“I’m happy for you,” Theo murmured near his ear. “You deserve someone like Sophie.”
Nicholas grabbed Theo’s shoulders and held him at a distance. “You aren’t… angry?”
“No.” Theo grimaced, and his expression turned apologetic. “I’m sorry for my harsh words in that letter. I was worried about how what happened might affect Sophie and our family, but if you and she are happy, then I’m happy too.”
Nicholas looked at Sophie, who was grinning broadly and gesturing about with her arms as she explained something to Kate. His heart filled, and once again, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be able to call her his.
“I never anticipated wanting a wife, but I am the most fortunate man alive to have her.” Turning to even more serious matters, he asked, “Is Mother here?”
Theo’s lips pressed into a firm line, and the corners of his eyes tightened. “She is, but she went to her room when we saw you coming.”
Ah, so that was how it was going to be.
At least she hadn’t come storming out to meet them with a raised voice and a list of accusations.
Still, it was a little childish of her to hide in such a fashion. Although, it could be said that it had been childish ofthemto flee to Gretna Green. So, perhaps they were equal.
“I made her promise me that she would come down for supper,” Theo added.
That was something, he supposed.
“Thank you for your forgiveness, Theo. It means more than you can imagine. I was afraid of how you might react. You’re my closest friend as well as my brother, and I would hate to lose you.”
Theo drew back sharply. “You never need to worry about that. You’re my closest friend too—sometimes, I think, my only friend. No matter what happens, you’ll always have me.”
Nicholas blinked rapidly and turned away, knowing that Theo would be uncomfortable with the tears brewing in his eyes.
“Come here.” Theo hauled Nicholas into another hug. “We’re family. Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out. So don’t go getting any silly ideas about no longer being welcome here.”
That was it.
Why couldn’t this bloody man let him handle his emotions alone?
A tear spilled over, and he swiped at it before it could get much farther than his cheek.
“Aww!”
Suddenly, a soft female limpet clamped onto his side. Chuckling, Nicholas dabbed his eyes to make sure he was no longer at risk of crying and drew Sophie into his arms.
Kate, who had also joined them, cleared her throat. “We’ve prepared the room adjoining Nicholas’s for Sophie if you both would like to move here permanently. Otherwise, we can have another house built on the property.”
Sophie beamed up at Nicholas and then turned around and bounced on the balls of her feet. “We would love to have rooms here.” She hastened over to Kate and took her hand. “Do you realize that this makes us sisters now?”
“I do.” Kate smiled fondly. “I always wanted a sister andnever had one, but now I have two, and I couldn’t be happier.”
“Shall we show Sophie to her new chamber?” Theo asked, resting his hand on the small of Kate’s back.
“Of course, my lord.” The housekeeper gestured for the group to precede her inside. “This way, please.”
Mrs. Tubbs led them up the stairs and into the family wing. As they passed his mother’s room, Nicholas couldn’t help pausing to see if he could hear her inside. There wasn’t as much as a sniffle, so he continued on, trying to dismiss the creeping sense of unease.
Nicholas waited as Sophie was shown her own chamber—a room that had previously been used for any visiting close friends of the family—and assured her that she could make any changes she wanted to the decor. She might not be as design focused as Kate, but no doubt she would want to put her own stamp on the place.
As soon as she was settled, he went to his room and washed up, changed out of his travelling clothes, and waited for her to join him before they returned downstairs to share tea and biscuits with Theo and Kate in the drawing room.
The light from the afternoon sun spilled through the window. Theo and Kate shared a chaise, with Theo resting his elbow on one side, a book propped in his other hand, and Kate occupied with a sketch. A silver tea tray sat on the table, and as Nicholas and Sophie entered, Kate put down her sketchbook and started to fix them all tea.
Nicholas grabbed a biscuit from the plate beside the tea and took a bite as he and Sophie sat on the pair of chairs opposite. Sophie accepted a teacup from Kate and dunked a biscuit into it.
