“You had no reason to,” Sidney replied.
“Still, you are my friend, and I should have seen just how much effort you’ve made in trying to be a force for good. It used to make me sad thinking you were wasting your potential. I know what a good heart you have, and I’m glad you don’t seem so lost anymore.” Angeline saw him wince once more and decided she should probably leave the topic alone.
“Thank you, Sidney,” she said again. “I didn’t mean to get carried away tonight, but I appreciate that you are someone who I know will take care of me.”
Finally, a genuine smile emerged from him. “It was truly my pleasure. Let me know if you ever feel the need to experiment again.”
With another smack to his arm, they began to make their way back to the house as night had fallen. He escorted her to the back door of Geffen House before giving a small bow and disappearing back down the path toward Ravenswood.
CHAPTER10
In the few days since his kisses with Angeline, Sidney couldn’t stop smiling. Nick noticed and asked what had put him in such a good mood.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, dear brother,” he affably retorted. “Can’t a man simply be happy?”
“Of course he can,” Nick answered, “but it seems to be quite the mood change, so you can’t fault me for making note of it.”
No, he certainly could not. Sidney knew not to get his hopes up, but he couldn’t help it. Kissing Angeline had been incendiary. He felt her deep in his bones as he embraced her. Nothing in his life had ever felt so right.
“Would this uplift in your mood have anything to do with a certain beautiful widow who has recently returned to the neighborhood?” his brother asked. Astonished, Sidney gaped at him. “What?” Nick said. “You didn’t think I knew that you’ve been in love with her all these years?”
“I didn’t think anyone knew,” Sidney replied honestly. “I’ve never spoken of it to anyone.”
“You didn’t have to. I know you, and it wasn’t hard to figure out. Ever since right before father died, you get a moony look on your face whenever she’s nearby. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“She was a married woman, there was nothing to say.” Sidney should have guessed that he couldn’t hide the truth of his feelings from everyone in his life. He knew he didn’t have the best poker face, even at the best of times. With Nick’s revelation, he wondered who else might have clued into his love for Angeline over the years.
“You still could have talked about it with me, it might’ve helped to have someone to share your misery with,” Nick said sympathetically. “She’s been alone for a few years now, do you plan to do anything about that?”
“I don’t know,” Sidney sighed. “I’m still not certain she’s ready for someone new. Angie really did love her husband. But she’s intimated lately that she’s not sure she wants to be alone forever.”
“Then you should make your move, brother. Don’t wait until it’s possibly too late. You don’t want to lose out on love again.”
“Says the man who is about to make a move on a woman for practical reasons,” Sidney shot back.
“I already had my chance and my love, now I need to think of my daughter and future children,” Nick said solemnly.
Sidney still wasn’t sure how he felt about the prospect of his brother marrying again only for duty. He understood from a practical perspective that he needed an heir, and Nick was nothing if not rational, but it still grated, feeling wrong. Sidney was too much of a romantic and had decided long ago when he lost Angeline that he would not marry for anything other than love. With such feelings, he was lucky to be a second son. It allowed him the freedom to stay single and not feel the pressure to continue the family line and keep the title secured and was the reason he had made it to thirty-five and never married.
Nick did not have that same level of flexibility, and without his heir needed to marry again. Sidney would have to reserve his judgment on the situation until he met his possible sister-in-law. Lady Tarlton—or Lady Effie, as she liked to be called—was expected at the house shortly along with the Davenports. They would spend the afternoon at Ravenswood, allowing Lady Effie the chance to get to know Hazel, and then the group would head over to Geffen House to dine with Fitz’s clan. Nick had arranged the day, and if all went well, he planned to draw up a marriage contract and ask the lady for her hand.
A short time later, the Davenport’s carriage pulled up the drive. Sidney watched as an ice-blond woman in her early thirties descended from the conveyance. Upon seeing Sidney, her eyes widened slightly, but she quickly turned her attention toward Nick with a smile plastered on her face.
“My Lord Hasting,sogood to see you again. I was so pleased by your invitation,” Lady Effie’s greeting was given in the falsely polite tone that many women of thetonused. The affectation was meant to seem flattering, but Sidney had to contain his annoyance. Too many women had used such tricks on him in an effort to charm over the years, and he saw right through it. He much preferred Angeline’s sincerity and honesty.
“Lady Effie, allow me to introduce you to my brother, Mr. Sidney Bright.” As Nick made the introduction, she turned toward him and gave an assessing glance up and down. Sidney thought he detected a subtle heat in her eyes. Cringing, it made him worry what she may have heard about him in the past. He was saved from the awkward moment when Davenport ambled up to him.
“Sidney!” the lord exclaimed. “Good to see you back around the place, it’s been too long.” This was accompanied by a vigorous series of thumps on Sidney’s back, and he had to put effort into keeping himself upright. He fought back a grin and returned the gesture, delighted to see his brother’s best friend again.
“Davenport, what have you been up to, you cad?” Laughing, the two walked into the house, his brother trailing with Lady Davenport and Lady Effie.
That, however, had been the last pleasant moment of the afternoon. What followed was an excruciatingly uncomfortable hour in the front parlor as Hazel joined them for tea. Lady Effie put on a pleasing smile and made an effort, but the little girl was smart enough to see through her façade and could tell that her interest was not genuine. Much to Sidney’s dismay, Nick seemed either ignorant of this or was deliberately choosing to see only what he desired the situation to be, ignoring everything else.
Sidney watched Hazel closely to see how she felt about the woman, since it was mainly for her benefit Nick was proposing such an arrangement. Lady Effie was clearly aware of what was in the offering and tried to make a good impression on the girl, but it fell flat. Her questions to Hazel were not appropriate for her age of eight years, leading to a stilted conversation. Hazel had been interested at first and perked up seeing two elegant new ladies in the room, but he watched her pull into herself over the course of tea as neither interacted with her genuinely.
Hazel’s governess came to fetch her after about an hour, and Sidney immediately saw what Nick had been worried about. Hazel clung to the woman the second she entered the room. Maybe Nick did need to find a new mother figure for her. Sidney decided to keep an open mind as the day progressed.
* * *
