Page 152 of A Duchess for his Family

“Frances.”

“It is a compliment.”

Emma came nearer and kissed Sophia’s cheek.

“She does,” she said more gently.

Sophia’s smile softened. For a brief moment, Benedict saw her through her sisters’ eyes, not the quiet youngest daughter standing slightly behind everyone else, not the woman who once wondered whether there was any place in the world truly meant for her.

The Duchess of Rivermere stood in the middle of her own hall with servants moving comfortably around her, her family gathering close, and the unmistakable ease of someone who no longer wondered whether she belonged. Benedict felt something warm settle in his chest.

Nathaniel leaned toward him. “You are doing it again.”

Benedict did not turn. “Doing what?”

“Looking at your wife as though you have recently discovered marriage.”

“I have been married for some months now.”

“And yet the astonishment persists.”

Benedict gave him a flat look. Nathaniel smiled pleasantly.

Across the hall, Marjorie came running from the drawing room.

“They’re here!”

Amelia followed at a more dignified pace, carrying Admiral against her chest.

The kitten was no longer quite a kitten. He had grown into a long-legged young cat with an inflated opinion of his importance and no improvement whatsoever in his manners. Marjorie immediately relieved Amelia of him.

“You must see how large he is now.”

Lord Keswick barely removed his hat before Admiral was presented to him.

“He has learned several things,” Marjorie announced.

Amelia sighed. “She has been telling everyone that.”

“Because he has.”

“What has he learned?” Emma asked.

Marjorie looked down at the cat. Admiral looked back.

“He can open the pantry door.”

“That is not a skill we encourage,” Benedict said.

Nathaniel nodded gravely. “Innovation is rarely appreciated in its own time.”

Sophia laughed. As Benedict looked around the crowded entrance hall, at Sophia beside her sisters, the twins trying to show off Admiral to every new arrival, Nathaniel already stirring trouble, and Lord Keswick arguing with Marjorie over whether pantry theft counted as intelligence, he realized that Rivermere had become almost unrecognizable. He had never loved it more.

By the time dinner was announced, Admiral had been shown to everyone in the room at least twice. Marjorie insisted he attend the meal. Benedict refused. Sophia negotiated. Admiral was permitted to remain in the adjoining drawing room, provided he did not enter the dining room. He entered twice. The second time, Philip caught him beneath the table.

“No one saw anything,” Philip said, lifting the cat.

“I saw it,” Benedict replied.