Except one.
Algenon.
Her hand tightened on the quill, doubt worming its way into her mind. No, she couldn’t even trust him to know his own mind this time. He needed her help.
When the list was complete, she stared at the top item. It went against their unspoken rules so completely that her hand trembled at the thought. But how else was she to get his attention?
After a moment she looked away, the words of the first line clearly emblazoned in her mind.
1. Flirt with Algenon.
Chapter 4
“Good evening, my dear. You look lovely.” Lord Roberts leaned down and gave Lady Roberts a brief kiss on the cheek.
Algenon glanced away from the sight. Having a stepmother only a year his senior, passably pretty with her fair hair and moss green eyes, was one of the oddest experiences of his life. Even stranger was the obvious regard she had for his father. How could she care for a man old enough to beherfather? But, by all accounts, they were happy.
His father offered an arm to her before signaling to the butler that they were all in attendance. A few moments later, dinner was announced. It was only their family this evening, which was still a large gathering even without all the girls in the nursery. Henrietta’s husband had returned from town at her insistence, so their numbers were nearly even with all three of his brothers-in-law, which only added to the chaos.
Excitement at this evening’s assembly was palpable around the room, each of the ladies having dressed to perfection. Hewished he could partake in their joy, but Javenia’s words still haunted him days later.
When he’d been clubbed in the head in June, he’d resolved to change his behavior. It was obvious that even though his flirtations kept his father at bay, they were hurting Javenia. Somehow, that had given him hope.
If she cared enough to be jealous, perhaps there was a way across the divide. Eddie, the only one of his friends that knew of his predicament with his father, had even given him the courage to push back against Lord Roberts’s heavy hand.
Algenon had never been afraid of his father’s threat to pull his quarterly allowance, the marriage contracts with his mother having left him a small cottage near his grandfather’s estate in Essex so he would not be homeless. He would, however, need to find employment, which would not endear him any more to Javenia’s father.
Even then, she might be willing to look past such things.
But the secret his father held would truly hurt her both in the eyes of her parents and Society. If Lord Roberts revealed what he knew, Javenia would be well within her rights to hate Algenon forever.
“You are remarkably silent this evening, Roberts.”
Algenon glanced up from pushing the peas around his plate. His father’s direct gaze made his already rumbling stomach tighten.
“Are you unwell?” There was no accusation in his father’s tone, real concern crossing his brow.
Was it possible to hate and love someone? Normal moments like these clouded his mind. While his father could be firm and unyielding, there were times he showed true interest in Algenon’s well-being. Those brief glimpses of caring made it hard to hold to his anger.
“No. I was simply listening to the conversation.”
The fork that his father had held suspended in the air lowered. “I am glad to hear it, especially with this evening’s activities.”
The hair on Algenon’s neck prickled. There was too much of a gleam in his father’s eyes to be coincidental. “Indeed. It will be nice to gather with our neighbors again.”
A scraping sound insulted his ears, as his father’s fork slipped on his plate. “Neighbors? Which neighbors?” His knuckles grew white as his grip tightened.
The contrary side of Algenon prodded him to say something that would send his father into a fit, but after several slow breaths, his rational side won out.
“All of them. It has been ages since I have gathered with my friends. Much has changed since then.”
His father’s grip relaxed, and his shoulders lowered. “I thought Sir Nathaniel and his wife came to call this week?”
They had called, giving him the reprieve he’d needed after Javenia’s set down, but it wasn’t their company he sought. “They did, but I have yet to see Kendall or Newhurst.”
His father nodded, then turned his attention back to his meal. It seemed the interrogation was over. Algenon relaxed.
When the meal finished, all the ladies clamored to their rooms to gather the last of their effects. The men would have a few minutes to enjoy their port before the carriages were called. Algenon leaned back and allowed his brothers-in-law to carry the conversation. Their entrance into his family had been the greatest relief over the last two years. At least now he and his father did not have to carry on some semblance of a congenial conversation or sit in uncomfortable silence.
