“The chair, lad,” his mother insisted.
He shoved a chair nearer, and Althea sat.
“Off with you,” Mrs. Trewlove ordered her son.
She could tell he was hesitant to leave her. “I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t have to answer any questions you don’t want to.” Reluctantly, he walked away.
“Now, tell me everything about yourself,” Mrs. Trewlove urged.
A queue of nannies arrived to take the babes to the nursery. The tree-trimming was well underway. Beast had assisted at first, but eventually, when he’d realized his proximity to the tree didn’t allow him to overhear whatever his mum and Thea were discussing, he’d excused himself, sought out some scotch, and took a strategic location near the fireplace. He still couldn’t hear them, but from his new vantage point, he could at least see Thea’s face clearly, watch her expressions, and discern if or when he needed to step in to stop the interrogation. Thus far, she’d laughed three times, smiled eight, nodded repeatedly, revealed two things at length—based on how long she’d spoken without interruption. Her shoulders, a good bit of them bared, were relaxed, her hands covered in the gloves he’d given her floated through the air when she spoke, twice seeming to be emphasizing some important point she was making.
“Kissed her yet, guv?”
With a quick exhale, he glanced down at Robin. A time had existed when he would have crouched in order not to lord himself over the boy. But he’d gained some inches and now reached the center of his chest. He wondered if he was older than they’d assumed. “Can you keep a secret, young Robin?”
The lad bobbed his head. “Aye.”
“I have indeed kissed her.”
Robin’s eyes widened as though it was the first time anyone had ever made such a confession in response to his oft-asked question. “What was it like?”
He turned his attention back to Thea. With delight, she was listening intently to whatever tale his mum was spouting. How to do justice to a description of her kiss? All the words in his vocabulary seemed inadequate, incapable of fully revealing the power of it, the way it had made him feel. “It was as vast as the oceans, as infinite as the stars.”
Silence greeted his declaration. He looked down. Robin’s brow was deeply furrowed, his brown eyes troubled, his mouth twisted.
“What does that mean?” the lad finally asked.
“It means I had a jolly good time doing it.”
His eyes brightened and his grin was broad enough to guide seafarers to shore. “Caw. That makes her the best, then, don’t it?”
“Doesn’tit,” he corrected. “And, yes, she is the best.” He didn’t need a qualifier to identify what she was best at.The best,all by itself, applied to her.
“Robin,” Gillie called out, “time to put the star on top of the tree.”
The lad dashed off, gangly arms and legs flying. He was going to be a tall one when everything evened out. But hewasn’t yet tall enough to reach the top of the tree resting upon the table. After setting his tumbler on the mantel, Beast ambled over to where Robin was hopping foot to foot. “Ready?” he asked him.
The boy nodded with enthusiasm. Beast placed his hands at Robin’s waist and lifted him onto his shoulders. Gillie offered the star. Robin took it, leaned forward, and placed it on the top of the tree. Beast set him back on the floor. As Gillie began lighting the candles resting on branches, he wandered over to where Thea stood at the back of the gathering, a little away from it, not part of it.
“Did you enjoy your visit with my mum?”
“I did. She’s full of love, your mum. It just spills out and you can feel it touching you. If your mother had to leave you in someone’s keeping, I think she chose well.”
Once all the candles were lit,ahs and claps sounded. The married men lowered their heads and brushed light kisses over their wives’ mouths. Althea wondered if she should have lifted hers to Benedict. If he’d been looking at her, she might have but he seemed to find the star of more interest.
Gillie gave her hands two quick pats, the clap echoing around them. “We have about an hour before dinner, and Aiden has some sort of project he wants us to participate in. Aiden?”
He stepped forward. “It’ll take a bit of time to accomplish, so fetch a lovely libation and make yourselves comfortable while I set up things.”
She and Benedict wandered over to a corner where a footman poured a sherry for her and a scotch for him. With glasses in hand, they’d taken only a few steps away when Fancy and the Earl of Rosemont stopped them.
“I meant to tell you,” Fancy said to her brother, “the books you wanted arrived. We brought them with us in case you want to take them.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“What is the name of your bookshop?” Althea asked.
