“Yes.”
“But you could stay, and you could allow Mina and me to come to know you.”
There was a long silence. “I could.”
“Good,” Henry said.
Two men looked at each other. One on his knees, in supplication. The other, lonely and afraid, desperate for love but wary of a trap.
Two men can rarely talk of love for long. And actions speak louder than words. But Henry could not give Charles sweeties to gain his trust as he had done years ago with Mina.
Instead, he said, “Do you suppose the marchioness is over her fit of temper that we abandoned her?”
Charles half laughed. “No.”
That half laugh. Their unity in opposing the marchioness. Both gave Henry hope it was not too late for him to form a bond with his son.
The chasm between him and Charles was still there, and it was both wide and deep. But Henry must believe he could build a bridge with a little bit of help from Charles. Henry now knew more about love than he had ever known before,and he would move heaven and earth to make sure Charles felt his love.
Henry heaved a sigh. “And now, I must ask you, son . . .”
“Yes?”
Henry winced. “Can you help me off my infernal knees?”
“Of all of them, I think I like best the names Kitty, Arabella, Henrietta?—”
Susannah slipped out of the nursery. Henry and Mina were in the big chair, admiring the new doll together and talking over names for her. A chambermaid ran past Susannah in the corridor with a stack of linen, her cap askew.
The household staff were in an uproar. Charles, the marchioness, the secretary, and the solicitor were all staying until at least tomorrow, and there was much to be done. A fancy dinner prepared, beds freshened, rooms made ready.
The marchioness would be sleeping in the Queen Elizabeth bedchamber, of course, as befitted her rank andgreatness. Lady Chalfont would not be overawed, not in the least.
Henry had returned to the brown drawing room alone and told everyone the matter was settled. Mina would be staying at Bledsoe Park.
“Charles has gone for a walk,” Henry had said to Susannah privately, minutes later. “I think he needed some time to recover.”
“And you?” she had asked, worried. “What do you need?”
“Love, I have everything I need.”
A short kiss and a quick embrace had followed because they had guests to attend to. But the marchioness, the secretary, and the solicitor had all settled to tea and cakes, and Mina, Henry, and Susannah had been able to escape to the nursery.
Susannah was determined to help in the kitchen as a peelerof potatoes, but when she crossed the gallery, she discovered Charles had returned from his walk. He was standing under the portrait of his father as a young man in uniform, staring up at it.
She approached him, stood at his side, and joined him in gazing up at that oil painting. How very handsome young Henry looked in his red coat. But not nearly as handsome as he looked now.
Charles was the first to speak. “He is my father, isn’t he?”
“Yes.”
They stood in silence, both looking at the painting. Then Charles felt his nose.
“Explains this unsightly thing.”
Impulsively, Susannah said, “I adore your father’s nose.”
“Mother always said it was coarse.”
