Page 68 of The Mad Marchams

“It’s amazing.” Mabel walked over to open the curtains that covered the windows. “It’s bigger than my whole apartment.”

“I think it’s the same size as the earl’s suite,” Colin found his voice, his gaze on the bed where his mother had lingered until her death. Not that he’d been allowed to be there when she died. Either his father or Marjorie—his mother’s best friend and soon to be second countess—had decided he was too young to attend. When he returned home for the holidays, Marjorie was already ensconced in her new position.

Not that the marriage had lasted long. He suspected his father had married for all the wrong reasons. Marjorie hadn’t dealt with his continuing grief for his first wife well, having convinced herself that once she got what she’d always wanted, her best friend would firmly be relegated to the past. Colin knew all this because he’d been a reluctant observer of their frequent and public rows.

“Colin?” He looked up to see Mabel with her hand on the internal door. “Can I go through here or will I end up in the earl’s bedroom? Do you know I haven’t actually met him yet? We communicate entirely through Bartle.”

He shook off the past. “You’ll be quite safe. There are two dressing rooms that connect through a third door so you’re miles away.”

“Oh, my goodness! Look at that bath!”

Her voice echoed back to him, and he hastened to join her. Half the interior room was taken up with a luxurious Edwardian bathroom suite, and the rest was a wall of cupboards and drawers.

“From what Father said, no one has cleared out this room since Brigitte, countess number three, left for France sixteen years ago. She died almost immediately, so we’re not expecting her back—not that the twins would want to see her after being abandoned at the tender age of one.” He opened a cupboard at random and winced. “I see what he means. It’s packed to the gunnels.”

“What’s a gunnel?” Mabel had climbed into the bath. He could barely see her within its depths and her voice was all echoey. Her red sneakered feet were propped up on the edge.

He strolled over to her. “I think it means there’s no space left.”

“You know I’ll have to look it up, now.” She tugged her phone from her pocket and began googling. “Idiom, old-fashioned,” Mabel read out the definition. “If something is filled to the gunwales, i.e. gunnels on a ship, it is extremely packed.”

“Makes sense.” Colin offered his hand to help Mabel out of the bath, which proved harder than getting into it. “I wonder if Marjorie got rid of everything that belonged to my mother.”

“She probably didn’t have the nerve,” Mabel commented, her gaze sweeping the multitude of cupboards. “I mean, it’s a lot.”

“Father always told us that he told both of his subsequent wives not to touch anything, but I’m not sure Brigitte took much notice.”

“Because your dad cared about your mom the most.” She nodded. “I kind of get that.”

“Mabel.” He took a deep steadying breath. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

She squeezed his fingers hard. “Then leave it to me, okay?”

“If there is any of her stuff here…” He looked down at her. “Going through her things, remembering her wearing them just feels… too much.”

“Totally understandable.” She held his gaze. “If you just tell me what you’d like to do with the everything, I can handle it.”

He dropped a kiss onto her brow. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You just constantly make things right for me and I don’t know how to thank you enough,” Colin murmured into her hair.

She cupped his chin. “You deserve it. Really. One hundred percent.”

He leaned in and kissed her gently on the mouth until she went up on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck. As usual, her closeness righted his world, and he truly believed he would prevail. How would he cope if she left and how on earth was he going to persuade her to stay?

Mabel glanced up at Colin as they went down the stairs to join his family for lunch. She wanted to suggest he speak to a therapist about his mom and all the other stuff that had gone on in his family, but she’d already learned that the British reacted with horror to the idea of sharing their business with anyone.

“Should we invite Ted to Freddy’s birthday celebration on Saturday?” Colin asked just before they reached the dining room where she could hear the murmur of voices.

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Mabel said. “You should ask the Haywicks and Gavin, too.”

“I already have. I just didn’t think it would be Ted’s thing. He’s quite reserved.”

“Which is probably why he appreciates your sister.”

“You think her interest is reciprocated?” Colin looked down at her before they went through the door.