Page 27 of Raked Away in September

Clara was currently attached to the hem of Tamsin’s walking dress, clutching the rose-colored silk with chubby fingers and babbling a story that he couldn’t understand a word of. Tamsin seemed to, though. She hadn’t pulled away once. Instead, she was looking down at the little girl with such unhurried, gentle patience, matching Clara’s miniature strides with her own, that Rowan felt a sudden, sharp ache right behind his ribs.

He had always viewed the prospect of an heir, and the domestic chaos required to produce one, as a regrettable duty. A necessity to ensure the Haversham title did not fall to some distant, spendthrift cousin.

But as Thomas clambered to get down and then pulled him toward a bird’s nest that had fallen to the ground, and Clara proudly presented Tamsin with a rather crushed dandelion pulled straight from the park soil, he realized maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Tamsin accepted the weed as if it were a rare botanical specimen, tucking it carefully into her reticule, and he knew he’d chosen the mother of his children well.

All the things she’d been saying about the kind of parents she wanted them to be suddenly made sense, and he was proud of his little sister for having broken the cycle of their own unhappy childhood.

This is what it could be like. Walks in the park and children shrieking in the house.

He dropped to one knee, so he was at eye level with his nephew.

“Right then, Thomas,” Rowan said, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper as he adjusted the boy’s cap. “Shall we race to that grand oak tree by the water?”

Thomas cheered, immediately setting off at a frantic, uncoordinated sprint.

Rowan stood up, dusting off his knee, and caught Tamsin watching him. Her lips were curved into a small, secret smile, her gaze holding his with an intensity that made the passing carriages, the gossiping promenade, and his sister’s amused laughter fade into background noise.

“Uncle Rowan!” Thomas cried, suddenly realizing Rowan wasn’t behind him.

Rowan winked at his wife and took off at a run.

Tamsin watched her handsome husband abandon all sense of propriety and race Thomas across the park, and her heart leapt with happiness. This afternoon had been eye-opening in the best possible way.

“He’ll be a wonderful father,” Julia said softly, coming up beside her. “I’ve always thought so.”

“I think so, too,” Tamsin admitted, turning to look at her new sister-in-law. “We’ve talked a bit about having children, but he seemed a bit… uncertain.”

“I don’t think he’s ever believed that he deserved to be happy, or to have the love of a woman and children,” Julia confided, watching her brother and son play with a faraway look in her eyes. “Our parents never showed either of us any love at all.”

“He told me,” Tamsin said, laughing as Rowan slowed so that Thomas could win.

“He did?” Julia looked at her speculatively. “That surprises me. He rarely talks to anyone about his childhood. He must care about you a great deal.”

Heat rose in Tamsin’s cheeks. “I don’t know about that. We hardly know each other.”

“Do you care about him?” Julia asked, her expression suddenly serious. She obviously cared a great deal about her brother.

Tamsin forced herself to meet her new sister-in-law’s gaze. “So much, it terrifies me,” she assured her. “Did he tell you about the Brazen Belle’s article? About how we came to be wed?” As much as she’d prefer to keep that scandal a secret, she wanted Julia to know the truth of it.

Julia nodded but showed no signs of judgment. “He did.”

“He’s so much more than the gossips give him credit for. I was so afraid that he wouldn’t take our marriage seriously, that he’d go back to his rakish ways before the first week was out.” She glanced over at him, knowing her heart must be in her eyes. “But he’s been so kind. We’re becoming great friends. The more I get to know him, the more I like him.”

“Still, you’re afraid he’ll break your heart,” Julia surmised. She sighed and then scooped up Clara, preventing her from toddling into a fresh pile of horse manure. “I won’t tell you that’s not a possibility. We haven’t spent as much time together as I’d like since I wed. I certainly don’t know the man that gossip columnist wrote about. But if he’s still anything like he was when we were young, I don’t think he’ll betray you. He’s very loyal.”

“Thank you,” Tamsin murmured, gazing at her husband as he and Thomas knelt by the water, staring at something floating past very intently. “I really needed to hear that.”

Julia laughed and gave her a quick one-armed hug, hampered somewhat by Clara. “I’m really glad he decided to settle down, and I think you can make each other very happy.”

“I hope so,” Tamsin murmured as George caught up to them, and they went to join Thomas and Rowan.

Chapter Fourteen

Rowan was very grateful for Julia and her family’s visit, but he felt obligated to entertain them, and they spent several boisterous evenings playing parlor games with the children. He enjoyed himself, and he realized that his sister was indeed raising Thomas and Clara with far more love and laughter than he’d ever thought was possible. It gave him hope that he might be able to do the same with his own children.

Still, he somewhat resented the interruption to his time with Tamsin. He hadn’t visited her bedroom again since the night they’d first made love, though that was all he thought about. He wanted to give her some time, and it somehow seemed wrong to do all the things he wanted to do with Tamsin while his sister was in the house.

So, he was very relieved when Julia, George, and the children left three days after they’d arrived in a similar whirl of chaos.