“I made a bad choice, Papa.” She gripped the back of a chair. “And I know you’re disappointed in me, but I promise I’ve learned from my error. Mr. Cullen isn’t like Longmere—”
“We’ll get to Cullen. After I say what I want to say.” Papa’s broad chest heaved. “I was never disappointed in you, Pippa. Only in myself, that I had allowed such unhappiness to befall you. You’re my only girl, my poppet, and the way that self-important popinjay treated you…” His hands fisted at his sides, and he clearly struggled to rein in his temper. “No one treats my daughter that way.”
“I brought him into our lives…saddled you all with his condescension and snobbery.” Her eyes burning, she remembered all the times Edwin had refused to attend her family gatherings, all the excuses she’d had to make for his absence. “I let him get between me and everyone I love.”
“Nothing can get between us Hunts,” Papa declared.
She realized those were the words she needed to hear. That some part of her had feared she would never hear again. Then Papa was there, his arms enfolding her in a hug, and with flooding relief, she hugged him back. And she knew that everything would be all right.
When the embrace ended, she sniffled, “I’m sorry it took me so long to talk to you, Papa.”
He passed her his handkerchief. “You’ve always been an obstinate thing,” he said complacently. “You take after your mama.”
“Am I the only one who thought I was easy-going and patient?” she pondered aloud.
Papa barked out a laugh. “Well, you are easy-going when you get what you want. And patient when you’re biding your time to get it. In those ways, you take afterme.” His tawny eyes grew serious. “Now, poppet, you’re certain Timothy Cullen is what you want?”
“Yes,” she said definitively. “Cull is a good man, Papa. I know he seems a bit rough around the edges, but he has a noble heart…you should see him with the mudlarks. In truth, the Nest is run quite similarly to the Hunt Academy.”
“I know all about the Prince of Larks. What I want to know is how the man treatsyou, Pippa. Is he deserving of my girl…or do I need to pound him to a fare-thee-well?”
“Cull loves me.” She didn’t hide the wonder she felt. “He treats me like a princess.”
“He had better.” Papa’s words held a warning edge. “I sat on my laurels once, and I’ll not do it again. Anyone who makes you unhappy—who disrespects you in any way—will answer to me.”
One by one, the guests arrived.
It was a small party consisting of family and her parents’ closest friends. Mama’s brother, Uncle Paul and his wife, Aunt Charity, were the first to show up. Pippa was happy to catch up with them and hear how her cousins were faring. Then came Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose Kent, who’d traveled from their country estate to wish Mama many happy returns. Finally, the Marquess and Marchioness of Harteford arrived. Pippa knew them as Uncle Nick and Aunt Helena, the former being Mama’s brother in spirit if not in blood.
Aunt Helena, a beautiful curvy brunette, drew Pippa aside.
“How are you, my dear?” Aunt Helena studied her with concerned hazel eyes.
“I’m better, Aunt Helena,” Pippa said truthfully.
“Mourning takes a toll,” Aunt Helena continued with a sigh. “It is unfair that someone as young as you had to go through it. I felt the same way about Thomas.”
Thomas, the Earl of Hawksmoor, was Aunt Helena’s eldest and a widower.
“How is Hawksmoor?” Pippa asked.
“Oh, the same. Not that one would know,” Aunt Helena said dryly. “He gets his stoicism from his papa. Still, I worry about him and wish he would move on…” She caught herself, saying with a smile, “Here I am rambling on when I want to hear about you, Pippa dear. I’m told you have a…friend coming this eve?”
Seeing as Mama and Aunt Helena were as thick as thieves, the latter likely knew all about Cull.
“Yes,” Pippa said. “I hope you like him.”
“If he makes you happy, then I will,” Aunt Helena said warmly. “I cannot wait to meet him.”
Pippa pushed aside a pang of unease. Cull had not yet arrived, and it wasn’t like him to show up late. But maybe he’d just been detained by business.
Another half-hour came and went. As the guests chatted over preprandial drinks, Pippa participated half-heartedly. Where was Cull? Had something happened to him? Seeing her papa’s darkening countenance and her brothers’ scowls, her worry grew. Her family had been burnt before. If Cull didn’t arrive soon and have a good explanation for his lateness, they would hold it against him.
When the door to the drawing room opened, she exhaled.Finally.Yet her relief proved short-lived: it was only the butler.
“What is it, Jeffries?” Mama asked.
“A note arrived, ma’am. For Lady Longmere.”
