“Indeed.Until this trip, I had no idea she was the least bit interested in him as a potential suitor, though.What do you know about it?”
Will cleared this throat, dipping his head as he tried to decide whether or not to tell Harry what he knew.
“What?”Harry prompted.
Will let out a long sigh.“I may have paid witness to a… uh,… particularly passionate kiss they shared during the Morganfield ball.In the gardens,” he stammered.
“The night before you left England?”Harry guessed.
“Indeed.I was going to interrupt and admonish him, but…” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.“I knew the two of them wouldn’t be doing more than kissing that night.And I knew we would be gone from England in a few hours, and…” He shrugged.
“You did the same with your countess, did you not?When you went off in a naval ship?”Harry asked, his query sounding like an accusation.
Will nodded.“I might have done more.I did more,” he admitted.“Which is why my oldest son is not my heir,” he whispered.
“Helen is the reason we made this trip,” Harry blurted.
“Oh?”
“Well, notthereason, but she suggested it a few months ago.I hadn’t been on an expedition for a very long time, and she had the idea to come to Egypt,” Harry explained.
“Did she say why?”
“She didn’t, but…” Here he chuckled softly.“If I remember right, she and Stella had just returned from Lady Devonville’s parlor when she brought it up.”
Will stiffened.“My stepmother,” he murmured.“She and Barbara have been corresponding regularly.Cherise would have known of our itinerary for Egypt.”
“Which explains why Helen insisted we be in Cairo the day we arrived,” Harry commented thoughtfully.“She helped with all the arrangements and all the details.Knew who I should contact about accommodations.She no doubt planned this… this assignation,” he added, waving to the door.
“She’ll make an excellent wife for any deserving man,” Will said.“An exceptional mother, too, given how good she is with your spare heir.”
The two glanced at the door, as if they thought it would open at any moment.“If shedidslap him, then she’s probably apologizing to him,” Harry theorized.“Hopefully.”
“Or he is,” Will said.
“Which means they’re probably forgiving one another…”
“Probably kissing,” Will guessed.
“She’s no doubt concerned about the red mark she left on his cheek.”
“Serves him right,” Will stated.
A moment of silence passed.
“So… what would be next, do you suppose?”Harry asked.
“Well, I admit, I’m still a bit confused,” Will said softly.“I’ve caught Tom staring at her.I’ve seen her watching him.Half the time, he seems amenable.But when she has Bradley in her company...”He lifted an eyebrow.
“I think I might know whythatis,” Harry murmured thoughtfully.
“Oh?”
“If you saw the girl you had been kissing in the gardens more than a year ago, and she had a babe in her arms or clutching at her skirts...even in the company of their parents, what wouldyouthink?”
Will furrowed a brow.“Well, truth be told, I thought Lady Helen was the mother of Master Bradley at first.That her husband was somewhere else… or that he had died,” he whispered.“At least, I did until Barbara explained Bradley wasyourson.”
Harry chuckled softly.“Poor Thomas.”
“Poor Lady Helen,” Will said, glad to learn what his wife had told him was true.He glanced at the door again, contemplating if he should knock or not.“What do you suppose they’re talking about now?”
“Uh… probably their future.If there is to be one.Marriage, children…” Here Harry’s dark brows suddenly furrowed.“Makingchildren.”
He reached up and was about to pound on the door when it suddenly opened.
His fist almost impacted Tom’s nose.
