Page 29 of An Accidental Elopement

“Percy,” his sister chided him and swatted his arm.

“Well, I could tell that Miss Gaywood was thinking it,” Percy Eavesgrave said with an easy smile.

“Lady Archibald,” Flint corrected him before either Cecilia or Archie had a chance to say anything. Cecilia gave him a wide-eyed stare. They had hardly spoken since she had returned from the accidental elopement with Archie. She had been wondering how the sight of him would affect her, but it had stirred no emotion whatsoever. All her emotions seemed to be centered on the man standing next her, her hand still resting in the crook of his elbow. She had felt the muscles tense slightly as Flint had spoken.

“Lady Archibald, of course, I apologize,” Percy Eavesgrave said with an easy smile.

“There is no reason to apologize,” Cecilia told him. “And I suppose that we can use each other’s Christian names since we are going to be family after all, can we not?”

She looked first at Archie, who did not return her gaze, but was looking at first Flint, then his sister. She turned to look at Flint herself who just gave her a perplexed look. It was Gregory who spoke.

“Certainly, we could,” he said with a smile that Cecilia recognized from her second brother, Bran, who had been born just after Algernon. David was a year younger than her but with the temper of an ass and the rage of a bull to match Algernon’s firstborn dominance and superiority. Bran had usually been the peacemaker between the brothers. Apparently, in the Montagu family that role had fallen to Gregory.

“Although, I think I have forgotten your Christian name, Lord Addinggrove.” Gregory smiled as he looked at the man.

“Michael,” Lord Addinggrove answered jovially.

They were interrupted when Lucy’s sons, Hugo and Charlie, came running and wanted their uncles to join their game. Both happily complied. Sophia and Michael went to check on their own son, Percy seemed to vanish all together and Cecilia found herself standing alone with Flint and Hester. The three of them sent each other awkward glances as if it was a game where they had to guess who was hiding something in their hand.

“I suppose you are looking forward to the wedding,” Cecilia asked and supposed that meant that she was the one who was least comfortable with the silence between them.

“Yes, very much, thank you,” Flint answered with a relieved smile.

“Good, I am very happy for you.” Cecilia looked only at Flint as she spoke. They might not have a chance to speak alone. Nor did she particularly want to, but she needed both of them to know that she was happy for them. The mess that she and Archie had created was entirely of their own making. It had nothing to do with Flint or Hester. Or at least only partially, but certainly not to the extent that she blamed them for it.

Flint gave her a sincere nod and Cecilia could feel how Hester stepped closer to him as Cecilia and he kept eye contact. Cecilia swiftly switched her gaze to meet Hester’s violet and penetrating stare.

“Where will you honeymoon?” she asked Hester. It might be that this woman did not care at all about her wedding, but certainly they had to have planned a honeymoon.

“We will go to Barford Abbey for the first couple of weeks of the marriage,” Hester answered and sent her husband a look of undisguised happiness. “Then we have been talking about traveling to Kent to see the waxwings that will be wintering there... but we will have to see about that.”

“I thought we had agreed on Kent,” Flint said and sent her a quizzing look as a furrow deepened between his brows.

“Yes, well... certainly,” Hester said in a voice that clearly stated she did not want to discuss this in front of Cecilia.

Whatever was going on between the two, Cecilia did not want to further their disagreement. She was certain that it was merely a misunderstanding.

“Well, we will probably be going to London after the wedding,” she offered as a way to change the subject and swallowed the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. It was obvious that Archie was looking forward to leaving for London, since she had not been able to share his bed.

Her statement immediately started Flint on a near monologue of the people he knew to be in London and which operas, plays and exhibitions he had heard of. Hester stood beside him, silently watching their exchange. Cecilia stole glances at her from time to time, as she kept the conversation going with Flint. Hester’s cheeks had a bit of plumpness to them that she had not noticed before, even her bosom seemed to be larger, and there was a certain glow to her overall demeanor.

Flint was mentioning a talk he had heard of that he would have gone to see but which he of course could not now. He sent Hester a smile, and she returned one that, even though it was closemouthed, made her eyes sparkle. Cecilia did not know why it was the sparkle that finally made her connect the dots, but as soon as she had seen it, she knew: Hester was expecting. She recognized the plumpness of the cheeks and the fullness of the bosom as a sign of pregnancy from her married sisters.

Her whole world tilted a bit at the thought of the two people standing In front of her, who were not even married and yet expecting a child. And here she was, married a little more than three weeks and she had not even consummated her marriage. She briefly glanced at Archie who was still playing with his nephews on the floor. It seemed that someone had ordered them to play more quietly; at least they were sitting on the floor playing with marbles instead of running around.

The sight tugged at her insides. For some reason, she had assumed that he would make a great father and the way he behaved with his nephews only confirmed it. But he would not be sitting with her on the sofa, holding her hand and watching their sons on the floor as Lucy and Edmund did at the moment.

“If you will excuse me,” she said breathily. “I think I will go see the baby. I only saw him briefly when we greeted the Marchioness... I mean, Edwina, I suppose.”

Flint and Hester nodded and already before she had turned from them, they were turning towards each other, closing themselves into their own little bubble in the surrounding chaos.

Fourteen

“Brandy?” Archie asked and raised his eyebrows.

Gregory nodded and sank deeper into the chair by the fire. The rest of the family had finally retired and the two of them were able to have a moment alone. Gregory was one year younger than him and had always been his best friend, his nemesis and his conscience all rolled into one. Archie had not realized how much he had missed him until he had felt the urge to tuck him into his arms and hold him tightly as he had spotted him in the drawing room. Which was ridiculous because despite their closeness he could not remember the last time they had embraced.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t attend the wedding.” Gregory smirked as Archie handed him the drink. “But then again I was not invited.”