Page 36 of Sir Andrew and the Authoress

Her grandmother chuckled. “I quite agree with you. The man is independent of everyone. I think perhaps that is one reason he cannot determine what he most needs.”

“It is not like you to speak in riddles.” Josephine brought her grandmother the tea. “In less than a minute’s time, you have said Andrew is jealous, independent, and needful.”

As she accepted her cup and saucer, the dowager duchess indulged in a superior sniff. “Indeed. And I hope you were listening.” Then her grandmother changed the subject, asking after Josephine’s itinerary for the day.

A quarter of an hour later, Josephine withdrew to her bedroom to read her letter from Emma. She sat on the large windowsill, angling the letter to the light, and read with eagerness.

My Friend,

I cannot tell you the depth of my disappointment when I arrived in London only to learn you had returned to the country. I visited with your mother at once, and when I understood the circumstances, I mourned your absence. My dear husband shares the duke’s concern. The unrest in London continues to mount. Though Luca suggested sending me to Clairvoir, I insisted I remain by his side, as the duchess remains with the duke. The only difficult thing I face in making that decision is missing you, dearest. I hope you understand.

I received your letter. You hint that your writing has undergone an important change? I understand your reason for subterfuge—one never knows what may happen to a personal letter—but I cannot give you sound advice until we make the matter clear. I hope to come to the castle when Parliament adjourns for the Season. Hold all your lovely news until then!

Luca and I enjoyed our time away. Marriage is everything I hoped it would be….

The letter continued in Emma’s fine hand, painting a picture of marital happiness that pressed against Josephine’s heart. Her eyes grew damp, the tears a mixture of sorrow for losing her dearest companion and joy that her friend had found the love of her life.

Emma no longer needed Josephine as she had before. Of course, they would forever be friends, and as dear to one another as sisters. But the relationship between husband and wife would forever be deeper and more important than one friend to another. Emma had Luca.

Who did Josephine have?

CHAPTER 12

When Roman Eastwood arrived on the promised day, the household turned upside down to greet him. At least, that’s how it seemed. Josephine had spent the morning reassuring her sisters that their gowns were acceptable and—yes—made them look quite grown up. Then she endured another lecture from Simon on being attentive to their guest. Her grandmother had exchanged a knowing look with her in the salon when her sisters did not deviate from the subject of their guest. Then the dowager duchess smirked to herself the rest of the day.

When the time came at last to gather in the foyer, their Guard Room, to greet Lord Hartwell and his younger brother, Josephine edged closer to Andrew in hopes of speaking to someone still in possession of their senses.

Andrew glanced at her when she took her place at his side, then adjusted the cuff of his coat. “I cannot say I have ever received a welcome such as this. Ought I to be flattered or insulted?”

She had to press her lips together a moment to avoid smirking. Was this what her grandmother meant when she assumed Andrew was jealous of Lord Hartwell? She schooled her features into something superior. “We never make a fuss over you because you are as good as one of the family. Is that worthy of insult?”

He appeared to consider, and when she raised her eyebrows, he chuckled. “I suppose not.” He nudged her shoulder with his. “You needn’t listen to Simon, you know. If you don’t like Hartwell, there’s no reason to pretend he might suit.”

Heat flooded her cheeks. Speaking of this with her family was one thing, but Andrew? He hadn’t ever teased her about her suitors before.

“It really is none of your business,” she said, and then turned her attention to the long entry hall. The carriage had finally arrived in the vestibule.

Andrew bent toward her, lowering his voice to speak directly into her ear while Rosalind and Isabelle giggled on her other side. “Anyone could see you weren’t happy with Simon’s suggestion that Hartwell is here to see you.” As he spoke, his breath whispered across her neck, warm and familiar. Her stomach dipped oddly.

Josephine leaned away and glared up at him. “Perhaps ‘anyone’ ought not to speak on the subject when it is none of their affair.”

A deep-throated barked sounded, echoing through the hall, startling Josephine and Andrew both. She looked down the corridor again.

Roman Eastman, Lord Hartwell, strode down the hall with his brother at his right and two large dogs flanking them on either side. Massive dogs, the likes of which she had not seen before. They had to be some sort of boar hound, given they appeared large-chested and not fleet of foot like a deerhound.

Lord Hartwell and Lyness, his brother, were both quite handsome. They were tall, though not so tall as Simon or the duke, and carried themselves with all the confidence of men nobly born. Simon stepped forward to greet them properly, and the dogs sat in unison as their master bowed.

“Lord Farleigh,” Hartwell said, his voice low and not entirely unpleasant. He grinned broadly. “It’s good to be at Clairvoir again.”

“It’s been an age,” Simon agreed, then turned to Lyness. “Welcome, Mr. Eastwood.”

Lyness bowed again. He was four and twenty, his elder brother eight and twenty. They were alike in appearance in most respects, except the baron had blue eyes and his younger brother brown. “Mother sends her regrets,” Lyness said. “She is in Bath, visiting a friend in poor health.”

“We will miss her, but I am certain she is exactly where she needs to be,” the dowager duchess said, and both visitors bowed deeply to her.

Everyone was reintroduced, and Andrew managed not to linger over Josephine and Hartwell’s interaction, brief as it was. Isabelle and Rosalind, despite their obvious infatuation, did not to giggle, or tip over when they curtsied.

Josephine’s curiosity overcame her, and she asked Lyness as their older brothers made small talk about the roads, “What sort of dogs are those? They are quite massive.”