A Bright Particular Star (36 page)

“
He could n
ot manage them as well as you
do
,
”
said Dominic
with an adoring glance at his
step-father
.
“
No-one in the world dr
ives as well as you do
. N
ot even Theo.
”

“
Here,
that
’s
coming it a bit strong
!
”
sai
d Theo, grinning and trying
to stop Dominic
’s
dog
licking the
shine from his boots in an effusive welcome
.
“
Hal
’s
a mere whipster compared to me.
”

“
He
’s
not!
He
’s
good at cricket too.
Hit a ball clea
n into the orchard this morning,
”
said Dominic proudly.
He sidled
round the desk and
slipped his hand into Ha
l
’s
.

“D
id he, by Ga
d?
”

Theo
raised h
is brows
as he
idly
scratched
the dog
’s
ears
.
Aesop,
a canine of dubious parentage
and Dominic
’s
constant companion
,
sat at the side of the chair, falling
in
to
a blissful state under
these
expert
ministrations
.

“
Would you like a game
?
”
Dominic
asked
, anticipation
glinting
in his eyes
.
“
I
bet you would like to try hitting the ball
farther
than Papa
.
Freddy tried
and he couldn
’t
do it.
”

Hal
began to
remonstrate with Dominic
, pointing out Theo had not even changed his clo
thes yet, but Theo interjected,
“
Is that so?
We
ll, it
’s
a matter of urgency I
prove myself more accomplished than Freddy.
Never live it down if I don
’t
!
”
He
stood up
, much to Aesop
’s
disgust,
and flexed his shoulders.
“
Lead on, Dominic
—
s
mashing the deuce out of a cricket ball is
exactly
what I need at the moment!
”

D
elighted at having enlisted
his uncle
’s
services
,
Dominic
was explaining
through the kitchen was the shortest route to the south lawn when his mother entered.

Isabella,
Countess of Bramwell,
had been
considered the most beautiful woman in London duri
ng t
he season she spent there, but
Theo
reflected that marriage to his brother
had accentuated her
loveliness
.

The reserved, slightly al
oof air that had once clung to
Isabella
, a consequence
of h
er unhappy past and the reason,
along with her
ethereal looks
,
that the
ton
had referred to her as the Ice Angel
,
had
melted away
.
A happy
marriage and motherhood had moulded her into a
woman
of
simple
elegance and
breathtaking
beauty.

D
ressed plainly in a white muslin gown, a silk shawl and silk slippers
, Isabella looked
as
lovely
as a newly
unfurled rose
.
Her
golden
hair was dressed in a simple style
.
Her
flushed cheeks and sparkling
blue
eyes suggested she had hurried to the study
.
In her arms, she carried a child who, although she had only recently passed h
er first birthday, threatened to
rival her mother
if her
features and colouring were any measure
of future beauty
.

T
hey p
resented
a delightful picture
and Theo couldn
’t
blame Hal for
leading Dominic by the hand and
going
to them at once.
There had always been a
fierce, tangible attraction between Hal and Isabella which Theo had ne
ver completely understood
.

Until now.

Now he
appreciate
d
it
because he felt the sam
e way about Sophie.
He was
compelled to
be near her
i
n
the same way
Hal was
drawn
Isabella.

Unheeding of his audience, Hal
greeted
Isabella
with a kiss
.
She smiled
up at him
,
and then laughed as their
daughter
gurgle
d
at
their visitor
.

‘
T
heo, h
ow wonderful that you are here and
,
a
s you see,
El
ise thinks so too,
”
said Isabella.
‘
D
ominic
has been forever asking when you would visit
.
”

“
I have explained to
Theo
his timing c
ould not be better
since
Freddy and Julia are here also,
”
said Hal.

“
Yes
, a delightful coincidence!
They are out visiting
Aunt Serafina at the moment
, but will be back
for dinner,
”
she replied.
“
How are you, Theo?
Did you go to Bath as planned?
”

“
I did, but my trip did not turn out
as
anticipated
,
”
said Theo.

Hal
laughed
.
“T
heo has some news,
my
love.
We
’
ll order tea to be se
rved outside and he can
tell you
himself
.
I think you will be intrigued.
”

“
V
ery well.
I
’
ll ask nurse to take Elise for her afternoon nap
.
”

Isabella went out and soon returned alone, at which point
Dominic led
them all into the
garden
, punctuati
ng his progress with jumps and whoops of excitement
.

An
hour later, Theo had not only beaten Hal
’s
record
by sending the cricket ball clean over
the or
chard, but recounted his adventures with
Sophie
to his sister-in-law
.
She
list
ened with a sympathetic ear while Hal and Dominic attempted to outdo Theo
’s
achievement
by hitting the ball into the ha-ha at the edge of the lawn
.

Like Hal, Isabella
thought it unlikely
Sophie
would be enamoured enough of Lord Verney to marry him
, adding,
“
I cannot believe
from what y
ou have said
she
is indifferent
to you
but
,
whatever her
feelings,
s
he needs your help
.
I know what it is
like to feel alone and un
sur
e what to do next.
Thankfully
I had Harriet
to
advise
and encourage me
during my most difficult times.
Of course,
Harriet and Dinny will
protect Olivia
’s
interests as best they can
—
she is their guest
—
but who
is to do the same for Sophie?
Certainly not
Peregrine
,
and
it sounds like
Verney and his mama cannot be relied upon either.
”

Theo m
used on
this
.
It
had cost him all his resolution
to stay away from Brook Street
.
At first he
had
continued with his life, visited his usual haunts,
sought out the company of his friends, and thrown himself, without any enjoyment but with a great deal of bravado, into an excess of
diversions.
He had tried almost every distraction London had to offer.
It had
been to no avail.
Unable to think clearly, t
he feeling of desolation did not leave him and as time
went by, he missed Sophie
more.
The comfortable, carefree days he had enjoyed before
meeting her might have
returned, but
he
no l
onger had any zest for them.
The succeeding
hours
and days
had
passed
in
depressed
and
occasional
drunken
misery
,
with Theo
tortured
by im
age
s
of
Sophie and
Lord Verney
together.
In his unhappy state, he
had
fallen deeper into despair and
grown increasingly convinced he had
been mistaken and they would marry
after all
.

Now
,
Hal and
Isabella
had
i
gnited
a spark of hope
that all might
not
lost
. O
ver
dinner
later
that night
, Theo
’s
mother
,
Freddy and Julia
added
their
encouragement
.
By
the
m
ysterious process
affecting
every close family, they already knew
the details and, amid much banter and good
-
natured teasing, agreed
Theo should return to London
as soon as possible.

“
I
t pains me to admit
it
,
but she
’s
a
ninny
if she prefers Verney
to you
,
”
declared Julia
, her dark eyes twinkling
.
“
Freddy and I are a little acquainted with
the family
.
He
’s
handsome
t
o be sure, but
Lord Verney is
so puf
fed up with his own consequence
he is unable to forget it
even
for a moment
and
,
while his mama is
an
amiable
creature
, she is
too meek to point out
his deficiencies
.
As for Miss Devereux, she
sounds
delightful
—
too delightful
to throw herself away on Verney
.
”
She laughed
then
, and teasingly observed,
“D
oes she talk as much as I do?
”