“And how have you tolerated the London weather, Tessa?” asked Piety.
“Spring brought a bit more mud than I am accustomed to,” Tessa said. “You will remember that the homes and roads of Belgravia are still being constructed. Very few streets have been bricked. We navigate less mud, I believe, in Surrey. But summer was lovely. We are so near the park.”
Joseph cleared his throat. “Perhaps you have not heard...” He glanced around the table at the anticipatory expression on Piety’s face. Trevor raised one eyebrow. “Or perhaps youhave. Tessa gave birth to a baby in May. A boy. Christian. Christian Chance. My son.”
Piety leapt from her chair so quickly the footman scrambled to catch it before it tipped backward.
“But this is what we heard...” now tears broke her voice “...but we couldn’t be sure, and you sent no word, and we... we were desperate to be of some assistance and see the baby, but we... but we...” Now she brought a hand up over her mouth and looked to her husband.
The earl sighed and put his napkin beside his plate. “You’ll have to forgive my wife, Mrs. Chance,” he said. “Our sons are nearly grown—two of them left for school last week—and she has been driven mad by her limited access to infants. When she detects the presence of a relevant baby anywhere in her proximity, she runs mad. No child is safe, I’m afraid. It can’t be helped. I’m sorry.”
Joseph chuckled and glanced at Tessa. She was staring at her plate. He said, “Piety, I hope you will forgive our discretion about the baby. I promise, in time, to tell you all about him, and of course introduce you.”
Piety retook her seat. “Honestly, I care less tolearnabout the baby and more about holding him in my arms. Will you say again what he’s called? I was too excited to properly take it in.”
“Christian,” said Tessa. “He’s called Christian. Christian Trevor Chance.”
And now Piety was out of her chair again, the footman lunging. She rounded the table to embrace Joseph and then Tessa. Joseph caught his wife’s eye as Piety clung to her.
Thank you,he mouthed. How had he not known the baby’s full name? How had Tessa known the significance of naming him after Trevor?
Tessa smiled gently, but then Piety released her and held her at arm’s length.
“Christian Trevor Chance,” said Piety tearfully. “I love it.” She hugged Tessa again. When she finally released her, Piety went to the earl instead of her own seat. Trevor pushed back and she settled in his lap.
“It’s so very good to see you, Joseph,” sighed Piety. “We think of you every day. Every single day. And, oh, how we have longed to see Tessa. Your wedding was the most beautiful, splendid affair. But there were so many guests, we only had the one brief opportunity to speak to you. I can honestly say it might have been the most lavish wedding I’ve ever had the fortune of attending. Your parents’ estate must be one of the most beautiful in all of England.”
Tessa smiled. “The wedding seems like a lifetime ago,” she said.
Silence settled on the room, and Joseph thought about the wedding. It had cost him to keep his friends at bay all this time. He missed Piety’s enthusiasm and Trevor’s pragmatism. He missed their unconditional love. It had been a mistake, perhaps, to not confide in them.
“Piety?” he asked suddenly. “Could I impose on you to entertain Tessa for a quarter hour or so? I should like to speak alone with Trevor, if he has the time.”
“Actually, I’m deuced busy today,” drawled Trevor.
Joseph shook his head. “You are a man of leisure, as anyone who knows you is well aware. One of the many benefits of having a rich wife.”
“I,” countered Trevor, “am a very important architect.” He tipped Piety from his lap. “World renowned. But I shall make time for you because you’ve finally shown your face after being back in London for... what was it, darling?”
“Less than one day,” recited Piety, holding out her hand to usher Tessa from the room.
“Right,” said Trevor sardonically. “Less than one day.”
Joseph smiled and leaned back in his chair, considering all that he had, quite suddenly, decided to tell his friend.
When Piety and Tessa were gone and the footmen had been dismissed, he leaned forward and dropped his head in his hands. Speaking to the floor, he started from the beginning.
Chapter Twenty-One
The Earl and Countess of Falcondale were in possession of a beautiful pianoforte. A Stein in polished birch, imported from Germany in ’26. Tessa barely grazed her fingers across the keys and they trilled to life.
Lady Piety had been leading her on a tour of their home, a magnificent townhome mansion that Piety had bought with a great inheritance years ago. Although Piety was gracious and the house really was a showplace, it was little distraction from Joseph’s closed-door discussion downstairs with the earl.
It took no effort to guess what they discussed. Tessa wondered if Joseph had come here with a mind to unburden himself. An odd choice for their afternoon outing, she thought, but she understood the significance of a personal errand rather than some contrived diversion—tea in a café or a stroll through the zoo. It was no small thing to be introduced to the couple he described as “his family.”
And maybe Joseph needed the advice of his old friend? Perhaps her request to leave London had driven him here?
Regardless, the earl would soon be told the truth about Tessa and their marriage and the baby. And soon after the earl knew, the countess would know. She glanced at Piety, so effusive and open and bright. She would have liked to have known the older woman, to count her as a friend the way Joseph did.
