The Accidental Countess (The Aristocrat Diaries 3)

My grandmother was living in la-la land.

She was letting her dreams about great-grandchildren go to her head.

“Will you please go easy on her?” I asked Nan. “She’s struggling with being so far away from her family, and it would be nice if she could feel not so alone. That kind of questioning will not help her.”

Nan sniffed.

Mum reached over and clasped Nan’s wrist. “She will. We had a discussion about this on the plane. Ffion, just because you want Eva to be pregnant, doesn’t mean she is.”

“It does not. I am not. I can assure you of that.” Eva walked into the room at the worst possible time, but she seemed unbothered by the fact she was the topic of our discussion. “Is there nothing else to discuss except the contents of my uterus?”

That pretty much summed it up.

Nan hid a smirk behind her teacup.

I was a little concerned about the two of them living together. They had the same sense of humour, and I had no doubt they’d be best friends in less than a week.

I was dreading that.

“How was the property this morning?” Mum said, picking up Eva’s tea. “Here’s your tea, sweetheart.”

“Oh, thank you.” Eva took the cup from her. “It was nice, but I’m no fan of Ivan.”

Mum looked at me, eyebrows raised, and I could hear her voice in my head saying, ‘I told you so.’ “He’s not my favourite, either. I would really prefer Matthew found someone else to do business with.”

Oh, excellent. It was going to become a discussion about me. One in which I had no say.

“For what it’s worth, I think he’s terrified of Eva now,” I offered.

Nan grinned. “What did you do to the little sod?”

“Nan!”

She eyed me. “He’s an indecent git. I don’t know what else you’d like me to say.”

Eva fought back a laugh and slowly put the teacup down. She gave them both a recap of our day and everything that had happened at the house. It was no lie when we said that we both loved it, and the day’s recap turned into one from the last two weeks.

We spent the next hour recounting what we’d gotten up to since the wedding, and Mum and Nan did the same with their holiday. It was nice to catch up, and the longer the conversation went on, the more Eva relaxed.

After a while, Nan proclaimed her desire for a nap, and Mum followed after her to unpack. I blew out a long breath and sagged back on the sofa when we were finally alone, and Eva glanced at me.

“That was a fun conversation to walk into.”

Groaning, I threw my arm over my eyes. “I’m sorry. Nan rarely has a filter, but I think it’s completely dislodged after the travel.”

“No kidding. Between the rapping when we got home and her pregnancy declaration, I’m wondering if she’s at all capable of thinking before she speaks,” Eva muttered.

“I’m sorry. I told her to cut it out.” I let my arm fall down. “Hopefully she won’t bring it up again.”

“I heard.” She smiled at me. “Thank you. I do feel better, and Adelaide will be here with Olympia tomorrow.”

Shit.

I’d forgotten about that.

That meant Alex would be here in three or four days since he was coming when he was done in London.

“Of course.”

“You forgot, didn’t you?”

I clicked my tongue. “I’d prefer to say that I lost track of the days.”

Eva laughed, leaning right back. “That’s one way of putting it. It’s not a problem, is it?”

“No, I told you it’s not. It’s your house, too.”

“I know.” She rolled her head to the side so she was facing the window. “I feel like I was rude to your grandma.”

“When?”

“When I came in. Should I apologise?” She turned back to me. “I feel like I should say sorry. I was definitely rude to her.”

I reached over and pressed my hand against her mouth to shush her. She promptly flicked her tongue out, licking my palm, and I pulled my hand away, wiping it on my leg.

“Really?”

She laughed. “You were asking for it.”

I shook my head. I was going to ignore that. “You don’t need to apologise to Nan. I would put money on her loving that you said it as it was.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely positive. She’s really not one for pomp and circumstance—not anymore, anyway. As she likes to remind me, she spent thirty years of her life as the countess, being prim and proper. Now, she’s finally at the age where she can do whatever the fuck she likes, and she’s taking advantage of it.” My lips twitched. “For her, that includes removing whatever filter it is that makes the average person think before they speak.”

Eva’s shoulders shook, and she sighed, dropping her head back. “All right, if you’re sure.”

“Would you apologise to anyone else for saying it?”