“Of course,” he said. “How long will you stay?”
Oh, dear!Serena hid her smile behind her hand. That sounded less than inviting. Her mother must have thought the very same thing, for she leaned forward toward her parents.
“What my husband means is you may stay as long as you like, and he only wants to know so he can order enough wine for our cellars.”
“And that brandy you mentioned,” her grand-père said with a twinkle.in his eye “Frenchbrandy I hope, because the English can’t make any worth drinking.”
“Agreed,” Serena’s father said, sounding resigned. Perhaps he realized he might as well accept his in-laws and make the most of having a deliriously happy wife.
Later, in private, Serena cornered her grand-mère in the upstairs salon.
“Lord Branley brought you all the way to England, Mémère, and then what?”
Those piercing green eyes, the mirror of her own, saw the truth.
“He left us in Portsmouth with a carriage, mounted a fast horse, and said he had to fulfill his duty by going directly to London.”
That was clearly the responsible thing for him to have done.And yet, would it have been so terrible for him to come see her first?
Serena twisted her hands in her skirt. He had made a promise in those last moments together to see her again as soon as he was able. It seemed to her he’d been perfectly able and yet had chosen not to.
“I’m sorry, my dear,” her grand-mère said.
“Oh, no. Do not be sorry. I’m thrilled you are here safe with us and that he, too, has returned safely to England. What more could I ask for?”
“Perhaps you were expecting him to behave as your father did with your mother?”
Serena startled, at first thinking her grand-mère meant the amorous congress in which she’d willingly engaged with Malcolm.More than once!Such behavior might have got her parents into trouble, except her father had done the honorable thing. And that was what Mémère obviously referred to — Malcolm asking for her hand and making an honest woman of her.
Yet he was a rake! He’d admitted it. Moreover, upon returning home, with uncommon leisure time compared to her life in Paris, Serena had perused the old newspapers her parents received thrice weekly from London. Sure enough, in the dusty pile, from the months prior to Malcolm being sent to Paris, his name was linked with many young ladies of thebon ton, sometimes not very kindly either.
“Did he mention me?” she ventured to ask.
Her grand-mère smiled. “Of course he did. Monsieur Branley wished me to tell you he hopes you are well.”
“That’s all?” Tears pricked Serena’s eyes.What had she expected? A message of undying love!
“No, he also told me something I didn’t understand, but he said you would. Monsieur Branley said you must remember what he told you in the flower room.”
Serena blinked.The flower room?Maybe her grand-mère had not heard the words correctly. Or more likely, Malcolm hadn’t said them properly.
“Thank you,” she said, hugging the older lady. “Despite Father’s gruffness, we are all pleased you’re here.”
To her surprise, Mémère laughed. “Oh, we don’t take any notice of Edward’s behavior. We were very hard on him when we first met him, despite the love dancing in your mother’s eyes. We thought he couldn’t possibly be a real titled English aristocrat, nor that he would actually act honorably toward your mother. It still sticks in your grand-père’s throat the way your father took what he wanted and damn the consequences. Yet Edward intended to marry your mother all along.”
Then she shrugged. “Unfortunately, your father thinks we disapprove simply because he’s English, arosbif,as we say.”
Serena couldn’t help chuckling at how her very French grand-mere used “roast beef” as an insult.
“But that’s silly, of course,” Mémère added. “We lovecertainEnglish people.” She wrapped her arms around Serena.
***
MALCOLM FELT AS THOUGHhe were moving through treacle. Once back upon British soil, he’d had to cool his heels for a week, waiting to speak with the Prince Regent. His Royal Highness was feeling poorly, probably due to an excess of food and drink.
During the time Malcolm had waited with ever-growing impatience, Randall had also returned, and thus, when Prinny was up to the task of a visit from his special servants, they would see him together.
“I don’t understand why you need me here at all,” Malcolm groused as he paced the antechamber at Carlton House, while three valets put the regent together in the next room.
