Page 33 of Twelfth Night Sorcery (The Cambion Club #2)
Rossini was far too distinctive of a surname. Could they call her Dora Smith, or would that be too obvious? Would they have to change her name from “Dora” to something else? Laura? Cora? Flora? Honora wrinkled her brow as she considered the matter.
“Hiding her at the abbey is only a short-term solution,” Valance warned. “But that might buy us a little time to take legal action.”
“I wish she could stay here with us.” Wistfulness leaked into Honora’s voice.
Leaving Dora behind had been the absolute worst thing about running away with Valance.
Since her father’s death, Honora had served as a buffer between her mother and her unwanted natural sister.
When she ran off with Valance, she’d worried about Dora’s happiness in her absence.
But she had thought Dora would be safe from any serious harm.
She had not realized her mother was so vengeful.
“Why is she called Dora, anyway?” Valance asked. “To rhyme with your name?”
Honora crinkled her nose. “Yes. My father had distinctive taste in names.” By “distinctive,” she meant “dreadful,” but she did not want to openly insult her father. “Her full name is Theodora. And my younger sisters are Belinda and Clarinda.”
Valance said nothing, but the face he pulled made Honora giggle. Clearly, he did not approve of the rhyming names.
“Whoever named you had more sense,” she told him. No one need be ashamed of the name “Oliver.”
Valance gave her an odd look. “My mother chose the name. But it was my father’s name first.”
“Oh, so it is a family name. When we have a son, will you want to name him Oliver, too?” Honora asked idly.
But the hand that had been playing with a lock of her hair stilled. “One Oliver at a time is enough for any family.” The reflection of his face in the mirror looked uneasy. “You will tell me, won’t you, if your courses are late?”
“Naturally.” She cleared her throat. “I expect them in a day or two, in fact. I will tell you if I am late.”
“Good. Not that there is any rush.” He lowered his head so he could kiss her cheek. “We are both quite young. We have plenty of time in which to produce an heir.”
Honora returned his kiss with interest. Then Valance lifted her up to sit on top of the dressing table. He cradled her head with one hand as he kissed her thoroughly. She opened her legs to make room for him, and he pressed close to her. Her body heated with desire.
But when he lifted up her skirt, she reluctantly interrupted him. “We are supposed to go down to dinner. Right now, in fact.” They might already be late.
“Oh. Right.” He sighed, but obediently stepped away from her. “Dinner. Yes. We have a guest, so we’d better not keep them waiting.” A faint blush colored his cheeks.
“It has been an eventful day,” Honora pointed out. “Perhaps you will be exhausted by the time dinner ends and have to go to bed early. And perhaps I, being a loving wife, will go up to check on you, and somehow fail to return to the drawing room.”
No doubt it would be very wrong to abandon her sister to the company of Mrs. Valance, but people who chose to visit newlyweds ought to expect such abandonment.
Valance grinned back and kissed her on the forehead. “That seems like an extremely plausible scenario. I am glad I married such an ingenious woman.” With that, they went down to the drawing room.
Mrs. Valance probably had many questions about Dora’s background, the reason for her sudden visit, and the reason for her just-as-sudden departure, planned for the very next day.
But, to Honora’s relief, Valance’s mother kept these questions to herself.
She made polite conversation as if Dora were any normal, perfectly respectable debutante rather than the daughter of a concert singer.
But, Honora reasoned, Valance might not have told his mother the whole story.
In any case, Dora looked about ten times more respectable when dressed in a sprigged muslin gown.
She had only come out of the schoolroom last spring, but she could display good manners when she chose to do so, and she chose to do so tonight.
She made unexceptionable conversation about social life in rural Kent, her adventurous journey to London (Honora suspected she left out many details), and the weather.
Honora relaxed, realizing she need not fear social disaster for her most rambunctious sister. She could see Valance felt relieved as well. He must have been even more anxious than she was about how Dora and his mother would interact.
*
Valance and Dora left for Carrington Abbey before breakfast the next day. Dora donned her boys’ clothes again, and to make doubly sure of her concealment, Valance cast a glamour over her, disguising her as a tow-headed youth. Today she answered to the name Theo Hart.
“Why Hart?” Honora asked. The “Theo” part needed no explanation.
Dora grinned. “I wanted to be Theo Doe—like Jane Doe, you know—but I thought that would be too obvious. Almost as bad as Smith, right? But ‘hart’ is another word for deer. It would have made more sense to be Theo Hind, but I didn’t think that rolled off the tongue as easily, did you?”
“I suppose not,” Honora granted.
“And when I get to the Abbey and change out of these clothes, I will be Cora Hart, and I think that sounds good, too. I will tell everyone I am from Tunbridge Wells. I think I remember it well enough to lie about it.”
They had gone to Tunbridge Wells on holiday several times, most recently being last spring.
“Keep your lies to a minimum,” Valance advised. “The more falsehoods you weave, the easier it is to get caught.”
“Oh, I know that,” Dora cheerfully replied. “I have a good deal of experience lying, you know.”
Valance blenched. He turned pleading eyes towards Honora.
Feeling obligated to play the part of a responsible older sister, Honora said, “Dora, I hope you are going to behave properly at Carrington Abbey. Please do not get into any trouble.”
“When have I ever gotten into trouble?” Dora asked.
Honora thought that was a question best left unanswered. She merely followed Valance and Dora to the waiting carriage.
Everyone had agreed that Honora should stay in London, keeping Mrs. Valance company.
If Dora were seen traveling with her sister, people might figure out her identity, despite the disguise.
Valance thought it better, therefore, for only him to accompany the runaway on the short journey to Carrington Abbey.
Honora might have agreed to this arrangement, but that didn’t mean she liked it. She shook Dora’s hand (hugging seemed inadvisable, given Dora’s disguise), and kissed Valance good-bye.
“Travel safely.” She wanted to add, “come back soon,” but worried it would sound too needy. Valance had business of his own at Dreadnaught Hall, and he might need to stay for a few days to make sure Dora was safe and comfortable at Carrington Abbey.
Valance seemed to guess her unspoken request, though, because he touched his forehead to hers and promised: “I will be back before you know it.”
Honora waited until the carriage pulled away to walk into the house. She hoped the next few days flew by.