“Do you remember when we took a late evening dip in the stream the year before I left for Harrow?”
Her eyes widened as they darted to the small group of people nearest them. He grinned at her unease.
Her hand snaked out and gave his arm a pinch. “Keep your voice down, you unrepentant lout.”
So she did remember. They’d only been nine and he really should have had more sense, but the summer day had been hot and he’d not wanted to get his jacket and britches wet. It hadn’t taken much to convince Javenia to go along with it after he explained how much faster their underthings would dry without a top layer.
“You are blushing, Javenia.”
“And you are well on your way to being back in my black books.”
He pursed his lips, pretending to contemplate her threat. “I suppose I should be distraught, but I’ve grown comfortable there. It is like my home away from home. Tell me, do you tuck this black book in your pocket or hold it close to your chest?”
She narrowed her eyes. “What does it matter?”
“A great deal, I assure you. I’d like to know where I am staying when I’m banished. Am I by your side or close to your heart?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how flirtatious they sounded. Javenia shifted from her left foot to her right, her body swaying the slightest bit closer to his. If he dropped his hands to his sides, her fingers would be within reach.
Warmth spread throughout him. How had one sentence shifted their conversation from light-hearted banter to soul-aching longing?
Until this moment, Javenia had kept her attention focused forward, but he could feel her gaze on his face. Slowly, he tipped his head to look at her. A question hovered in the depths of her warm brown eyes.
He’d meant every word. Whether by her side or close to her heart, it didn’t matter. He’d take her dark moods and sit squarely in her mythical black book if it meant she cared for him as much as he did for her.
An explanation rose to his lips, but he didn’t have time to give it.
“There you are.”
Algenon startled but was relieved to find Phillipa approaching and not Miss Weston. Then he took in the two gentlemen following in her wake and frowned. Both were notorious fortune hunters.
Phillipa forced a smile as she wrapped her arms about herself and moved swiftly to Javenia’s side. He clenched his teeth. Where was Father? Phillipa’s safety was his responsibility.
“Phillipa, how wonderful to see you.” Javenia pulled her into a light hug.
Algenon took that moment to send warning glares at the two swains that had somehow managed to get an introduction to his sister without his knowledge. They took the hint and excused themselves.
Phillipa sighed in relief. “I knew you would help me.”
“As promised,” he murmured. “But where is Father or Lady Roberts? They are supposed to make certain men of that caliber do not even make your acquaintance.”
His sister grimaced. “They are Louisa’s cousins. It is not like she could deny them.”
Algenon took a glass of orgeat from the tray of a passing footman and swallowed half its contents. His stepmother wastoo kind. If he’d been in the same position, he’d have told them to be on their way.
Then again, he had no blood-related cousins. His sisters had plenty, but his mother’s brother had had no children, and his father’s only brother had died before Algenon was born. Maybe if his uncle had survived the illness that took him shortly after the house party where Algenon’s parents had met, familial attachment might have led him to be less prudent.
A movement at one of the tables caught his attention, and he stiffened. Miss Weston’s game of whist must have ended, because she was coming his way, her steps purposeful even if she appeared reluctant. Then her gaze moved to his side and a predatory smile slowly lifted her lips.
He glanced at Javenia and Phillipa, who were discussing strategies to avoid future encounters with their stepmother’s cousins. Why had their presence caused such a chilling look of challenge?
He dropped his voice low. “Phillipa.”
She didn’t respond.
“Phillipa,” he said a little louder.
She and Javenia turned to him.
