He had told Grace that much himself.
But he’d left out one key piece of information. The devil’s bargain he had made with Cassandra. That they would quit the Everdene estate, move far away…
He knew that Grace would learn what he’d done. Maybe she would hate him for it.
But not yet. He remembered the tender brush of her lips on his knuckles, as if she could kiss away his pain. An uncomfortable feeling clenched around his chest.
No. He’d not tell her yet.
CHAPTER 24
Grace had spent a sleepless night longing to vent her righteous indignation on Avery’s behalf and upbraid her stepmother for the pain she’d inflicted by allowing that awful Mrs. Kemble to say such horrible things about Avery. But as the Harcourt carriage pulled to a stop in the drive at The Willows, it was harder to maintain all of that fury.
Will and Father bolted down the stairs to reach the runaway, while Helen stumbled after, obviously distraught, her face suffused with guilt, eyes cherry-red from weeping.
Will reached the boy first, giving Avery a shake filled with affection and relief. “I will kill you if you ever scare me like that again!”
Father scooped Avery out of Will’s arms and clutched his son against his breast, choking out words Avery alone could hear.
The other two boys must have been watching from the nursery, for they spilled out of the door and fell on Avery as if he had returned from the wars. Tears brimmed in Grace’s eyes as she watched Avery’s welcome. Flushed and rumpled and thoroughly hugged, her wayward little brother could have no doubt how deeply his family loved him.
Grace noticed that her father’s eyes were glistening, over-bright as well when he turned to Grace and Lucien. “Ethan told us Avery intended to sign on as a cabin boy,” Father said. “Will and I would have been on our way to Portsmouth and Liverpool if Mr. McLeod hadn’t arrived with your message before dawn. I am in your debt, Everdene.” Grace could see his heartfelt gratitude as he held out his hand to Lucien. After a moment, Lucien took it.
A lump formed in Grace’s throat.
While Will took the boys to raid the kitchen for fresh scones, the others gathered in the drawing room. Grace and Lucien sat on the settee across from her father and stepmother. Grace struggled to find a modicum of patience despite the anger that still pulsed inside her. Venting it would not help Avery and Helen to get along in the future. And that was the most important goal.
She drew a deep breath, sharing with Helen and her father the events of the night before and Avery’s reasons for running. It was both painful and heartening to see how deeply the tale affected them.
“I had no idea Avery overheard Mrs. Kemble saying such things,” Helen choked out then shook her head, her lips curling in self-disgust. “No, that’s not exactly true. Ethan tried to tell me, but I didn’t want to believe him. It made me feel guilty.”
“He needed you to defend him,” Grace said.
“I know that now. Instead, I listened to Mrs. Kemble, who claimed that children spin stories and a parent must crush such dishonesty before it takes root. When Ethan told us that Avery ran off to join the navy…” Her voice broke, and she pressed her handkerchief to her mouth. “The thought that I drove a child to such desperate actions sickens me. We might never have found him.” Hands shaking, Helen turned to Grace. “Will I never get this right? Please, tell me how to make this right.”
Sincerity and regret shone in Helen’s eyes. Grace did not know if that resolve would last, but she prayed it might. “If you really wish to mend things, go to Avery. Ask pardon. Promise to listen to him in the future and begin again.”
Grace felt Lucien watching her with those intense tiger-eyes, as if trying to decipher some unknown language he wanted to understand. She could sense it, as she did so many of his unspoken feelings. Was he like that wary creature she’d imagined, taking another step toward the warming fire?
Hope flickered inside her as he made conversation with her family and accepted Helen’s invitation to stay for tea, and yet—was that hope merely her own invention because she so longed for that connection?
When it was time to leave, she noticed that Lucien had drawn Avery aside. She wanted to hasten over to them, to manage whatever their exchange was to be. But she curled her fingers in her skirts and remained where she was. She did not know what her husband said, but after a few minutes of conversation in low voices, Avery looked up at Lucien and nodded solemnly. She watched, stunned, as they shook hands.
The pair approached her, and Lucien’s mouth curved in a hint of that smile that went straight to her heart. She looked at Lucien. “What are you two plotting?”
“I was just telling Avery that I am taking you to London in the next few days.”
“London?”
“I have some business to attend to, and you could benefit from some diversion. There are purchases to be made so you might make the townhouse your own, entertainments to be enjoyed.”
“But surely you’ll want to wait until your family returns?” She regretted the words instantly as a guarded expression clouded his face.
“There is no telling when they will actually return to Everdene Hall. When Simon is looking at horses, he is apt to become so engrossed he loses all sense of time.”
“But…” She cast a helpless glance at Avery.
“I’ll be all right, Grace,” Avery said. “You will write to us. And you could even take Lord Admiral Nelson around London, so it will be almost like you are taking us along.” The boy looked as if he had grown taller somehow in the time since his conversation with Lucien.
