Meant To Be (Pendleton Manor 1)

Evelyn refused now to meet his eyes. “Oscar is always worrying about something,” she said, but her lips wobbled despite her airy tone.

“I don’t want to speak ill of your brother, but that man is a bully,” Harry said.

Her eyes met his and he saw fear and doubt in them, then relief. “Yes,” she whispered. “He is.”

“When we are married …” he began. He meant to tell her that once they were wed she would be free of Oscar’s grip, but the words stuck in his throat. When he was married then Sophy would be truly lost to him.

“Can we go home?” she asked when he didn’t finish his thought. She reached out and took his hand in hers, squeezing it urgently. “I want to go home, Harry.”

“Of course,” he said. “We’ll go now.”

“I’ll fetch my cloak,” she said with relief and moved away.

Once they were alone, Adam tapped him on the shoulder. “What the hell …?” he muttered.

“Harry, I need to tell you something. When the music was playing, Evelyn was staring at someone. James Abbott.”

Harry frowned at him. “Is there a point to this?” he asked irritably.

“She wasn’t just looking at James, they were looking at each other, Harry, and it wasn’t the sort of look you give a friend or an acquaintance. It was … embarrassingly intimate, and Oscar saw them. That was what the fight was about just now.”

“What do you mean ‘embarrassingly intimate’?” he asked, ignoring the rest.

“The sort of look you give to someone you want to take to bed and keep there for a month, Harry,” his brother said dryly. “That lovesick dog look you have when you’re following Sophy around.”

Harry stared back at him.

“You need to find out what’s going on with Evelyn and James,” Adam said sternly. “I heard it was all over between them, but that’s not what it looked like to me. Have it out with her, make sure that nine months after the wedding she doesn’t present you with an heir that looks like Abbott. I don’t think the title of cuckold would suit you.”

Harry clenched his fists and his brother leaned in closer. “Pull yourself together,” he hissed. “I’m tired of worrying about you. You make me wish I was back fighting the French.”

Harry went to find Evelyn and escort her to the coach. Oscar was already there, glowering at them from the dim interior. Under these circumstances there would be no way they could have a private conversation but he could wait. There was much to think about and he needed to consider his words carefully. Adam was right. If Evelyn was in some sort of bother it was up to him to put aside his own troubles and fix it.

Harry arranged to collect her in the morning for their usual ride in Hyde Park, and then said his farewells. “This wedding can’t come soon enough for me,” Oscar muttered.

“Me neither,” Evelyn added with a brightness in her voice that was manufactured. She smiled as Harry bent to press his lips to her gloved hand. “Thank you, Harry,” she said with soft gratitude, and he suspected that she meant it.

Once he was home, he went into the study and poured himself a brandy. It had always been his drink of choice, but right now it brought little comfort. He was halfway through the second glass when he heard voices, his brother and a woman’s. The door opened so suddenly that he stood up in surprise.

Adam leaned an arm against the door jamb and grinned. “Ah, brother, there you are,” he said. There was a strange glitter in his eyes. “I have a gift for you. Something that will help you to put your troubles behind you, for tonight at least.”

A woman brushed by him and surveyed the room. Then she tossed her dark hair and walked toward him. Despite looking as if she was more used to the streets around Covent Garden than a gentleman’s town house, she walked with confidence. Before he could say a word she had reached him and leaned in, resting a hand against his chest.

Her eyes were grey and her red mouth curved into a wide, seductive smile. “Adam says you need a woman for the night,” she said, her voice far more well-bred than he had expected. “I’m happy to oblige.”

Harry took her hand from him and held it a moment. There was something about her manner that precluded him being rude, so he squeezed it gently, then let her go.

“I appreciate the sentiment,” he said, “but I will deal with my own troubles.”

She smiled a moment longer then sauntered back to Adam. A glance passed between them and he followed her out. A moment later the front door closed and Adam returned, alone.

If Harry was surprised that his brother did not take advantage of the woman then he was more surprised by the words that came out of his mouth.

“This thing with Sophy, you need to resolve it, Harry.”

“And that was your way of resolving it?” he asked bitterly.

“No, that was my way of proving a point. You’re not our father. Do you think he would have passed up an opportunity like that?”