“Ah,” Oswald declared warmly. “There is our missing niece.”
Charlotte rose immediately with a smile. “Uncle.”
Oswald embraced her affectionately. Though nearing sixty, he remained lively and broad-shouldered with sharp eyes that missed very little. Beside him, Bridget smiled shyly and curtsied politely.
“It is lovely to see you again, Cousin Charlotte,” Bridget said softly.
“And you as well.”
Oswald glanced around the room suspiciously. “Why does everyone look as though scandal has just occurred?”
“Because it has,” Penelope announced gleefully.
Charlotte groaned softly.
Harriet immediately rose with graceful authority. “Dear brother,” she said sweetly, “this parlor is rather warm at this time of day. Would it not be more comfortable in the drawing room?”
Oswald rolled his eyes instantly. “Dear sister, this is my household.”
Harriet smiled tightly. “Yes, and I merely offered a helpful suggestion.”
“A suggestion delivered like military command,” he said with a tight smile.
Joan bit her lip violently to stop herself laughing.
Harriet sniffed. “Your manners worsen with age.”
“And yours improve only when asleep,” Oswald said.
Penelope choked outright with laughter.
“Oswald,” Harriet gasped.
“You arrived less than an hour ago and already rearrange my furniture,” he said, turning a mantle clock on the mantle.
“Because your furniture placement is dreadful,” Harriet said.
“It has remained exactly where it is for ten years,” he said.
“And looked dreadful the entire time,” Harriet retorted.
The girls dissolved into barely restrained laughter while Bridget buried her face behind her teacup in embarrassment. Charlotte laughed too before she could stop herself. And suddenly, after weeks of uncertainty and emotional chaos, warmth spread unexpectedly through her chest.
My family is here. Loud, difficult, overwhelming, and entirely mine.
Charlotte looked around the crowded parlor at Joan’s irrepressible grin, Irene’s elegant composure, Penelope’s mischievous delight, Harriet’s stubborn dignity, and Oswald’s exasperated amusement.
God, I missed them.
Even the bickering felt comforting.
For so long, she carried the weight of responsibility alone that she had almost forgotten what it felt like simply to sit amongst family and laugh.
“Well,” Oswald announced at last, pointing toward Harriet dramatically, “if your mother continues criticizing my household, I shall charge all of you rent.”
Harriet scoffed. “You could not survive without us bringing life into this dreary home.”
“Life?” Oswald repeated. “You brought chaos.”
