For a moment, the room remained still and silent. Then the duke and the earl glanced at each other, and the duke nodded. Once. Sternly.
Her father took one step toward Eloise. “Lady Eloise—”
The duke cleared his throat. A sound of warning.
The earl paused, looked down for a moment, then he faced her again. “Eloise.” Another step closer. Eloise fought the urge to step backward—she would not cower. “Eloise. I do not condone what you have done.”
“Obviously.” The anger in the blurted word surprised even her.
He clenched one fist at his side, but he held out his other hand toward her, palm up. “I do not and cannot. But you are my daughter. You are and always will be family.”
“You do not treat family—”
His next step came faster as did the words. “I know now why you did what you did. You have to believe that. I did not understand all that you had gone through. All that Timothy went through. And I will always be grateful that you saved Timothy.”
“Lord Robertsaved Timothy.”
“But he could not have without you. Without the sacrifices you made.”
Her father’s eyes began to glisten, and Eloise’s resolve began to crack, her head spinning. “Papa—”
“You sacrificed everything for us. Your reputation. Your future. Everything. For Timothy. For your family.” A single tear slipped free, and another step brought him a mere foot away. “But you will always be my daughter. Always welcome in our home.”
The resolve crumbled into dust, and the weight lifted off her like a bird taking flight. “Papa!”
Percival Surrey, in opposition to all rules of etiquette and propriety, wrapped his arms around his daughter and hugged her. Eloise leaned hard against him, her head on his shoulder, as she returned the embrace. But after a few moments, the earl cleared his throat and eased away from her, holding Eloise at arm’s length.
“But youmustreturn to behaving like a proper young woman.”
“I will. I am.”
“You must let your hair grow.”
“I am.”
“And you cannot be seen traipsing around the city in men’s apparel.”
Eloise wiped her tears with her fingers. “Do you have any idea how much more comfortable trousers are than stays and skirts?”
Robert snorted, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. She took it with a grateful smile, dabbing at her eyes as her father gave a puzzled glance at the duke. Kennet’s response was a low rumble. “She is cozening you, Pentney.”
“Ah.”
The duke straightened. “Come, Pentney. Let us rejoin the festivities before our wives bring rack and ruin on our houses. These two have much to discuss.”
The earl opened the door and left, but the duke paused, looking back at his son. “Do not close this door. And Lady Rose is right outside.”
“Yes, sir.”
The duke left, leaving the door about a foot open. Robert hovered near the wingback, opening and closing his fists, his fingers twitching.
Why is he so nervous?Although Eloise had to admit her own stomach roiled the longer they stood there, looking at each other. “Your father,” she said softly, moving closer to him, “obviously has no idea—”
“No! I would never—”
“But he does know that we—” A few more steps closer. The scent of him reached her, sandalwood and pine.
“Yes. But not that we—”
