“Beast!”
“Ouch,” he said with a chuckle, releasing her as she wriggled out of his arms. “No more teasing you, I promise.”
She gathered the sheet around her body once again. “You had better behave. How can you treat the matter so lightly?”
“Believe me, I am not.” He rested his hands behind his head as he leaned back against their pillows and admired her. “I will feel much better when the inquiry is over. It will amount to no more than a few questions and done. His family detested him. Their request is more for show than any true concern. Behind closed doors, they are probably toasting his demise. Nor will his business acquaintances grieve for him. There’s probably a battle going on behind the scenes as to who will take control of his illicit operations.”
“I’ll hold my breath until it is all over.” She tugged the sheet back when he tried to draw it off her. “I am not going to fall naked into your arms, you wicked man. Besides, I am not done talking to you.”
“What else is there to discuss, love?”
His smile was making her melt and lose the trail of her thoughts. “My father. My parents, actually. I thought I would visit them today. But I dare not go now or risk encountering the magistrate. Perhaps I had better wait until the matter of Sir Henry is completely put to rest.”
“You could invite your parents here.”
“No!” She sighed. “My father will probably steal the silverware.”
“Syd, you cannot put off seeing your parents. Shall I go with you? Even though Sir Henry is gone, your father’s debt vouchers remain. Someone is going to come around to their home soon asking for repayment. I need to square this with your father.”
She nodded. “If it were up to me, I would never see them again.”
He frowned as he studied her. “Syd, what is going on? Why are you suddenly so loathe to see your parents?”
CHAPTER 18
SYD ALLOWED ANOTHERweek to go by without contacting either her mother or her father. She made every excuse possible not to see them, until she had run out of reasons and could no longer delay the inevitable. Even London’s popular gossip rag, The Tattler, was hinting of a rift within the family, a circumstance she found most odd because her family had never been known for their close ties. So what made it suddenly of interest to anyone?
Octavian, always sensible to the point of irritation, had not been pleased to learn the Harcourts had been in the news. He had just returned home after a long day at the Admiralty, and now set the most recent edition down on the writing table where Syd was seated. “Octavian, what is that?” she asked, putting down her quill pen as she rose to greet him.
“More gossip about you and your parents,” he muttered.
“This is most curious.” She shot him a questioning gaze. “Why would anyone care or notice that I had not seen them since returning to London? Someone is planting this information to stir mischief.”
“No doubt, but this changes nothing. Love, you cannot avoid seeing them. My concern is not for us, but for the Douglas family. I’ve dealt with the London magistrate. He has accepted my statement and closed the investigation. But if gossip continues about this split among the Harcourt family, some eager reporter might dig a little deeper and uncover something that is better left buried.”
She knew he was right. “I’m sorry. I’ll write to my parents as soon as I finish this note to Lady Withnall accepting herinvitation to tea. I’ll arrange to call upon them early next week. Is that all right?”
“Yes, of course.” He took her into his arms and kissed her with a wealth of tenderness, and then kept her in his arms when he sensed she needed to be held a little longer. “I know this is hard for you. But your fear in facing them will–”
“It is fear of the unknown,” she insisted. “I am not afraid of my mother or father.”
“Fine, but whatever this unknown fear is, it is obviously rooted in your unsettled feelings for them. Otherwise, you would not hesitate to visit them.”
She squirmed in his arms.
He held her gently, but would not let her go just yet. “You would not even stop by there to pack up your belongings. I had to ask the Harcourt housekeeper to ensure it was done. You cannot let this dread fester, Syd. It will grow worse over time. Isn’t it better we address it now?” he pointed out.
She rested her head against his broad chest, taking comfort in his nearness. “Everything you are saying is right, Octavian.”
“I’ve offered to go with you. You know I will always stand by you.”
“To catch me if I fall,” she said with a mirthless lilt of laughter. “I can do this on my own.”
“Are you certain, Syd?”
She nodded. “As I said, I am not afraid of them.”
While Octavian went upstairs to their bedchamber to wash up and change out of his uniform, she finished her note to Lady Withnall, and then jotted another to her mother. By the time she joined him in their chamber, he was comfortably ensconced in one of the large, tufted chairs beside the hearth, glass of wine in hand while staring into the fire and lost in his thoughts.
