Peter realized he had no idea to whom she was speaking. Had they stormed the room to try to stop the proceeding? To try to prevent him from becoming their guardian? He’d thought theywere past that—but he knew, heknewhow hard it was for Lu to trust him.
Alarm crept up the back of his neck. He wondered if he should go to her, try to grab the bridle of Freddie’s horse. He must have tensed, poised to spring forward, because Selina caught his arm.
“It’s our lives you’re deciding,” said Lu, her voice carrying. “It was our lives that were at stake when we went to Aunt Edith, and when we went to Great-great-aunt Rosamund. It’ll beour lives.We want to say our piece.”
Peter’s heart felt frozen in his chest.
Lord Eldon gazed impassively at the pony, which had lowered its head and appeared to be trying to eat a wig that one of the barristers had lost as he’d darted out of the way. “Do go on.”
For the first time, Freddie spoke. His voice was quiet, and Peter had to lean forward to hear him. If the boy hadn’t been atop the pony, Peter wasn’t sure he’d have heard him at all. He wondered if that had been what got Freddie up onto the pony’s saddle—the desire to be heard.
“We want to live with our brother.”
“And his wife,” Lu put in. “We want to live with the Duke and Duchess of Stanhope.”
“And our cat,” Freddie added.
“It’s ourhome,” said Lu, her voice fierce.
Peter had the abrupt sensation that he was going to unman himself utterly and start to cry.
“It’s ourfamily,” Lu went on. “You can’t take us away because of some… stupid law.” She bit down on her lower lip. “If you try it, we shall run away. We’ll run back to Stanhope house. You can’t keep us prisoner at some stranger’s home, you simply can’t do it—”
“That’s enough,” said Lord Eldon, his firm voice cutting offLu’s impassioned rhetoric. “For heaven’s sake, girl. There’s no need for such dramatics.”
“But—” Lu’s rapier had fallen down by her side, and Peter could see that her other hand was in a fist. “But—sir—please.”
“Master Nash. Miss Nash.” Eldon’s voice was crisp. “I hereby appoint your brother, Peter Kent, the ninth Duke of Stanhope, along with his wife, Selina Kent, the Duchess of Stanhope, as your legal guardians. As I decree, so shall it be done, now and forevermore.” He gestured shortly to a clerk at his side, who was staring, openmouthed, at Freddie and Lu, the pony and the rapier. At Eldon’s flick of the fingers, the man started, took up his quill, and began to write very busily on the paper in front of him.
“You—do?” said Lu faintly.
“Yes,” said Eldon drily. “I was going to do so anyway.”
“Youwere?”
Eldon closed his eyes, then reopened them, his gaze directed heavenward. “Yes. Do not make me regret my decision.”
“You won’t!” said Freddie eagerly, and somehow his pony took his words as encouragement, and it meandered forward toward where Eldon sat just above them.
“I doubt that,” said Eldon. He looked toward Selina. “My wife likes you a great deal, Duchess. I don’t like to disappoint her.”
“Thank you,” said Selina. Her voice, though clear and audible, shook slightly. “Thank you.”
Eldon raised one white eyebrow and then looked at Peter. “I am glad you will not break their spirits. However—you might see fit to remove them from this chamber before this animal despoils it.”
Happiness was spreading through Peter like a slow tide, seeping into his chest and his limbs and his fingers.
Selina caught his hand in both of hers and squeezed hard.He looked at her. Her amber eyes were bright and wet, and her fingers were warm.
“They’re ours,” he said stupidly.
“Yes.”
“There’s a horse in Westminster.”
She laughed damply. “Yes.”
“I think we are responsible for removing it, and I hope you have some clever ideas about how to manage that, because I’m not entirely certain that horses can descend stairs—”
