She looked up at Charlie, bracing herself for mockery at the hint of emotion she’d allowed.
He simply smiled, appearing genuinely happy for her.
“I had hoped they would come,” she admitted, her voice quiet and a bit broken.
He nodded toward the door. “Go on, then. This is no time to stand on decorum.”
With a bubble of excitement she hadn’t allowed herself to indulge in for ages, she picked up her skirts and ran without the least dignity from the sewing room and down the corridor, aiming for the entryway. She reached it just as Giles greeted the arrivals: Adam, Persephone, and both their children.
“Won’t the neighborhood be beside themselves with awe when they hear that my very first guests as mistress of Brier Hill are a duke, duchess, lord, and lady?” She smoothed her gown with a casual arrogance. “I, of course, will be unbearable about it.”
Persephone put an arm around Artemis’s shoulders and squeezed them fondly. “Our same Artemis.”
“Not the same though. I am quite grown up now and terribly mature. Watch.” Artemis pitched her voice high and nasally and assumed a very prim posture. “Mrs. Giles will see that your things are taken to a guest chamber, Your Graces. And as we haven’t a proper nursery wing here, Lord Falstone and Lady Hestia can stay in a room beside yours. All will be seen to forthwith.”
“Impressive,” Persephone said with a laugh.
Adam stood, waiting. Artemis had learned over the years that he hid his thoughts shockingly well. Though she always hoped to break his composure, it didn’t bother her overly much that she was not ever successful.
How fortuitous that her first visitors were family. Charlie certainly couldn’t argue that the financial burden of hosting family was excuse enough to require them to leave.
“Will you come sit for a chat?” Did that sound too pleading? While she’d been jesting about being very sophisticated, she was embarrassed to be falling far closer to childish. But, heavens, she’d been lonely.
“Do not be grumpy, Adam.” Persephone apparently anticipated an objection from that quarter. “A bit of a visit before resting will be perfectly fine.”
“Of course it will.” Artemis wrapped her arm through his, something he usually let her do but made certain she knew he wouldn’t choose. “I will have you know I am an excellent hostess.”
“Because you are so mature now?” he asked dryly.
“Precisely.”
She pulled him toward the sitting room. Charlie stood a few steps from the door. He dipped his head as they approached. “Your Grace,” he greeted Adam.
“Jonquil.”
Charlie turned his gaze to Persephone. “Your Grace.”
“A pleasure, Charlie.”
He then offered a bow to Oliver. “Lord Falstone. So pleased to have you here.”
Oliver could be as staid and unbendingly proper as Adam at times. He offered Charlie a regal head-only bow.
“My lord,” Charlie continued speaking to Oliver, “would you be so good as to undertake an introduction to your sister? I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting her.”
Oliver looked up at his father. Adam nodded subtly. Persephone set Hestia on her feet and put the little girl’s hand into Oliver’s. Hestia was walking quite well but still toddled a bit and fell down now and then. The two children bore too much of a resemblance for anyone to doubt they were related.
“Hestia, this is Mr. Jonquil,” Oliver said. “Oh.” He looked up at Persephone. “What do I call him now that he’s married to Aunt Artemis?”
“A very good question, Oliver. It is best to ask him. The three of you can decide what you would prefer.”
Oliver turned back to Charlie once more. “What do we prefer?”
Charlie held out a hand to him. “Let’s situate ourselves in the sitting room, and we’ll come up with a solution.”
The offer was accepted without hesitation, an odd thing for Oliver. He tended to be a little shy of strangers and had a decided preference for being with his family. Charlie walked the two children through the threshold, keeping his pace slow enough even for Hestia to keep up without difficulty.
Persephone watched the departure. “He has a way with children, doesn’t he?”
