Olivia giggled. “I feel like a princess.”
“You are a princess.”
Her eyes widened. “Does that make you a prince?”
“Oh, no. I am a nobody.”
“But you are my papa.”
The word still caught Mark off guard, and his breath hitched. “I am.”
She gave a single sharp nod. “Then you can be my prince.”
He kissed her on the forehead, then stood, addressing Rose. “They will gather in the front parlor before we go into the dining room. I will send Clara up when we are ready. It should not be long. I think I heard the first knocks as I came up.”
Rose nodded, her hand pressed hard across her stomach.
His whole household was a bundle of nerves.
Heading downstairs, Mark heard the mantel clock in the front parlor chime the hour, the tone echoing through the foyer and over the soft muttering of voices. Mark listened as he approached the room, immediately hearing the rough rumble of Matthew’s words, along with the strident tones of his mother. Sarah, Matthew’s new wife, spoke with a soft alto that inexplicably soothed his brother’s temper. He heard Judith’s dulcet words... then another, higher pitched voice that caused Mark to halt outside the door.
That made one too many people. He had only invited Matthew, Sarah, his mother, and Judith. Then who...
He pushed open the door, and they all turned to face him, falling silent. Except for one of them.
“He still does not look like a doctor, even though he has on clothes.”
*
Judith watched thecolor drain from Mark’s face as Matthew snorted a laugh, and Sarah gripped her husband’s forearm in reprimand. Phyllida sniffed and clutched her hands together in front of her, murmuring, “Seen. Not heard.”
For once Judith would agree. She gripped the back of William’s neck and whispered. “Remember.”
He twisted to look up at her. “Oh. I forgot.”
Judith faced Mark, hoping that he would not be too angry by her surprise guest—and that the heat in her cheeks did not mean her face had turned beet red. “I thought perhaps—”
“It was my idea.” Phyllida stepped forward. “The children are almost the same age, and no child should be left alone, especially when there is a party in the house.”
The gleam returned to Mark’s eyes as did the color to his cheeks. “Is that experience speaking, Mother?”
“You should know better than most.” Phyllida turned to Judith. “By the time he was five, my second son could not be left unattended. He could shimmy down the lattice on the outside of the house and be under the dining room table causing havoc before anyone noticed him missing from the nursery.”
Judith kept her expression solemn. “I take it punishment did not have its desired effect.”
Phyllida sniffed. “He has a remarkably short memory of such.”
Mark focused on Judith. “Was it truly her notion?”
Judith glanced at her son’s face, now wide-eyed at the exchange between the adults. “It was, in truth, although I agreed with her. I have always thought my boys too far apart. So I agree with her wisdom.”
“Take care on that score, my lady, as my mother’s wisdom often arrives with sharp edges and the occasional thorn.” Mark smirked as Phyllida huffed, then he reached for the bell pull. AtHowe’s appearance he instructed the butler to have Clara bring Olivia and Rose to the room. He then faced them.
“I do appreciate you coming tonight. I was not certain how to integrate Olivia and Rose into the family, but I no longer felt comfortable leaving circumstances as they were. Word is beginning to spread about Stella leaving a child behind and there is growing speculation about who her father might be. The names I heard—dukes, viscounts, even the Prince Regent—put Olivia at even more risk than if I acknowledged her. But this move has not been easy. Her grandmother Rose has never been associated with Society, and she is somewhat overwhelmed and a bit fragile. The maids are helping her, but I felt she needed to meet some of the family with whom she will be associated.
“Not all men would be so honorable or thoughtful.” Sarah’s soothing words carried an edge of experience to them.
“Some men”—Matthew cleared his throat—“would have ignored them, left them to their fate, especially given the circumstances of her birth. The city is littered with such children.”
