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‘Really?’ He folded his arms. Of course, it would have been impossible for Henrietta to have mentioned him since they’d only met at the same time David had left, but damned if he was going to tell him that. He wasn’t the one with explaining to do... He took a step towards the open doorway to make sure that Henrietta would see him first.
‘Sebastian?’ She appeared after only a few minutes. ‘Tobias said you wanted to see me.’ She stopped at the sight of his face. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Come and see.’ He reached a hand out, telling himself that he needed to hold her steady in case she swooned with surprise. Not that she’d ever swooned before, or seemed prone to swooning in general, but there was a first time for everything. It wasn’t that he just wanted to hold her. To hold on to her...
‘David!’ Her fingers had barely grazed his before she tore them away again. It was necessary in order for her to run across the room to her brother, but for the life of him, Sebastian didn’t think he could have released her if she hadn’t pulled away first. It was all he could do not to clamp his fingers around hers in protest. Instead, he stood watching, half of him knowing that he ought to leave and give them privacy, the other half absolutely refusing to budge as much as an inch.
‘Oh, David.’ Henrietta clamped her arms tight around her brother’s neck, though her voice had a definite tremor. ‘You’re here! You’re actually here.’ She pulled back after a few seconds, staring hard into his face as if she daren’t believe the evidence of her own eyes. ‘What happened? Why did you leave?’
‘I’ll explain it all later.’ Her brother tried to take a step back, though she didn’t let him go far. ‘At the time I felt desperate, but it wasn’t fair of me. I’m sorry, Henrietta, truly, but it won’t happen again. I’m a different man now.’
‘Then that’s all that matters.’
She embraced him again, missing Sebastian’s snort of disgust. Was that it? No argument, no condemnation, no judgement at all? He wanted her to rail at her brother, but instead she was all smiles, as if he’d only been away on a holiday. As if he’d never abandoned her in the first place!
‘Come on.’ Hard as it was to stomach, her smile spread even wider. ‘I’ll take you up to the nursery. The boys are probably asleep by now, but I can still show you they’re all right.’
Sebastian stiffened as they passed. He had a horrible feeling that his wife had already forgotten he was there. I, she’d just said. I’ll take you up. I can still show you they’re all right. One glimpse of her brother and all of a sudden they’d stopped being we.
A horrible sinking sensation told him this was only the start of it.
* * *
‘They’ve missed you.’ Henrietta whispered, standing shoulder to shoulder with David in the doorway of the boys’ bedroom.
‘I’ve missed them.’ He sucked in a breath and let it go again slowly. ‘I don’t know how I’m going to explain to them what I did.’
‘I told them you were sick.’ She gave him a sidelong look. ‘Which was the truth, wasn’t it? And now you’re better?’
‘Better than I was. I’ve given up alcohol. It wasn’t easy, but it was the only way.’
‘Good. Then all you need to tell them is that you love them and that you won’t leave again.’
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. ‘I should probably say it to you, too.’
‘Yes, you probably should.’
‘I love you and I won’t do it again. I promise.’
‘Thank you. Now come away before we wake anyone.’ She stepped back into the nursery, closing the door to the bedroom softly behind them.
‘Thank you for taking care of them.’ David looked sombre again.
‘It wasn’t just me. Sebastian’s been a great help, too.’
‘Mmm.’ David’s face twisted. ‘You never told me you had a beau.’
‘I didn’t before. It all happened very quickly.’
‘How quickly?’
‘Well... I met him the night before you left actually, but—’
‘And you’re already married?’ David’s expression turned into that of an angry big brother. ‘Why? Just because you needed his help?’ He shook his head. ‘If I’d known you’d do something like this...’
‘It’s not something like anything.’
‘It’s all my f
