Page 44 of Adeline

Alistair scrubbed at his face and gave Theo a weak smile before glancing up at Adeline. For the first time, she noted his exhaustion: the dark circles under his eyes, the hard lines of his face, and his pale skin. How long had it been since he’d found the time to venture outside the house?

However, Adeline could not let her brother loose without having her own say regarding the matter at hand. “It is your fault I was stranded in Kent, dear brother.”

“How do you support that claim?” He steepled his fingers on the desk, and his glare hardened.

She’d thought long and hard on the journey back to London about how she’d handle Alistair. “If you had not sent Arabella, Ainsley, and me off in that decrepit coach, I would not have found myself marooned along the side of the road without means to fix the thing.” She took a deep breath and continued before Theo and Alistair could cut in. “It was a blessing that Jasper happened upon us during the storm, or it could have been my cold, dead body returned to you, as I would have surely perished in the tempest.”

Alistair shook his head with a chuckle.

“What?” Adeline demanded, her blood fairly boiling at his disregard for her safety.

“There is little need to sensationalize this matter, dear sister, and I insist you cease your theatrics.”

“You think I am overreacting?” she seethed, glancing to Theo for help. However, her friend seemed intent on inspecting the stitching on her pleated skirts.

Alistair raised his hands, palms up, and shrugged.

It was his way of making her answer her own question.

Adeline huffed. She would stomp her foot and demand her brother see reason, yet she assumed he’d see that reaction as childish and it would only serve to reinforce his earlier statement.

It would be in her best interest to calm herself, especially if she thought to meet Jasper at Regent’s Park on the morrow.

She sank into the chair next to Theo and faced her brother across the desk. It was strikingly apparent they were related, as it was with all the Melton children. Their hazel eyes and light brown hair were distinctive to their family.

“Tell me more about this birthday celebration you’ve planned, Theo,” Adeline conceded, deciding to steer clear of any further argument regarding Jasper and Adeline’s time in the country at his estate.

Her friend immediately turned a bright smile in Adeline’s direction. “I cannot say it is I who is responsible for the planning of the party, only the organization of it. It was Josie and Georgie who came to me with the idea.”

“How did you convince Felton and Alistair?” Adeline was well aware that Felton, Georgie’s new husband, was still working tirelessly to make certain he could support his wife in the fashion she was accustomed to. Any funds spent on Adeline’s birthday celebration could very well jeopardize his future business plans.

“Oh, Alistair was easy to convince, and Felton falls in line with whatever Georgie desires.” Adeline laughed along with Theo. If there were a second in command of their foursome, it would be Georgie. Adeline sometimes wondered if her dear friend had been the first to arrive at Miss Emmeline’s School, if things would have been different in their friendship. “Not that my own wishes do not hold significant weight with my own husband.”

Theo winked, and Adeline laughed once more.

How far her shy, reserved, academic friend had come since her return to London nearly two years prior. As far as sisters went, Adeline was thankful Alistair had chosen this woman to join their family.

“What have you planned for the celebration?” Adeline was shocked to realize she’d all but forgotten her twenty-first birthday was upon her. She could remember it being solidly on her mind when she departed London on her way to Kent, but—perhaps because of Jasper?—the special day had escaped her mind. “And who has received invitations?”

“Everyone in bloody town has been invited—and the Lord help us all—but they have all accepted,” Alistair mumbled. “Lord Ailesbury being the last.”

Alistair gave both Adeline and Theo a stern look as if to dare either woman to invite another soul to the party.

“If you are worried about the number of guests, why extend the offer to Jasper?” Adeline asked.

“If my dear wife—and her friends—seeks to send us all to the poorhouse, who am I to argue?”

“What your brother means to say is, we noticed how you spoke of Lord Ailesbury and his kindness to you, and thought it only fitting an invitation be extended.”

“Yet, Alistair worries over my reputation—and that of our family.”

Adeline glared at Alistair, but he’d returned his attention to an open ledger on his desktop.

“It is not your reputation that worries me, Adeline,” Theo said softly. “Actually, it was your gracious words about Lord Ailesbury.”

“The man saved me from certain death. Of course, I would not speak harshly of him.”

Alistair snorted once again, keeping his eyes trained on his desk.