That sent them all toward the parlor, still talking as a group. Charlotte let them go and finally she and Ewan were last. She looked up at him and then reached out a hand. He tucked it into the crook of his elbow and led her behind the rest.
She stepped into the parlor and began to pour tea. Her mother and Aunt Mary helped and soon everyone had a drink and a place. Ewan was seated between the two duchesses, scribbling madly in his notebook as they peppered him with questions. Matthew sat on the other side of his mother, leaning back with a smug grin that probably meanthehad been the center of attention for the past few days and was happy to give it up.
Which left Baldwin standing at the sideboard with Charlotte. He held a plate as Charlotte piled cakes onto it with a pair of silver tongs. She felt him watching her as she did so.
“Have something to say?” she asked, looking up with a smile.
He shrugged. “Should I?”
Her heart stuttered. She and Baldwin had always been close, though perhaps not as bonded as Meg and her brother James, the Duke of Abernathe, were. Still, he was able to see through her. Even when it came to subjects they never discussed openly.
“There’s nothing to say,” she insisted, ducking her gaze back to the plate and piling two more cakes onto the precarious pile.
He let out a small breath, almost a sound of frustration, and looked over his shoulder. “You’ve spent three days alone with Ewan.”
She set the tongs aside and followed his gaze to Ewan. He wasn’t looking at her, and she shivered at just the look of him.
“We’re old friends,” she said at last. “It was…fine.”
Baldwin’s brow wrinkled and his gaze softened with tenderness that touched her heart. “Sweetest Charlotte,” he whispered, “Don’t think I’m not aware of your heart. Are you truly well?”
She swallowed hard. Ewan was one of those subjects they’d never discussed. She’d always thought she covered her love for him very well, but Baldwin’s knowing stare challenged that belief entirely.
She turned her face. “I’m fine,” she reiterated. “And what of you? Areyouwell?”
His hesitation was answer enough, but he shrugged. “Of course I’m well.”
She arched a brow. “I don’t believe you,” she whispered.
He gave her a half smile. “Nor I, you,” he returned. “Aren’t we a pair?”
She reached up to touch his cheek briefly. “Indeed, we are.” She searched his gaze, still finding that trouble she’d seen earlier. The trouble that worried her so, even in the midst of her own situation with Ewan. “Will it be all right?”
He nodded slowly. “I certainly hope so.”
“Are you two bringing cakes or solving the problems of the world?” Matthew called out with a laugh that spread to the rest of the group.
“If Charlotte put her mind to it, I’m certain she could solve anything,” Baldwin said with another soft smile in her direction before he took the plate of cakes and set it in the middle of the table set between all the chairs. “I, on the other hand, can barely tie my own cravat.”
“That’s why you have a valet, my dear,” the Duchess of Sheffield said with a saucy wink for her son as he took his seat.
The group laughed together again, and Charlotte took her seat with a smile. But even though she kept up a friendly enough face, her worry was real. Worry for Baldwin and whatever secrets he was keeping from her. And worry for herself. It seemed all their futures were precariously balanced now.
She could only hope her brother was right that it would all work out in the end.
Ewan poured three glasses of his best brandy and handed them around to Matthew and Baldwin. He tipped his glass toward his cousin and Matthew nodded as he lifted his own.
“It’s a bit early in the day for clever toasts—” he began.
“And brandy,” Baldwin added with a chuckle.
“And brandy,” Matthew agreed. “But I’ll do my best. The past six months have been transformative for our group, but our friendship holds true. So I toast to our bond and our futures, wherever they may take us.”
Baldwin and Ewan raised their glasses and all three men sipped the liquor. Ewan set his glass aside and wrote, “I’ve been out of London since November, so I’m behind. Tell me all that’s going on with everyone. Though I’m certain you two have discussed this at length while stranded in Donburrow.”
Matthew shrugged. “We have, but I’m sure we’re both happy to summarize. James and Emma are gleefully counting the days until their child’s arrival. I’ve never seen him so over the moon.”
Ewan nodded. He was so very pleased for his friend, the leader of their little group of dukes formed so long ago. James had been through a great deal and had believed he would never marry. Now he was with who anyone could see was his perfect match.
