However, when they finally sat down at the long table, a lovely blonde woman seated across from her smiled warmly. “I’m Anne, Morgan’s wife,” she introduced herself. “I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to meet you before today. This little one kept me from coming to your engagement ball.” She rested her hand upon her stomach, and Vanessa realized that she was heavily pregnant.
“How much longer until the baby arrives?” Vanessa asked, unsure whether that was an acceptable thing to ask but curious all the same and nearly desperate to keep the conversation going. This was the first time she’d felt welcomed all day.
“A little more than a month, I should think,” Anne replied, not seeming to mind talking about the subject.
“The boy and the girl are yours?” Vanessa asked, realizing that they were now her niece and nephew.
“Samuel is five, and Hannah is three,” Anne supplied. “Your little boy, Gabriel, is an angel. He behaved beautifully during the ceremony.”
“Thank you so much for keeping an eye on him today.” Some of Vanessa’s tension and fear dissipated in the wake of Anne’s kindness. “I’m afraid I can’t take credit for his good behavior yet, though. I’ve only recently adopted him.”
“Oh, I thought...” Anne’s gaze flickered back and forth between Adrian and Vanessa a few times, as though she were trying to puzzle something out, but then she shrugged prettily. “Never mind.”
Adrian had caught their conversation, and he gave his sister-in-law an exasperated look. “You thought what, Anne?”
She flushed. “I just thought perhaps the boy was yours, Adrian. He looks so very much like you.”
Vanessa would have been angry by the comment if she thought that Anne was being cruel, but there was no judgment or malice in Anne’s pale-blue eyes, just curiosity.
The striking resemblance between Adrian and Gabriel had seemed sweet to her at first, but Anne’s words made her realize what everyone was thinking. All these people probably believed she’d been Adrian’s mistress for years.
“He’s mine now,” Adrian said shortly, making Vanessa’s heart swell with emotion.
She still couldn’t believe that he’d adopted Gabriel. Despite everything that had gone wrong today, that one thing had proven to her that he still cared for her, at least a little bit, enough that he didn’t care what these people believed. She clung to the thought, wishing she dared reach beneath the table and take his hand in hers.
“What is that you say?” the countess loudly asked the earl, who sat next to her at the head of the table. “Do you mean to tell me that in addition to marrying an actress, your brother has adopted a beggar child?”
The room fell silent, and Vanessa could feel the fury coursing through Adrian. Giving in to temptation, she reached over and placed her hand over his. For a moment, she thought he’d pull away, but then he twined his fingers around hers so tightly it hurt.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Anne spoke up, endearing her to Vanessa even more. “I’ve always thought Adrian would be an amazing father.”
His grip on her hand eased a bit, and he cleared his throat. “Thank you, Anne. I can only hope to be half the husband and father that Morgan is.”
The young blonde girl halfway down the table, who Vanessa had learned was Lady Allison, Adrian’s half-sister, gave them both a smile, though Vanessa wasn’t sure it reached her eyes. Quite a bit of their mother there, she feared. “Lovely,” she said. “That means I’m an auntie again.”
Morgan grinned from his spot next to Anne, while the countess sulked, seeming angry that Anne had said anything. After a moment, Adrian released her hand so that he could eat, and she struggled not to let her disappointment show. The rest of the meal seemed interminable.
* * * *
WHEN THE MEAL HAD ENDED, Adrian went in search of his mother. He found her in the drawing room, surrounded by several of her catty friends, no doubt bemoaning the trials and tribulations of having a scarred monster for a son.
Clearing his throat, he interrupted their conversation, causing all three of them to stare at him with thinly veiled disgust. “Mother, may I have a word with you?”
She sniffed and inclined her head. “I suppose.” Rolling her eyes at her friends, she allowed Adrian to take her arm and lead her to a private sitting room down the hall.
Once inside, he closed the door and turned to look at her. “Why did you invite Roger to my wedding when I specifically asked you not to?”
She frowned and seemed about to protest, but then thought better of it and shrugged prettily. “Well, he did not come, so what does it matter?”
“He did come,” Adrian snarled, his patience gone. “We had quite a row, and he nearly ruined the entire day.”
“What did you do?” she asked, her concern, as always, for Roger. “Why was he not there for the ceremony?”
“Because I sent him away,” he said impatiently. “And you haven’t answered my question.”
She refused to meet his gaze, instead pacing over to the window and staring out. “Well, I needed someone who is on my side here today. You and your brothers make no secret of your disdain for me, and Allison and I are having another of our spats. Roger loves me as though I am his real mother, and I love him!”
“I am sorry you feel that none of us are on your side,” Adrian said, struggling for patience. “But you know how I feel about him, and I didn’t want him here.”
