Page 32 of A Touch of Charm (Miracles on Harley Street #3)

T hea was sure she’d heard Andre’s voice but came to the sunlit parlor and found Anna shuffling impatiently in the armchair.

“Oh, Anna, good afternoon!” Thea said when she saw a knocked-over cup and a puddle of cold tea in the saucer and on the doily.

“I wish it were, Thea,” Anna said, padding the mess with an already-soaked cotton napkin.

“I should ring for help—” Thea said, but Anna shook her head.

“Nobody can help me anymore.” And suddenly, leaning back in the chair, Anna seemed to have forgotten the spilled tea. Her gaze was so calm and absent when Thea followed it out the window that a shiver traveled down her back. Something terrible was the matter, not merely the spilled tea.

“Anna, please tell me what preoccupies you so much.” Thea sat in the chair across from Anna and reached for her friend’s hand.

But Anna withdrew and folded both of her hands over her stomach.

“He’s come to take me away,” Anna spoke in the direction of the window as if a ghostly figure had her captivated somewhere in the distance. “And then he will come to me, and I will lose the baby.” Anna stroked her stomach as if the tiny being inside of her needed her comfort, not vice versa. “I hoped my mother would be here when I left the rehabilitation center. I sent to her, but she’s older now and cannot travel as fast as he did. And now he’s going to.”

Thea swallowed hard, afraid to imagine what Anna’s husband would do to her.

A single tear ran down Anna’s right cheek, and she let it roll off her face and fall on the hand covering her stomach. “I thought that it would take longer. Somehow, I was glad I only broke my leg and that the baby was well.” She turned to Thea and blinked at her as if she’d seen her for the first time. “Do you know that Andre could hear the baby’s heartbeat with his stethoscope?”

Thea’s breath caught. “I didn’t.”

Anna beamed like the proud mother she’d be. “It’s swift, much faster than our adult heartbeats. But he said that’s normal for a tiny baby—” Suddenly, her breath hitched, and she nearly choked on tears, no doubt. “I don’t want my baby to die, Thea.” Anna broke into tears.

Thea was at sea—one filled with emotions she’d never known, yet they were coming all at once.

Thea stared down into her teacup, the remnants of the brew swirling like her thoughts. She felt a pang of guilt for Anna—yes, guilt had anchored itself firmly in her chest. But guilt wasn’t all. There was something sharper, deeper.

Fear.

Anna’s bravery inspired her, but it also terrified her. The woman was not much older than she, yet burdened with so much. And somehow, that realization shifted something inside Thea. She’d come to England to escape a loveless marriage, a trap. She’d started to look after Mary—to teach her Latin, arithmetic, and give her structure. But over the weeks, her purpose had grown. It wasn’t just about Mary anymore. She wanted to protect, to nurture, to care for a child. To have a family.

Her breath hitched, her fingers tightening around the fragile porcelain cup. Since Andre… since she’d fallen in love with Andre, it was clear. Her heart was ready.

Lost in the swirl of her own emotions, the sound of a voice echoed through the hall, wrenching her from her thoughts.

“We have to carry our trunks here?”

Thea’s stomach twisted violently as her pulse quickened. She knew that voice, though it took a full moment for her mind to align with recognition. Before she could breathe, Stan’s response followed, clipped and petulant. “No, but they are here for patients, not you.”

A dull rustling noise reverberated, unmistakably the sound of one brother giving another a shove—or maybe a punch. Thea’s pulse drummed in her ears, drowning out everything but the implications. Her brothers. Here.

She rose so suddenly that her teacup rattled against the saucer, nearly toppling onto the carpet. Her hands trembled as she set it down without noticing Anna’s gaze, sharp and concerned.

“Thea?” Anna’s voice was soft but probing. “Is something wrong?”

Thea grasped at words, desperate to form a coherent thought amidst the rising panic. “Anna… I—” she faltered, then tried again. “I mean, there’s someone—I should—”

“Who is it, dear?” Anna asked gently, already reaching for her crutch with slow, practiced movements.

Thea’s chest constricted painfully. She couldn’t evade this now. Anna, her dear friend, needed her. And yet, all Thea could think of was running—escaping far, far away before whatever storm lay waiting in the hall swept her up completely.

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to move, to stand beside Anna and offer her arm in assistance. She owed her that much. If anything, Anna’s quiet strength anchored her in that moment.

And then, the voices grew nearer.

“Thea!”

Her head whipped toward the door. The voice was loud, laden with authority, and it struck her like a whip. Not Stan. It was Alex. The weight of it slashed through her, both familiar and imposing.

Panic crawled up her throat, and her grip on Anna’s arm tightened.

“Alex,” Thea smiled through her teeth.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your companion?” he asked, standing tall and eyeing Thea with the same demanding stare that his father had. Alex had always been the one to make his father proud.

Introductions were made, and Thea tried to excuse herself.

Anna tilted her head. “You’re not pleased to see your brother.” It wasn’t a question.

Thea swallowed hard, unable to pull her gaze from her brother who was a foot taller than her.

“Pleased is not… exactly the word I’d use.”

His coat was immaculately tailored, his boots gleaming with polish, his hat perched at the slightest rakish angle—not for charm, but for calculated effect. Even the air around him seemed sharp, as if he carried expectation on the soles of his boots.

And then came Stan. His disheveled dark hair popped out first as he plopped into the armchair and winced. The shoulder… He had dressed appropriately, of course, but there was none of Alex’s ironclad perfection. There never was.

“I should go,” Anna said as she stepped toward the door. Thea nodded. It was better that Andre’s sister didn’t see this.

“Sit,” Alex said, waving to the settee once Anna had left the room.

It was just the three of them, and they switched to their native language, Romanian.

“Are you mad?” Alex asked Thea. “You ran away!”

Oh good, no time wasted on platitudes.

Thea bristled against his condescending tone. “It would have been madness to stay and wait for the Habsburgs.”

“But that’s exactly what you were supposed to do.”

Stan cleared his throat. “That’s not all.”

Alex groaned. “How much do you need? I didn’t bring that much with me.”

“It’s not money. It’s a blessing she needs.” Stan nudged in Thea’s direction.

Oh no, he was forcing her to say it.

“I wish to dissolve the agreement with the Habsburgs entirely.” Thea folded her hand on her lap.

Alex sucked his lips in. “Don’t tell me—”

But he asked Stan and not her.

“Why would he know better than me? Why don’t you ask me?” Thea put her arms on her hips and realized she sounded precisely like Mother.

“Because you’re an innocent!” Stan shrugged as if she couldn’t possibly know her own heart.

“No, I’m not!” And just as she spoke the words, Thea bit her tongue. Oh no, she shouldn’t have implied…

“I beg your pardon?” Stan asked in German now, a language reserved for official meetings and correspondence. He was taking notes.

“I merely mean that I know my own heart.” Yes, that sounded harmless enough.

“And does anyone else know it?” Stan asked.

“Yes,” she said with a curt smile. Long sentences could get her into too much trouble.

Alex crossed his arms.

That was unlike him. In fact, he looked rather wild. Not in the wilderness sense, because he was clean-shaven and well-coiffed, as usual, but there was a fierceness to his gaze—impossible!

“You’re in love!” Thea exclaimed.

Alex jerked his head back. “What?”

“With whom?” Stan now joined the commotion.

“How did she turn this around to me?” Alex’s voice cracked when he switched back to Romanian and addressed Stan.

“That doesn’t matter, just tell me!” Stan seemed not quite like himself. “You haven’t been introduced to Lady Seraphina yet. So who?”

“Just someone I met in Cornwall,” Alex spoke silently. Thea and Stan cast each other a look.

“Is it that serious?” Thea asked.

“No, it can’t be.” Alex swallowed visibly and inhaled deeply. “It must not be.”

“And yet, it is too late, isn’t it?” Thea asked, holding her hand up when Stan groaned and rose to pace the room. “You love her?”

Alex slumped and gave Thea a rueful look.

That’s what it was. He’d blossomed somehow. The charade of the first to follow all the rules seemed to have cracked, and what it revealed was the faithful Alex, the one she hadn’t seen since they’d been children.

“And now you must marry Lady Seraphina?” Stan tsked. “Nothing’s lost. It’s perfectly well for you to bring some experience into the marriage.” Then Stan paused and gave Thea a severe look. “But not for you!”

Alex blinked a few times. “How do you know that I did—”

“I knew the moment I saw you, Alex.” Stan gestured as if he were brushing Stan from head to toe with paste. “Your voice is deeper, your gaze steady, and your voice cracks when you’re absent-minded. Whoever this girl is, she affected you deeply.”

Alex leaned his upper body forward and buried his face in his hands. “I feel split in two when she’s not with me.”

Thea’s hands flew to her mouth. “I cannot believe the hypocrisy!”

“I mean, I was fine. When Mama said I could meet Lady Seraphina while coming to England and escort Thea home, I didn’t think much of it. Life was fine.”

“Escort me home? When did I agree to come back?” Thea interrupted Alex, but he didn’t seem to pay attention.

He looked up at Stan, who had assumed a wide stance next to Alex’s chair. “And now that I left her in Cornwall, I feel like I’m not me.”

Stan narrowed his gaze and tilted his head to the side.

“I can’t describe it; it’s just that I’m not me without her.”

“You feel like a husk of your life that only she can fill?” Thea asked knowing the feeling all too well.

“Yes,” Alex said.

“And as soon as you don’t feel her close to you, you already miss her?” Thea pressed on.

Alex nodded.

“Even if she’s only in the next room?”

Alex nodded again.

“Colors, scents, and even the sounds in the world are better when she’s near and fade to shades of fog when she’s not?”

“Exactly.” But when Alex spoke the words, his eyes locked with Thea.

“Oh no!” Stan joined Thea on the settee. “Do you feel like that about Andre?”

Thea saw her father’s eyes in both brothers, but it wasn’t him. The young men looking at her were the same who’d taught her how to climb the tree to get over the palace walls, the same who brought her honey cake and half-fermented wine after bedtime, the same who left their books out so she could learn about subjects that her tutors didn’t deem fit for a girl.

“Yes, Andre means everything to me,” she admitted.

And when she did, it was as if a boulder had rolled off her lungs because she could breathe easier.

“So when you said you’re not that innocent, you meant—” Stan barely managed to speak it, he was the youngest of the brothers, but she was his little sister, after all.

“We didn’t.”

But I want to.

Stan cringed but remained silent.

Alex—and that was a genuine surprise—didn’t jump out of his chair to scream about how she’d ruined her life. Instead, he melted into the cushions like he’d stolen something valuable.

“I did,” Alex mumbled. “In Cornwall.”

“It’s not a problem for you, Alex.” Stan rubbed his forehead and sank onto the settee, lifting a hand to rub Thea’s back. “For a girl, it’s rather a complication.”

“I wanted to save myself for my bride, but that was before I knew—”

“Then you understand that I want to marry Andre.” Thea decided that honesty in this situation may not be the best policy, but it was her only chance.

“You’re betrothed to Prince Ralph.” Alex and Stan said it at the same time and in the same tone.

“She can’t break the engagement,” Stan said.

“She can’t marry him either. Not now,” Alex added.

“What if we don’t tell?” Stan pursed his lips.

“I don’t wish to marry anyone besides Andre.”

“Tell me more about him?” Alex asked Stan.

“He’s a doctor. He is specialized as an orthopedist but when he touches people… for example, when he touched my ankle the day I was injured—” Thea replied before Stan could say a word.

“You were injured?” Alex cried out.

“It’s why I called you. We’re in grave danger.” Stan rubbed his face with both hands.

“And Andre rescued me.”

Her love.

Alex and Stan cast each other a look that said more than she could fathom, though seemed like I-can’t-believe-we-have-to-do-this-with-our-baby-sister.

Silence followed.

Stan shifted in the seat, and the springs in the cushions creaked.

“I want only Andre,” Thea’s voice pierced the silence.

Except that it didn’t pierce the silence.

Her brothers remained motionless.

“As soon as possible, of course,” Thea added for good measure.

Stan blinked a few times, but it was Alex who spoke first. “That’s the problem. It’s not possible.

“Do I have to explain it to her? Are you jesting?” Alex turned to Stan. “What did you do while you’ve been here?”

“Quite a lot, thank you for asking. In all the minutes since you’ve arrived, you haven’t even asked about any of the diplomatic accomplishments of my time in England—”

“Well, because you let our sister fall in love.” Alex gestured grandly.

“What was am I supposed to do, catch her mid-fall and stop the landing?”

“Perhaps yes, if it was the doctor she landed on.”

“Enough!” Thea rose and inhaled so that her chest swelled with the courage she didn’t have. “I am indeed going to marry Andre. Yes, it is complicated because I must first breach the betrothal agreement with Ralph. But this is my life, and I will not be a bystander while you two think you have the authority to rule over me in Father’s absence.”

Both Stan and Alex stared at her, eyes wide and mouths agape.

“It won’t work,” Alex said.

“I will make it work!” Thea’s voice betrayed the anger bubbling within her.

“That’s not what I mean. It will work with him if you love him.” Alex sighed. “I wish you nothing more than happiness.”

“Me too,” Stan added. “Frankly, I haven’t said anything until now because I cannot blame you for not wanting to marry the Habsburg prince.”

Thea couldn’t believe the words that came out of her brothers.

“B-But you said—” she croaked. Oh no, Stan must have told Alex…

“It won’t work in that Father will never agree to swap a Habsburg prince for a Habsburg bastard. It has to be a done deal.” Stan narrowed his eyes, and Alex shook his head, his lips flat in a line in resignation.

“But he doesn’t know Andre the way you do,” Thea plead to Stan.

“That’s why.” Stan raised his eyebrows. Then he shifted in the settee and scratched his chin. “I would prefer a man like Andre for my dear sister over the Habsburg prince a million times.”

Alex raised his chin. “As your older brother, I must remind you that you have dynastic responsibilities, Thea. You’re not anybody. You are a princess.”

“And our little sister,” Stan added, which earned him an approving nod from Alex.

“What about your dynastic obligations and the girl in Cornwall?” she asked.

Alex’s mien fell. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Because it just happened, and the feelings are so grand that you cannot contain the joy in your heart?”

Alex furrowed his brows. Stan shifted again.

A pall of silence hung in the air, thick and oppressive, until he coughed, his voice breaking the stillness with an edge of uncertainty. “I—should we—perhaps this isn’t the moment…” His words trailed off, his resolve fading under the weight of her unyielding silence.

“You have a responsibility to me, too,” Thea mumbled. “I’m not a political bargaining chip. I was born to make political alliances but I want to do more. And if Stan can resolve the matter with Baron von List here, I would be sent to Prince Ralph in vain. You mustn’t allow it.”

“It would break your heart?” Alex asked. “That’s what she said the last time I saw her.”

“Yes, it would. Do you want that to happen, or will you represent our family and show that we are—”

“Wait, what did you say?” Alex asked.

“It’s Father’s letter. He said that we should represent him while we are in England,” Stan said.

Thea felt her eyes widen and her pulse rise. “Then do it!”

“He surely meant in diplomacy,” Alex tried, but his tone betrayed that he’d lost this battle.

“He didn’t limit the authority he granted you. And you’re the oldest brother here. Oh, Alex!” Thea rose and darted to his side. She took his hand and gave him a squeeze. “Please don’t turn Andre down when he asks for my hand!”

Alex looked at Stan, but Thea ignored their unspoken brotherly messages. “Please don’t deny me the chance to a life filled with love.”

Alex sighed and then turned to Stan. “And you say he is a good man?”

“Worthy to be one of us, brother,” Stan said.

Thea’s heart swelled with joy. “Then let me speak to him first.”