Unexpectedly Wed to the Officer (Regency Belles of Bath 2)

‘I see.’ He regarded her steadily for a few seconds before closing the door softly behind him. ‘Then shall we shake hands and be friends?’

Her shoulders seemed to sag with relief. ‘Yes. I’d like that very much.’

‘As would I.’ He extended a hand and she took it, placing her fingers in his with a smile that seemed to spread and then falter abruptly. Which was strange, he thought, because he was aware of his own smile doing the same thing at the exact same moment. The very ambience in the room seemed to shift suddenly, as if some of the air had been sucked out of the door when he’d closed it.

Standing all alone, cocooned together in the dimly lit shop, he had the bizarre impression that they were the only two people in the world and that something significant and irrevocable was happening. The mere touch of skin against skin seemed to have set all of his nerves thrumming, so much so that he could actually hear blood rushing in his head. It was like the feeling before a thunderstorm, the atmosphere stretching and crackling with tension. If he’d been on board a ship, it would have been time to start battening down the hatches. On dry land, he didn’t have the faintest idea what to do.

All he knew was that he couldn’t look away from her or move his gaze even an iota to one side, as if she were hypnotising him the way she had on that first night. Not that she had actually hypnotised him, obviously, but whatever strange effect she’d had then seemed to be happening again... He had a powerful urge to wrap one of her golden tendrils around his fingers and draw her closer.

Fortunately, she blinked first. Several times, in fact, enabling him to look away.

‘Do they have any family on their mother’s side?’ He cleared his throat, deafeningly loudly, or so it seemed in the silence.

‘Not close by. Alice came from Taunton and I’d hate to send the boys so far away.’ Miss Gardiner’s throat appeared to need clearing as well. ‘They can be quite a handful, but they’re good boys really. My brother just isn’t able to pay them much attention at the moment.’ Her chin wobbled slightly. ‘I’m afraid he grieves for his wife very much.’

‘Ah. You mean that he drinks often?’

‘Yes.’ Her whole face seemed to crumple. ‘More and more since Alice died. I’ve been telling myself that he’ll stop eventually, but now he’s lost his job and I can’t see any way for things to get better.’

Sebastian started to reach a hand out and then stopped himself. The atmosphere still hadn’t quite returned to normal and, after that morning, he didn’t want to risk any more misunderstandings between them.

‘What happened to your sister-in-law?’ he asked softly instead.

‘She thought it was another baby at first, only she got thinner instead of bigger. The doctor was never sure why.’

‘Poor woman.’

‘It was dreadful. She was so young and such a good mother. She’d be horrified if she knew how David was behaving now.’ She wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself as if she were cold. ‘I try to help as much as I can, but it’s not enough. I know that I ought to do more, that I should go and live with him and take care of the boys and the house, but...’

‘But you have your own life?’

‘Yes!’ Her eyes shot to his, a glimmer of pain swirling in the depths. ‘I feel so torn. I don’t see how I can do that and run Belles properly, but they’re my nephews and I love them, too. And who will take care of them if I don’t? It’s wicked of me to want to do otherwise.’

‘It’s not wicked at all.’ This time he couldn’t stop himself from reaching for one of her hands, clasping it tight between both of his. ‘I understand about feeling torn. I don’t know your brother, but I expect he is, too. Sometimes people drink to forget their pain. I’ve seen it happen more times than I can count. Maybe your brother’s not ready to face reality yet.’

‘But he needs to be ready!’ An angry expression crossed her face before she clapped her other hand over her mouth. ‘Oh! I shouldn’t have said that.’

‘Why not? It’s the truth. He has three sons to care for and a sister who’s desperately worried about him. You’ve every right to be angry, but he’s only human. Knowing how we ought to behave and actually doing it are often very different things. He’ll face reality when he’s ready.’

‘What if he drinks himself to death in the meantime?’ Her voice caught as her expression turned anguished again.

He squeezed her hand, unable to find an answer for that and unwilling to voice empty platitudes. He wanted to comfort her, if only he knew how...

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to burden you with any of this.’ She drew her fingers away abruptly, her eyes welling with tears as she took a few steps backwards, retreating towards the kitchen before he could say or do anything to stop her. ‘Goodbye, Mr Fortini. Have a good journey.’

Chapter Seven

‘What now?’ Nancy rolled a lump of cinnamon-flavoured biscuit dough out on the table. ‘I don’t mind the boys staying here, but we can’t look after them and manage the shop.’

‘I know.’ Henrietta drew a flour-stained wrist across her forehead. ‘They go to the charity school in the mornings and then Peter and Michael used to go and help David in the mews, but now he’s lost his job...’ She heaved her shoulders and cut out a row of perfectly square Comptessa biscuits. ‘I’ll go and speak to him after I take them to school, before he has a chance to start drinking again.’

‘Good idea.’

‘Hopefully it won’t take long, but I’m sorry to leave you alone again.’

‘Pshaw.’ Nancy waved a hand dismissively. ‘Don’t worry about me, but what will you say?’

‘I’m not sure yet.’ She began to arrange the biscuits on a baking tray. ‘Mr Fortini said that some people drink when they’re not ready to face their pain, but David can’t go on as he is and I can’t take the boys home until I know that he’s better. I need to make him understand that. In any case, I’ll bring the boys back here this afternoon.’