Lord Sebastian's Secret (The Duke's Sons #3)(93)
“My father is interested in all kind of topics.”
“They have that in common then.”
The Gresham brothers had congregated around a low table where they’d assembled a large selection of food and a couple of bottles of champagne. Bent over their booty, they didn’t see Sebastian and Georgina stroll close. “All right, Robert,” Nathaniel was saying. “Enough. What the deuce is wrong with you?”
“Leave me alone,” growled Robert.
“Well, I won’t. You’ve been touchy as a bear with a thorn in its paw since we met up in Cheltenham.”
“Drinking deep, too,” said Alan.
“Robert was?” said Randolph. “That’s not like you, Robert.”
“What do any of you know about me?” Robert snapped.
Sebastian and Georgina exchanged a puzzled glance as Nathaniel said, “A good deal. After observing you for all of your twenty-eight years.”
“Don’t come all elder brother on me.” Robert snatched up one of the bottles and left the group to sit by himself, filling his glass with a defiant flourish.
“Ariel says he’s in love with Flora Jennings,” Alan remarked. “Robert says she’s dead wrong.”
“I suppose Robert would know better about a thing like that,” Randolph said.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” replied the youngest Gresham brother dryly.
“Well, and what if he is in love?” asked Nathaniel. “Why should that make him so touchy? You can’t even speak to him these days.”
“Miss Jennings doesn’t like him.”
Nathaniel blinked in surprise. “Everyone likes Robert,” he replied. “He practically defines the word likable.”
“Liking isn’t love,” Alan said.
“Well…no. It isn’t, is it?” Nathaniel gazed at his wife for a long moment.
“Wait,” put in Sebastian. “Flora Jennings. Isn’t she Aunt Agatha’s daughter? Met her once, last spring in London.”
Alan nodded, his blue eyes glinting with humor.
“Aunt Agatha’s daughter?” exclaimed Randolph. “Is she six feel tall and terrifying, like her mother?”
“Not at all,” said Alan. “She’s quite engaging and pretty. Very well educated, too.” He obviously approved of the latter. “And Agatha Jennings isn’t six feet tall, by the way. Quite a pleasant lady, really.”
“A bluestocking? Robert in love with a bluestocking?” Randolph turned to look at Alan.
“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what he is,” Alan replied. “But I do know he’s been unlike himself for weeks.”
The rest of them contemplated this in silence.
“Anyone know where he’s headed from here?” Nathaniel asked.
“House parties, I imagine,” said Randolph. “That’s what he does in the winter, isn’t it?” His tone was a bit envious.
Sebastian pressed Georgina’s arm lightly, and they moved on. She saw that Hilda, Edgar, and Emma were sitting with Mr. Mitra, which was gratifyingly kind and polite of them. As they moved closer, Edgar rose and edged toward the Gresham brothers’ group. She was happy to see them welcome him. He sat next to Alan.
“People may believe what they like,” they heard Mitra say as they passed the three remaining. “What they feel as truth in their hearts. But I feel that they must take some care about what they call it. An individual has no right to imply that a practice is…Hindu, for example, when they have…” He paused as if searching for words. They did not appear to come easy. “Made it up,” he finished finally.
“Like Joanna did,” said Hilda.
Mitra nodded. “Your Miss Byngham is a most enthusiastic and sincere person. I admire that in her. I wish her well. But her rituals are her own. You understand me?”
Hilda nodded. “I’ll tell anyone who asks about it.”
“Thank you” was the grave response.
Mr. Mitra treated her youngest sister with such courtesy, Georgina thought. It was funny and rather sweet. As for Emma, she looked as if she was longing to escape, but didn’t quite dare join Violet and Ariel on a nearby sofa.
Georgina and Sebastian strolled on.
“I hope I shall have similar good news soon,” Violet said as they passed. “Indeed I might…but it is too early to tell. Are you feeling well?”
“Pretty well,” replied Ariel. “I’ve been sick. Not too bad.”
Violet nodded sympathetically. “Even so, I can’t wait. I want lots of children.”
“Six sons?” asked Ariel with a smile.
The two young women looked around the room. “Not that many,” Violet replied. “Though they do make a handsome group, don’t they?”
“Breathtaking,” answered Ariel with a laugh.
Georgina saw that they were both gazing at their own husbands as they made this judgment. She looked up at Sebastian. Handsome, certainly. But also so much more. A thrill went through her at her unbelievable good luck.
She tugged at his arm. They walked on, stopping by another long window to observe their chatting families. It seemed a mostly happy group. Their mothers did look a bit like duelists readying the next shot.