She hugged her three sisters. Emily, who was fair and gentle natured. She was slight and had a backbone of steel when required. Rose was next with her glorious red hair and fiery temperament. Lastly came Maddie. Dark haired and natured most like Emily.
“I’m fairly sure everyone is looking out their windows, but I told them to give us at least twenty minutes before they descend,” James said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walked inside.
“Buttles!” Samantha hugged the butler she’d known since she was a child too. He took it with a gentle pat on her shoulder. “Penny is injured and will need care.”
“Welcome home, Lady Samantha.” Buttles bowed. “I will ensure she is looked after.”
“Archie is taking her to her room, and two of the maids are looking after her,” Warwick said, arriving.
So much had changed inside this house since she’d first stepped in here as a terrified child. It was a home now with lots of color and love. She made her way up the stairs with her siblings, who were all firing questions at her. Warwick walked with Max at the rear, talking.
“Eden!” Samantha cried. Her wonderful sister-in-law, wife to James, was waiting for her inside the room she was ushered to. “How is it possible you are more beautiful?”
“She still has that shrewish temperament,” Warwick said about his sister.
Eden simply rolled her eyes, more than used to her younger brother’s teasing. She had been like a mother to Samantha when she’d needed one desperately. Strong-willed, beautiful, and someone who spoke her mind. Samantha loved her very much.
“You are not leaving us again.” Eden wrapped her in a sweet-smelling hug.
“Promise.”
Like her siblings, Eden had the dark hair, but her eyes were grey instead of Sinclair green. They were soon settled in the largest parlor, so all the family could be accommodated.
“Aunty Sam!” Kat, one of the youngest in their family, shrieked as she ran into the room with her older brother, Simon.
Samantha hugged her niece and nephew close at the same time, placing loud kisses on their cheeks. The tears came then, pouring out of her eyes.
“I-I missed you all so much,” she wailed.
“I am pleased you are home, Aunty Sam,” Simon said, urging her back until her legs touched the seat. “You sit down now as you look pale.”
A large hanky was thrust at her. She took it, looking up. Warwick was there, smiling at her.
“Watering pot.”
She managed to poke out her tongue. Eden, who was standing behind Warwick, shot James a look that Samantha couldn’t interpret, but that was nothing new. The couples in this family were always shooting each other looks.
“I have ordered a large tray of food and beverages,” Eden said. “Cam is due to arrive.”
The tea tray appeared with the rest of their large family, and everyone started talking at once. Nieces, nephews, and Sinclairs. Her heart felt full with the love in the room.
“Hello, sweet Samantha.”
“Dev!” Samantha rose to hug him. He was one of the pillars that made up their family. The eldest Sinclair sibling. Steady and intelligent, he’d do anything for those he loved, of which she was honored to be one. He had been like a big brother to her for as long as she’d known him. Dark haired like the other Sinclairs, he now had grey liberally peppered through it. His eyes were a vibrant green and saw a great deal more than most.
“You’ve been away too long.” He kissed her cheek and then cupped them both. “What has happened?”
“How do you know something has?”
“I’ve known you for years. I can tell when something is off. Plus, there was that tension that gripped us all briefly a few days ago, and if that wasn’t enough, Warwick is hiding something from me too.”
“Samantha!”
“Saved by the twins,” Dev drawled.
The two identical dark-haired, green-eyed women standing before her were Warwick’s twin sisters, Dorset and Somerset. Her best friends. They had gotten each other through much in their lifetime. Love, fear, and sadness. They’d experienced it all together. She studied them. Both were married to men of Raven blood, and clearly it agreed with them. They were radiant.
“We missed you,” they said as one.
