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He’d told her they were friends, and while he did have need of a friend right now, that was not at all what he wanted from her. He had friends—chaps from Oxford, mainly, some of whom he’d kept in touch with these past few years. He knew what friendship was, and what he felt around Clara was something else entirely.

It was the camaraderie of friendship, but with so much more. An element he could never name but that was powerful and undeniable. Tess seemed to be waiting for an answer and he found himself making a noncommittal noise of agreement.

Her lips twitched upward in response.

He turned away from her, afraid of what she might see. While he might have liked to unburden himself of this new, unwanted attraction, his sister was hardly the person with whom he should speak.

He headed over to the nightstand, picking up the knickknacks and baubles that had been haphazardly set aside, still resting there as though Frederick had only now just left for his morning ride. Alex toyed with a ring.

If Frederick were here, he could talk to him about it.

But then again, if Frederick were here, there would be little to say. He’d be tucked away at his property with his books, and he would likely never have met Clara.

That thought did not sit well.

He set down the ring, picking up a pin that sat beside it. It was a W. How curious. There was no W in his brother’s name, nor in his intended’s. He turned it over in his hand, the thought of his brother’s fiancée distracting him…or getting him back on task.

How could he stand here thinking about Clara and his feelings for her when he had an obligation to Olivia?

“What is this?” Tess asked, coming to stand behind him.

She held out her hand and he handed it over with a shrug. “It was on the nightstand.”

“A W,” she murmured. “How curious. You know, I do recall him wearing this quite often. It must have been of some significance to him.”

They stared at it in silence for a moment, as if this little bauble might fill them in on all they did not know about their brother.

Tess turned to him suddenly. “You should wear it,” she said, already fastening it to his lapel.

He started to protest but she interrupted him neatly. “He would want you to.”

“We don’t even know why he wore it.”

“No, but we know that he did.” Her eyes met his, their dark brown depths so similar to his own, and yet so different. Same shade, but far less serious. Far less fretful. Even now, though tinged with grief, her gaze held an element of merriment that reminded him far too much of Frederick. “This will serve as a reminder to you, a fortifying talisman.”

“And why should I need to be fortified?”

Her lips twitched up at the corners. “For the dinner party tonight, of course.”

He barely refrained from sighing. “More entertaining? I thought Olivia and her family weren’t arriving until next week.”

“We’ve received an invitation to a dinner party at the Huntingtons,” she said. “We could hardly say no.”

“Why not?”

She arched her brows in surprise. “All of society will be there,” she said. “Well, all those who are in town for Christmastide.”

“Ah,” he said. “Wonderful.”

She cast him a knowing look. She’d heard the sarcasm, no doubt. “You have nothing to fear, Alex. It seems you and Clara have been making quite a bit of progress these past few days.”

“Mmm.” He couldn’t bring himself to say more. It was true that Clara took her lessons seriously. She’d spent a good portion of each day, teaching him the fine art of conversation, which he’d learned, consisted largely of listening—a skill he was still developing—asking questions, and compliments.

When in doubt, Clara told him, give the lady a compliment.

This had been all too easy to do with Clara. Looking for ways to compliment her during their interludes had proven a dangerous distraction. It only encouraged his innate desire to catalogue her finer attributes.

By the end of each of their chats he’d find himself just a tad more smitten.