He gave her a glance of thanks and then headed straight for his cousin. Ewan embraced him and she watched the two men interact, silent but as connected as the closest of brothers. Ewan didn’t even pull out his little notebook. He and Matthew just held gazes and she could see they understood each other perfectly.
Tears filled her eyes as she moved to the place along the wall to wait with the others. After a moment, Helena slipped up beside her. Isabel stiffened, for the Duchess of Sheffield had been the only one to confront her directly, and Isabel wasn’t certain what the woman would say now.
“Good afternoon, Isabel,” Helena said, smiling at her with a true friendliness.
Isabel inclined her head. “Helena.”
To her surprise, Helena slipped an arm through hers, and together they watched Baldwin, Ewan and Matthew for a moment. Ewan already seemed more relaxed with his friends at his side. His pacing was less manic, less fearful, though he continued to look toward the door every time even a peep came from Charlotte.
“They have been best friends since they were boys,” Helena mused. “When I see them together, I am never unmoved by their connection.”
Isabel nodded as she watched Matthew’s face. He was Ewan’s strength in that moment. The rock that allowed Ewan to buckle in his fear if he needed to do so.
“It is powerful,” she whispered. “And rare.”
“Itisrare.” Helena turned toward her. “And I would never do anything to interfere in it. I know I approached you before your marriage and spoke to you…rather harshly.”
Isabel shook her head. “You were direct. I cannot fault you for that, nor for your protectiveness of Matthew.”
Helena’s expression softened and she gently squeezed Isabel’s arm. “A protectiveness I now realize you share, I think. After all, you stood up for him in front of all his friends and family against your own uncle on your wedding day.”
Isabel blushed. “He never should have been put in a position where he’d have to be defended from my uncle.”
Helena tilted her head. “But this is the position he is in, and you. I just wanted to say that I saw how fervently you defended him. It meant a great deal to me, to all of us, that you would do so. I hope that you and I can be friends. Truly friends, since I know we will see each other often thanks to the bond our husbands share. And I know that if Charlotte weren’t cursing the heavens just down the hall, she would say the same thing.”
Isabel smiled and covered Helena’s hand with her own. Relief flowed through her and a comfort at the idea that this woman, all these women, could accept and care for her.
“Yes,” she said softly. “Of course I would be very happy to be your friend.”
Suddenly there was another cry that cut through the air, but it wasn’t Charlotte’s. This time it was the keening wail of a baby. Isabel jolted, and both she and Helena turned their attention to the men. Ewan buckled at the sound of the baby. Matthew and Baldwin each caught his arms to keep him from collapse. Then the three moved in together, in a circle of brotherly love and relief.
When Ewan pulled away, it was clear from the tears streaming down his face that the voice of his healthy child had changed all his fear to joy.
Within a moment, Meg stepped into the room. She was beaming as she wiped her hands dry on a towel. “A boy,” she declared to the cheers of the group. She moved to Ewan and touched his cheek. “A strong,wailingboy who is making himself very known at this moment. Mama and baby are right as rain.”
Matthew shoved Ewan toward the door. “Go!” he declared. “Go see your little family.”
Ewan did not have to be told twice. He rushed out as Meg crossed the room and fell into Simon’s arms. Helena pulled away to go to Baldwin, and for a moment Isabel was alone. She watched from a distance as this group of friends, this club of dukes, this band of brothers, celebrating the addition of a new family member to their tight fold. She reveled in their tears and their smiles. In their celebration.
And she bathed in the warm realization that she would be some small part of this circle of love. That her children would grow up in it. That it would always be there to be depended upon and nourished. Perhaps she’d never be as accepted as the others, but Helena had made an overture, and that gave her hope that she wouldn’t forever be an outsider.
Joy swelled in Matthew, but it was incomplete as he turned away from Baldwin and Helena. Along the wall, he found Isabel, standing away from the others, watching him. Just watching him.
In that moment, he wanted to share this happiness and relief with her more than any other person in that room. He came toward her, closing the distance in three long strides. She straightened at his approach, her expression both wary and open. There was nothing to say. He simply wrapped his arms around her and drew her hard against his chest as tears began to stream down his cheeks.
She pulled back a fraction and wiped at them. She was smiling, understanding that these were tears of happiness.
“I watched my cousin grow up so uncertain of his value,” Matthew choked out. “Not even my father and mother’s love, my love and acceptance, could make him forget the cruelty he suffered because of his lack of ability to speak.”
She nodded slowly. “It must have been so hard for him.”
“It was.” Matthew shook his head. “Tonight, when his son cried out and it was clear the boy will not suffer the same affliction, I saw all my cousin…mybrother’sfears fade away. I saw hope in him that I’ve never seen before.”
“Not that the baby would have been any less loved were he unable to speak.”
“Of course not. We could say that until we were blue in the face, though. None of us has walked Ewan’s path or felt his terror of his child suffering as he did.”
“But now that child will not,” she said, touching his cheek once more. “The fact that you are so happy for him speaks volumes about you, Matthew. Your character and your capacity for love.”
