aurelia Goldsworthy to succeed her as the Duchess of Brantingham, but she would be overjoyed at how the story had played out, for Cecile Hartley was home at last, thriving through the daughter she never knew.
Thiswas the legacy their mothers had left them—one of love, above all things.
“Did you hear that?”he asked her.
She nodded tearfully.“Every wonderful word.”
Selwyn held his hand out to this clever, kind, and courageous young woman who had named herself as a child, and who had essentially promised herself to a duke.Tohim.
“Let’s put you back in your room, my love, where you can discreetly ring for your maid.Then we’ll break the good news to my family before they send Scotland Yard to find you.”
She laughed as she laced her fingers in his.Her hand, he noticed, was steady.Her eyes were clear and bright, and utterly unafraid.Aurelia was ready to walk the path she wanted and to begin the life she deserved.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Charltons gathered in the dining room for breakfast.The heavy, fringed draperies had been swept back to allow the scant December sun to penetrate the room.A fire burned in the chimneypiece, which was decorated with holly and ivy, red velvet bows and silken bunting.
Rather than the gilded candlesticks and bowls of flowers at the center of the long dining table, dishes of fruits, nuts, and boiled sweets lined the middle of the tabletop.
The siblings huddled around the sideboard, wishing each other “Good morning” and “Happy Christmas”.Selwyn held her hand and fixed her plate, heaping eggs, toast, ham, beans, and bacon upon her until Aurelia felt certain she’d be stuffed.Mr.Dowell and the duo of footmen served coffee and tea, looking only a little worse for wear after their merrymaking in the servants’ hall last night.
It was a pleasant, casual Christmas breakfast, filled with laughter and chatter, and lots of delicious food.A dinner feast would follow in the evening, complete with goose and turkey, and all the trimmings of the season.This would be a busy day of celebrating.Aurelia looked forward to every minute of it.
Gifts were produced for Margie, Fannie, and Perry.Selwyn was a generous and indulgent brother.He winked at Aurelia as they opened their presents.
Lady Margery untwined a ribbon to reveal a folio of papers.She read them, stunned, and then she squealed with joy.“An application to the University of London!”She looked up at him, misty-eyed.“Oh, Selly, you’ve relented at last!”
“I was never against it, Margie, only cautious,” he said.“A woman has a right to be educated, to seek knowledge.A right to live as she pleases and to be happy in those choices.I trust you will be happy attending university.I hope you chase every dream, take every risk—but do stick close to home for a little while, at least.You’ll always have a place here at Brantingham House.”
Lady Fanetta received two tickets for a passage on the Channel ferry and a promise from Sewlyn to pay for an entirely new wardrobe, including a Court presentation gown from any French fashion house of her choosing.In Fannie’s eyes, he had just given her the world.
“Selly!”cried the younger sister, “This is so extravagant!Not even Mama would’ve done this for me!Would you be offended if I invited Miss Goldsworthy to join me?”She turned to Aurelia, explaining, “You’ll want new things, too—frocks and mantles, stockings and lingerie—perhaps even a presentation gown of your own.Oh, do say you’ll come.You have such beautiful taste in clothes.”
He nodded to both women.“You may order whatever you want, Aurelia.You’ll have earned it chaperoning Fannie in Paris.”
