Page 52 of Snowed In with the Jilted Duke

Oliver shook his head, ashamed he knew his own brother so little.

“I had no idea.”

A half-smile crossed Hugo’s face. “Neither did Penny. My feelings were, er, a surprise to her. But a welcome one.”

“And now what are your intentions?” Oliver laughed. “I feel I stand in place of Penelope’s father. He finally arrived, you know, at precisely the wrong moment.”

“Penny has convinced me she will be at no greater risk on board my ship with me than she would be staying in England. In fact, she refused to consent to marry me until I agreed.”

“But what of her heart? The rheumatic fever?”

Hugo shook his head slowly, as if in amazement at the words he would say next. “It is in God’s hands. None of us know how much time we have in this world. We are choosing to spend that time together, however long it may be.”

They walked in contemplative silence for a long moment.

“So Penelope will finally be able to see the world.”

“Yes. And what of you?” Hugo asked. “Surely you would not go so far as to abduct Philippa simply to retain the family fortune.” The words were said lightly, but the glance his brother shot at him was steely. Clearly, he already considered Pippa to be one of his own sisters.

“No. We came here because I love her.” Oliver slanted a glance at his brother. “She doesn’t believe me.”

“From what Penny has told me about their mother, that is no surprise. She chased away every suitor Philippa has ever had, and that was even before Penny’s illness. Penny thinks their mother’s intention was to keep Philippa tied to her for life.”

Oliver had seen some of Mrs. Montgomery’s hectoring of her daughters, small glimpses over the years. What must it have been like to live with that, to have your own mother constantly comparing you to your twin?

He was lucky Pippa had not run mad.

There was one more issue Oliver felt should be aired out between them, man-to-man. He coughed slightly before saying, “I never so much as kissed Penelope, you know.”

“She told me. She said Philippa had kissed you in her place.” Hugo grinned again. “She told me she did not give a single damn for her ‘duty’ and it would ruin all four of our lives if I insisted she return to marry you. And she was right.”

Oliver shook his head. So much was explained now. The strange distance he had sometimes felt from his brother. The resentment he had felt from Hugo. He had avoided a marriage to Penelope that would have been disastrous for both of them—all four of them—by the sheerest luck.

Or perhaps the magic of a Christmastide snowstorm.

The very thought made him chuckle, and he clapped his brother on the back.

“I suppose we’d better return to the inn so we can make the arrangements for the ceremony before the ladies change their minds.”

Hugo brightened, and his steps quickened as they turned around. “Yes. We should do that.”

Now Oliver only needed to talk Pippa around. He feared it would be the harder of the two tasks.

Pippa wiped at her streaming eyes, another giggle bubbling up even as she tried to suppress it. “And then… Cousin Beatrice announced we were to play Romeo and Juliet.”

Penny shrieked with laughter. “Oh, lud. She looked so sly, I ought to have known.”

The door opened, and the sisters turned to look, their laughter fading. Oliver stood framed in the doorway, Hugo just behind him.

“May I speak to Pippa alone for a moment?”

Pippa opened her mouth to say no, but Penny sprang from her seat. "Yes, of course."

Whilst Oliver entered the room, Pippa saw Penny hold her hands out to Hugo, who instantly took them and raised them to his lips with a smile. Pippa had seen Hugo smile more today than in all the years she had known him.

Oliver closed the door on the scene and Pippa looked up at him. She had seen him solemn many times, but never this solemn, this focused.

"I spoke to Hugo. At length. And he made me realize something."