“Cheeky,” Emma said. “To pull such stunts, then be angry withus.”
“I expect nothing less from my three.” Samuel fell into the back of his chair and faced his sisters. “You all know well—”
“Wait!” Isabella flew for the door. “They could have their ears pressed against it.” She threw the door open but found the hallway empty and closed it again. “Go ahead then, Samuel.”
He scrubbed a palm down his face. “Marriage is not as easy as whether a man and woman like one another. You know that, all of you.”
“It seems that easy to me,” Andromeda said. She pulled a chair out of the line, so it faced Samuel and sat. “Once you release whatever is holding you back.”
“But perhaps we are all wrong”—Prudence, too, pulled a chair from the line and sat—“and they do not like one another well enough to marry.”
Samuel dropped his face into his hands. Imagine being the center of all this attention regarding a topic, the discussion of which felt like a blunt spoon attempting to scoop up his heart. “It is not that… It is the books.”
“Pardon?” Lottie said. “Could you repeat that? Couldn’t hear you with the hands in front of your mouth.”
Samuel dropped his arms to the side. “Our decisions and our reasons for making those decisions are not yours to know. You must merely accept them.” He stood and made for the door. “Are any of you as worried as I am that Felicity has thought about running off to Scotland? It was a farce this time, but next time…” He stomped into the hallway. “I’m not done speaking with her, and I’ll not be distracted.”
“They probably went into Mother’s sitting room,” Lottie said. “Quin and Tristan are there now.”
“Perfect,” Samuel grumbled. But he didn’t step across the hall to his mother’s sitting room. He went outside and into the garden, dropping to the grass just below King George I. How humiliating. He’d lost his heart, and everyone knew. Not a nightmare in itself except that the only lady who could find it would never pick it up.
And everyone would know that, too.
But he could survive. Because walking away from his outstretched heart was better for Emma and her family than picking it up and holding it close.
Five sets of eyes, the same shape if not precisely the same color, blinked at Emma. No escaping. Perhaps she could devise an excuse. She swallowed, flexed, then relaxed her hands.
“So,” Lady Noble said, dropping into a chair. “How was Scotland?”
“We did not get that far, thankfully.”
“Should we call for tea?” Andromeda asked. “I suspect this will be a long story.”
“There is no story.” Not one Emma would tell. “But yes, call for tea. I find I have questions for all of you.”
The sisters exchanged looks, then one of the twins rang for a servant. No further conversation was made until the steaming tea was set before them with a plate of biscuits as well.
Emma had a sip and a bite before she said, “Tell me about your book club.”
After a beat of stunned silence, one of the twins said, “Why does it feel like we are about to be lectured?”
“She has the air of a duchess,” the other twin said.
“And Samuel’s disapproving look about her,” Prudence added. “Perhaps it’s for the best they not marry. So much seriousness concentrated in one relationship cannot be a good thing.”
“If your brother is overly serious, it is because he has much to worry about. Clearly, considering this book club I’ve heard so much about.”
Andromeda grinned. “We’re usually the ones fighting for Samuel. How lovely to see someone else do it.”
“And,” Lady Noble added, “she’s quite good at doing the scolding, so that means Samuel will have to scold half as much as he currently does after they marry.”
“We’re not marrying,” Emma said.
“Oh, but he’ll have three more unmarried sisters,” one of the twins said. “So maybe there will be just as much scolding as usual.”
“We’re not marrying.” Emma looked for any of the sisters to support her, but they all seemed to have forgotten she was in the room.
“But,” the other twin said, “if there is more responsibility, there is someone to share it with. That’s lovely, isn’t it?”
