His nephew spotted him first. With a baby babble Charlie chose to interpret as his name, the little ragamuffin crawled at impressive speed toward him. Julia, true to character, stopped where she was, twisted to a seated position, and watched him quietly. The two shared a birthday and a surname but were otherwise as unalike as could be.
Charlie scooped up Kendrick and crossed to Julia. He sat next to her, giving her a moment to decide if she wanted to be held or not. She didn’t always. He plopped Kendrick on his cross-legged lap.
The nursemaid moved into the adjoining bedchamber. Perhaps he was offering her a bit of a respite, a chance for a moment’s silence and peace. Someone ought to be benefited by his presence.
“How are the two of you?” he asked the babies.
Kendrick set immediately to babbling, something he did almost any time someone spoke to him. Julia, as always, sat silently watching. She often wore a look that reminded Charlie of Sorrel’s brother—another of Julia’s uncles and one of Charlie’s good friends—who was also a studier of people, sorting them out in quiet contemplation.
“Are you puzzling out that I’m a bit sad, Julia? Can you sense that in me?”
One-year-olds were not precisely known for their conversational abilities. Neither of these two offered him any verbal escape from his heavy thoughts. But they were good for his heart.
Kendrick stretched for a chunkily carved horse almost within reach. Charlie leaned him in that direction enough to allow him to fetch his toy. A slightly older child would likely have made the horse run along the floor or mimic its whinnies. Kendrick promptly popped its head in his mouth.
Charlie looked over at Julia. “I suspect you are the clever one in this duo.”
A sweet, heart-piercing smile pulled at her tiny mouth, revealing four baby teeth and an adorable set of dimples. She leaned forward and set her head on his leg, half sitting, half lying. Charlie shifted her closer so she could lean against him with greater comfort.
“I won’t get to see you so often after a few more days,” he said. “I’ll be living too far away. I’d make you promise not to forget all about me, but babies forget things so quickly. I’ll be a stranger to you before too long.”
Lud, he was growing emotional over a conversation with two tiny children who couldn’t understand a word he was saying. So much for the logical mind of a mathematician.
“I might have guessed I’d find you in the nursery. You’ve a soft spot for babies.”
Toss.
“Nieces and nephews are the best sort of distraction,” Charlie said without looking over at his friend. “I recommend you obtain a few.”
He laughed, his footsteps echoing as he crossed the nursery. “I’ll let my sister know. She’s nearly eleven. Seems she’s dragging her feet a bit.”
“Rosamond can’t get married yet. I fully intend to match her up with my nephew Edmund in a few years’ time. He’s her same age.”
Toss sat on the floor across from him, sending Julia a tender and adoring look. She had such an angelic air about her. The girl could melt even the coldest of hearts, and Toss’s was far from arctic.
“You’ve enough nieces and nephews to matchmake for the entireton,” Toss said.
Charlie brushed his fingers lightly over Julia’s soft, brown hair. “Perhaps that is what I ought to do with myself now that I’ve lost my career of choice.”
“It’s a blasted stupid rule. A man doesn’t stop being intelligent and articulate or an expert in his field of study simply because he’s married. Indeed, the influence of a wife might make him abetterdon.”
While Charlie wholeheartedly agreed, that agreement accomplished nothing. “I can’t say I’m happy about it, but I don’t expect it to change.”
Kendrick offered Charlie his slobber-covered horse, then without allowing even a moment’s time for the toy to change possession, the boy plopped the head in his mouth once more.
“And you still intend to withdraw from Cambridge?” Toss pressed.
Charlie nodded. “The entire purpose of my studies was to become a don. I can’t do that now.”
“Blasted shame, Jonquil.” Toss shook his head. “Blasted shame.”
“It certainly is. I would have enjoyed spending more time pursuing higher levels of mathematics.”
“No, I meant it’s a shame you won’t be there to assist me in tossing Peter Duncan’s small clothes into the River Cam.”
A laugh snorted from him. “Lud, I’m going to miss our larks. I’m not at all suited to being a sober, well-behaved... miserably married man.”
Julia was watching him, studying him. How was it an infant could be so observant?
