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‘I don’t think that will work.’ The corners of her lips tugged upwards, her dimple more pronounced than ever. ‘It doesn’t seem to have made me very sleepy.’
‘Wait and see.’ He winked, barely resisting the urge to pull her into his lap. ‘In the meantime, let’s go and share the good news.’
‘Right now?’ She looked startled.
‘No t
ime like the present. Then we’d better start packing.’
‘You mean you want to go back to Bath?’
‘No. The other direction, actually.’
‘What? Sebastian, what are you talking about?’ She shook her head at him. ‘Where are we going?’
‘Gretna Green. Today. I’m not giving you a chance to change your mind.’
Chapter Nineteen
‘Are you sure you’ve got enough blankets?’
‘Yes, as well two hot bricks and five layers of clothing. If we take any more, the horses won’t be able to pull us.’ Sebastian chuckled as his mother peered anxiously inside the carriage. ‘We’ll be fine.’
‘I still think it’s a ridiculous time of year to be heading to Scotland. What if it snows when you’re up on the hills?’
‘If it looks like bad weather, then we’ll stop somewhere, I promise. It’s not as though we’re in the middle of the ocean.’
‘Don’t even joke about that.’ His mother gave him a stern look before surrendering to the inevitable. ‘Oh, very well. In that case, travel safely and don’t worry about the boys. They’ll be perfectly safe here.’
‘Are you sure you don’t mind me going away for a few days?’ Henrietta crouched down in front of her nephews.
‘We don’t mind,’ Peter answered. ‘Lord Tobias says he’ll carry on our cadet training. He’s going to teach us about ich...icthy...’
‘Ichthyology?’
‘That’s it!’
‘And we’ll have our play ready for when you get back,’ Michael added.
‘Will you still be our aunt when you’re Mrs Sebastian?’ Oliver sounded anxious.
‘Of course. I’ll always be your aunt. I’ll just be Mrs Fortini, too.’
‘Good. In that case you can go.’ He grinned as she kissed him on the cheek.
‘Now take care of each other and be good.’
‘I’m sure they will be.’ Elizabeth smiled warmly. ‘We’re going to have fun, aren’t we, boys?’
‘And we’d better be going.’ Sebastian gestured towards the carriage door. ‘The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get back again.’
‘Try to be a little more romantic, dear.’ His mother rolled her eyes. ‘It is your wedding, after all.’
‘You’re right.’ He winked and then bowed to Henrietta. ‘Your carriage awaits, my lady.’
‘Thank you, my lord.’
She gave the boys one last hug each and then climbed inside, burying herself beneath a pile of his mother’s blankets.
