Page 82 of The Muse of Maiden Lane

Tom met Alex’s glare with a wryly cocked brow. “I defer to my wife.”

Alex was in no mood for brotherly banter. His manner had been strained since the four of them had sat down to dine. He was brooding and preoccupied, and far from his usual devil-may-care self.

Laura had been similarly out of sorts. She sat beside Alex, the round neckline of her silk dinner dress adorned with a heart-shaped opal brooch her husband had bought her in Paris. Her eyes were unusually grave. “It isn’t right this time, Jenny,” she said. “Not with the news we had from Dr. Jepson this afternoon.”

Teddy’s eyes jolted to his sister. He was aware that she and Alex had visited Harley Street again today. Their carriage had been returning to Half Moon Street at the same time Teddy had been returning from seeing Stella in the park. At the time, he’d thought their second appointment the veriest commonplace. “What news?”

His sister gave him an apologetic look. “We were going to tell you all over coffee this evening. We didn’t want to spoil everyone’s dinner.”

Jenny regarded Laura with frank concern from her place across the table. Jenny’s plaited auburn hair gleamed like fine copper in the light of the candles. “Oh dear. Is it bad? You’re not—”

“No, no,” Laura said hastily. “There’s no imminent danger. Not if we do as Dr. Jepson tells us to.”

Alex ran a protective hand up and down his wife’s silk-clad back. “He’s advised us to return home without delay.”

Alarm bells instantly went off in Teddy’s head. He searched his sister’s face. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“He’s merely being cautious,” Laura said. “Considering the lingering effects of the scarlet fever on my lungs, and given my recent bouts of illness and how faint I’ve been feeling, he thinks it’s best I don’t travel in my condition. He says that, if I must return home, I should do it sooner rather than later to minimize the risk.”

“I’ve already booked passage,” Alex said.

“You what?” Teddy stared at them both in astonishment. His wheeled chair was rolled up to the opposite side of the table from his sister and brother-in-law. The candles crackled and snapped, casting shadows over their faces. “For when?”

Alex’s normally roguish expression was grim with resolve. “Wednesday.”

Wednesday? They were meant to stay another two weeks!

Laura hurried to explain. “It was either that or remain in London until after the baby is born in August.”

“You could if you’d like,” Jenny offered. “We’ve plenty of room here.”

“I agree,” Tom said. “We’d be delighted to have you.”

The door of the dining room opened. The Finchleys’ dour housekeeper, Mrs. Jarrow, bustled in, a starched apron over her plain stuff gown. “Shall I serve the coffee in the parlor, Mrs. Finchley?”

“Not yet.” Jenny looked briefly at the old retainer. “Give us a moment, if you please, Mrs. Jarrow.”

The housekeeper cast a glance at the taut faces around the table and then, brows lifted and lips pursed, took her leave, swinging the door shut behind her.

“The business would never withstand it,” Laura said after the servant had withdrawn. “Alex is needed in Grasse, as am I. We’ve already left things too long with our foreman.”

Teddy scanned his sister for any signs of illness. She was absent the stark paleness she sometimes exhibited in the morning—that trembling, pallid demeanor that telegraphed the reality of her condition to the world. After having eaten most of her dinner, she seemed her usual healthy self.

“I thought your symptoms were normal,” he said. “That’s what you told me.”

“For the most part, I believe they are,” Laura replied.

“Then perhaps that Jepson fellow is overreacting?”

“Teddy has a point,” Tom said. “Some of the fashionable doctors in town don’t believe in women being active during their confinement. His advice might be a needless precaution.”

“Would you take a chance with your own wife?” Alex shot back.

Laura set a hand on her husband’s arm. “There’s no point us arguing about it. The fact is, we’ve already decided to go. All that remains—”

“Did you purchase a ticket for me?” Teddy asked.

Laura fell quiet.