Page 15

F reddie could hear voices behind the door to the Blue Lounge.

He’d been about to enter but from the deep rumble, he could ascertain that at least two of his brothers were in the room, and he could really do without seeing them this morning.

He’d barely slept for the second night in a row and he was exhausted beyond all measure.

The clearing of a throat behind him had him whirling around to find Tobias watching him.

‘Damn, you move quietly.’

Tobias raised an eyebrow and quirked his head towards the door.

‘I was just going in, obviously.’

Tobias raised his other eyebrow. It really was amazing what his older brother could communicate with such simple gestures.

‘I think Edward and Christopher are in there,’ Freddie said.

A slight twitch of Tobias’ lips was the only indication the man had heard him and might possibly agree that this was reason enough not to enter.

A giggle reached them and Freddie stopped prevaricating.

If his niece was enjoying herself then he wanted to see it.

He pulled the door open and strode into the room, Tobias following behind him.

Charlotte was laughing at Christopher, who was wearing a doll on his head.

Edward was grinning and it struck Freddie that they looked like a family, the type the four brothers could have enjoyed growing up if it hadn’t been for Miss Dunn.

Then he noticed that Charlotte was wearing a coat. ‘Is she going somewhere?’ he asked the room at large.

‘Ook,’ said Charlotte by way of an answer, her tiny fingers pointing at Christopher’s head.

Charlotte speaking was still so new that he momentarily forgot his question, squatting down on his haunches next to his niece to regard his brother, who was keeping very still so that the doll remained perched on his head.

While all of the Dashworth brothers, bar Tobias, were considered a little wild, it was only Christopher who truly lived up to this reputation.

Right now, however, he couldn’t look further from it, especially with the naked adoration he felt for his niece shining out of his eyes.

For the first time, it occurred to Freddie that he could actually become friends with his brothers, that maybe the years of damage inflicted by their aunt could be undone and he could have the family life he had always craved.

All it had taken was for one of them to die.

Freddie swallowed past a lump in his throat. ‘What is dolly doing up there?’ he asked Charlotte.

But Charlotte only laughed, clapping her hands together. Christopher waggled his head and the doll fell off, causing another shriek of delight. Christopher was almost bursting with pride as he pretended the doll was walking up his arm to take her seat once more.

‘Is Charlotte going out?’ Freddie asked again, this time addressing his comment to Edward, who was watching the scene with a bemused tolerance.

‘Yes, she is going to visit Miss Hawkins. Our neighbour sent word that she had finished altering some of the clothes and Tobias has decided to take her round there so that Charlotte can try them on and visit her favourite person in the world. As you can see Christopher is trying to compete with Miss Hawkins, but sadly for him, I do not think he is anywhere near.’

Freddie leaned round to look at Tobias, who was also dressed for an outing, and something hard and painful gripped his heart.

He’d forgotten that Tobias thought Emily would make an excellent duchess.

Over the last two days he’d obsessed about the afternoon in the library, Emily’s obvious delight over his drawing, the way she had called him Freddie and her fingers curling around his arm.

That simple touch, the one she hadn’t even realised she’d been doing, had nearly sent him out of his mind.

At the time, every nerve in his body had leapt in awareness, screaming out for her attention.

Holding himself still and not begging her to never let go had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done.

He’d longed to close the gap between them, to turn her delicate jaw with his fingers and press his mouth to hers.

He’d barely slept since. Every time he closed his eyes, his body decided to torture him with images of her tapered fingers running over the skin of his arm up to his shoulder and… well, they were not the thoughts a man should be having about the woman who would possibly become his sister-in-law.

‘Emmeme?’ asked Charlotte.

‘That’s right,’ said Tobias.

‘Emmeme!’ Charlotte bounced up, her doll forgotten, racing over to Tobias in a bid to get to Emily faster. She lifted her arms up imperiously, expecting the duke to pick her up.

Tobias glanced towards his brothers, none of whom said anything. Gingerly, similar to if he were picking up a vial of poison, Tobias leaned over and lifted Charlotte.

‘Emmeme,’ she crowed happily, flinging her arms around Tobias’ neck, as if the duke were a horse there to do her bidding .

It was impossible to miss the emotion that crossed his brother’s normally stoic face.

For a second, Freddie actually thought the man might smile, but he only adjusted his grip so that Charlotte was more secure.

Then he nodded to the three of them and left, leaving them in a stunned silence, Christopher still with a doll on his head.

‘That was unexpected,’ said Edward when they had all stared at the door for a few minutes.

‘Which part?’ asked Christopher.

‘All of it,’ said Edward. There was an even longer pause while they continued to stare at the door, half expecting the duke to reappear. ‘Do you really think he is going to start courting Miss Hawkins?’

The thing which had its grip on Freddie’s heart tightened. ‘I thought you said she would make an excellent duchess.’

Edward’s eyes narrowed. ‘I had already had a lot of brandy and it was not yet lunchtime. I was decidedly giddy.’

‘So, you do not think it is true?’ Freddie desperately wanted it to be a falsehood. The thought that Emily’s hand would wrap around his brother’s arm made him want to torch the world and everything in it.

Edward exchanged a quick, unreadable glance with Christopher before saying, ‘Oh no, I believe what I said was true. Miss Hawkins would be a perfect wife for… er… Tobias.’

Freddie wanted to burn the world to the ground because he could not argue.

She would be a perfect duchess. ‘Then why do you sound so sceptical?’ There had to be a reason Emily was not a good match for the duke, even if Freddie could not think of one himself.

They were almost too perfect for one another.

The duke needed a well-bred, intelligent wife and Emily needed a husband who was able to treat her the way she deserved.

Tobias, with his wealth, would give her a luxurious life with all the books she could ever want.

Together they would have multiple book-loving, perfect children, all of whom would be far more intelligent than their half-wit uncle.

There was no need for the thought of them becoming husband and wife to be so tortuously awful.

Edward shrugged and leaned back onto the settee, crossing his legs. ‘Tobias has shown no interest in taking a wife and I think I assumed he did not want one. He would have to talk to her for a start.’

Christopher finally seemed to realise he was still wearing the doll as a hat and he pulled it off, throwing it onto the settee. ‘As a duke, he probably does not think he has to use words the same as us mere mortal men.’

Edward snorted. ‘You do very well being the son and brother of a duke, so do not complain.’

‘I am not bemoaning my place in Society. I am aware that our position makes our lives very comfortable. I am merely pointing out that Tobias does not really have to try to find a wife. Women are desperate to marry him.’

‘Emily is not like that.’

Freddie’s brothers turned to him. ‘Emily?’ said Edward, raising an eyebrow. ‘I know Charlotte is on first-name terms with her, but I did not realise that we were.’

His brother was a bastard. Not literally, unfortunately. They were related by both a father and a mother, no matter how much Freddie was currently wishing otherwise.

‘ Miss Hawkins has never expressed an interest in our older brother,’ Freddie clarified.

‘Her mother has and we all know that Miss Hawkins does what her mother tells her.’ Edward picked lint off his pantaloons and dropped it to the floor.

‘Miss Hawkins is a nice girl, but she is rather browbeaten. She will do as she is told and if that is marrying Tobias, then that is what will happen.’

Nice! Nice did not describe Emily at all.

Nice did not do justice to the fantasies that ran through Freddie’s head almost continuously.

Nice did not cover the way she lobbed insults at him and then turned his head with her genuine praise.

Emily was many things but nice did not cover them.

‘She is not browbeaten,’ he said instead.

‘Her mother is a termagant. I have never met a more unpleasant woman. Have you heard the way she speaks to Miss Hawkins? I am surprised the girl has any backbone at all.’

Emily had plenty of backbone. At least when she was talking to him, she did, but Edward was right; her mother was a harridan. If only there was a way to get Emily away from her in a permanent way, one that didn’t involve committing murder, or worse, Emily marrying Tobias.

‘I think I will take a walk in the garden,’ he said, pushing himself up to standing, his legs protesting about being held in the squat position for too long.

‘Excellent idea,’ said Edward. ‘I will join you.’

Damn it. Had he really thought he could be friends with his brothers only moments ago? It was not true.

‘Me too,’ said Christopher.

Today kept getting worse and worse.