Page 27 of The Governess and the Rogue (Somerset Stories #6)

“Now,” Kate said. “If only Ivo and Meg would give up their house in London and move home to the West Country. They’d be far happier here than in town, don’t you think? And then all the children could be together in one big?—”

Her voice was drowned out by the clatter of carriage wheels.

“Speak of the devil,” Charles said.

A hired coach and four rolled briskly up the drive.

Two ginger-haired, freckle-faced lads of ten and twelve were peering eagerly out the window.

It was Ivo and Meg’s boys, Aldrick and Oscar.

They had their mothers coloring—the only remnant left of Meg’s father, the late Sir Frederick Burton-Smythe, who had once been the mortal enemy of Jack’s own father.

Hannah and James turned on the steps. “What impeccable timing!” Hannah said. “That will be Ivo’s doing.”

“Some new-fangled calculation, knowing him,” James replied. He accompanied his wife back down the drive as the coach ground to a halt.

The two boys tumbled out first. They charged Jack with a duo of merry shrieks loud enough to rival that of their Heywood and Beresford cousins. “Uncle Jack! Uncle Jack!”

Ivo and Meg followed their children out of the carriage.

“Leave off, boys,” Ivo said to his sons. “Don’t knock your uncle down.”

The lads detached themselves just enough to make room for their father who strode forward to enfold Jack in a crushing hug. “My God it’s good to see you,” he said.

Jack hugged his brother back. “And you.”

“How’s the leg? Any improvement since the last surgery?”

“Not much. I require rest apparently.”

Ivo smiled broadly, the sunlight glinting off of his silver-framed spectacles. “Whatever that is.”

“Welcome home, J-Jack,” Meg stammered as she hugged Jack in turn. “You look well.”

Jack kissed her cheek. “So do you, Meg. How are you? How are the boys?”

“Happy,” she said. “Happy in London. Happy to see you.”

“Happy, full stop,” Ivo appended with a grin. “So? When do I get to meet your Miss Layton? She is here, isn’t she?”

“My question exactly,” Kate said.

“She’s inside,” Hannah told them. “And she’s lovely.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” Kate said. “Jack was always particularly discerning in that regard.”

“Enough of that,” Jack chided, only partially in jest. “You’ll put me to the blush.”

“Discernment is nothing to be ashamed of,” Kate retorted. “It means you have standards. So should we all.”

“Where are Nicholas and Arthur?” Aldrick asked, trotting up the steps alongside the adults.

“They’ve gone down to the kitchens with Mrs. Kirby,” James said.

Hannah gave the boys a conspiratorial smile. “There’s a rumor that Cook has made chocolate biscuits.”

The boys jumped up and down. “Can we go down, Mama?” they asked Meg.

“Of course,” Meg said. “If Aunt Hannah allows it.”

“Oh yes,” Hannah said. “Edward, Felicity, and Delphia are already there. And Charlotte and Agatha will be joining you shortly.”

Jack entered the hall with his sister and the others. A footman closed the door behind them. Kate relinquished Jack’s arm to remove her bonnet and cloak. Charles, Meg, and Ivo similarly divested themselves.

“I’ll go up to fetch Bea and the girls,” Hannah said. She looked to her husband. “My dear? If you would be so good as to take everyone into the drawing?—”

“Stop thief!” Agatha screamed out from the landing.

All of the adults froze where they stood. Seven sets of eyes jerked upward in time to see Bea sprinting toward the staircase in a flurry of gray wool skirts. Agatha and Charlotte were running after her, their white muslin caps askew.

“Don’t let her take it!” Charlotte cried, very near tears.

“Stop her!” Agatha shouted. “You can’t allow her to steal!”

Jack’s heart leapt into his throat. For a moment, he thought?—

And then a little black terrier plunged down the staircase at breakneck speed. It was holding something large in its mouth. Something nearly as big as it was.

Good lord! Was that a ring cake?

“Don’t fret!” Bea called back to the girls. “I almost have her!” Clutching her skirts in one hand, she raced down the steps two at a time. “Wilhelmina, you naughty girl! Come here this instant!”

The terrier evaded Bea’s grasp. Eyes bulging wildly, the little dog dodged and weaved, all while holding the ring cake firmly in its jaws.

One of Bea’s booted feet slipped dangerously on a marble step.

“Bloody hell.” Jack rushed forward without thought, nearly losing his own footing in the process. He reached for Bea in the selfsame second the terrier flew by, knocking his cane out from under him.

Agatha and Charlotte screamed as Jack pitched forward. He caught Bea in his arms before she fell and, twisting his body, brought them down safely on the steps in a sitting position.

The terrier didn’t lose stride. She flew down the last steps undaunted, preparing to run the gauntlet of humans who barred her path.

“James!” Hannah exclaimed. “Grab her!”

James deftly caught the dog as she darted past, sweeping her up in his arms. His icy countenance betrayed not a glimmer of humor. “Bad form, Wilhelmina,” he said, plucking the iced cake from her teeth. “One never steals from one’s hosts.”

“Well done, Papa!” the little girls cheered.

Jack sat back on the step, with Bea halfway in his lap. Her hair had come loose from its pins, and perspiration dotted her brow. A rueful smile danced in her eyes.

She was opening her mouth to say something to him when she belatedly registered the presence of the new arrivals standing at the bottom of the staircase with Hannah and James.

They were regarding Bea with expressions that ranged from shocked amusement to outright dismay.

One could only imagine what they were thinking.

In that moment, Jack didn’t care. All he knew was that Bea was in his arms, and that nothing in his life had ever felt more right.

“Bea,” he said. “Allow me to introduce my little sister Kate and her husband, Charles Heywood; and that’s my older brother Ivo, and his wife Meg.” A ridiculous smile tugged at Jack’s mouth, impossible to suppress. “Everyone, this is my Bea.”