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“Oh,Nikolaos!” Before his eyes, his mother’s reaction shifted quickly from surprised to fully gratified. “OfcourseI don’t mind if you join. In fact”—she covered her mouth and produced a delicate and unconvincing cough—“I was just beginning to feel under the weather. It’s best if I stay home. I shouldn’t want my cough to distract you young opera-goers.”
After exchanging a look with Pen, bursting with sibling understanding of their mother’s ways, Nicholas took his mother’s gloved hand. “I love you, Mama. The fibbing, even well intentioned, I do not. It will no doubt please you to hear this—yes, I have intentions for Helen.”
“Oh!” Pen’s joy lifted her onto her toes. “Not only a double wedding, but one uniting two brothers and two sisters! You shall marry Helen, and I shall marry Captain Miller and circumnavigate the globe!”
Despite his parents’s tendencies to meddle in their children’s lives, they had learned the wisdom of remaining mum in the face of Penelope’s frequent and vivid declarations. This time, more fear than usual passed through his mother’s gaze, undoubtedly stemming from the vision of her youngest child enduring a life at sea, one far away from the family.
Squeezing his mother’s hand, Nicholas sought to reassure her as well as return her attention to their discussion. “I can’t ask you not to have feelings on the matter. But I do ask that you andPatérasrefrain from intervening in my private life. It won’t bring me and Helen any closer. It will only push me away.”
He regretted the pain his words brought. Not only was he asking his mother to suppress a behavior that came so naturally to her—well-meaning, at that—his request invoked hurts of the past. For a year, his father had lived up to his threat to disown Nicholas if he left Sideris & Co., and now Adrian had exiled himself from the family.
“I know the last thing you want is to push me away,” he said quietly. “Andthat it won’t be easy for you to watch rather than orchestrate. But this is my life. Pen is free to plan a double wedding, but the only event I am certain to attend is the opera tonight. The rest…well, that shall be up to me and to Helen.”
“Your father and I know we’ve made mistakes. Your brother’s marriage…” Sirena swallowed and closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, Nicholas recognized her acceptance, but also her own determination.Here comes the negotiation.
“Very well, Nicholas. You’re right. I don’t want to send you away. And your life is yours. Nointervening, but what of”—she gestured in the air—“motherlysupport, eh?”
“What does support mean?”
“We won’t embarrass you,” Pen interjected. “Or, as you said, orchestrate. But we’ll be so charming and splendid that Helen won’t be able to resist any of us!”
“Yes!” His mother nodded eagerly. “That’s what I meant. We’ll show Helen she’s welcome not only in London, but in this family.”
He couldn’t suppress his smile, but when he spoke again, the firmness in his voice was unmistakable. “I won’t be rushed. Besides, we don’t know Helen well, but her headstrong nature is clear enough. I won’t be the only one who would flee if the Siderises tamper in our lives.”
“It’s decided, son. You two go. Helen is waiting. Tell her the truth—your father can’t stand the opera and pouts when he’s left alone.”
Fifteen minutes later, Nicholas stepped into Helen’s foyer and imparted not just that truth but one more. “My mother’s absence doesn’t explain my presence. I want your company. May I accompany you and Pen to the opera tonight?”
Her voice was silent, but a procession of responses marched through her expression. Disbelief. Suspicion.
Reluctance combined with interest.
Slowly, the appeal won out, and she shimmered as much as the vivid-blue cape that matched her skirts—and her expressive eyes.
God, she’s stunning.
“Yes.”
That one word, spoken in her rich voice, stole his breath even as he bowed. She accepted his arm and they walked together to the carriage, where Pen awaited, and he knew with certainty the trade he had made this evening was well worth it. Those few moments of the weight of her hand on his elbow was worth the price of hours at the opera.
Once they settled across from each other on the plush squabs in the Sideris family conveyance, Pen and Helen, seated together, exchanged compliments on each other’s gowns. The conversation then moved to the upcoming performance at the Royal Italian Opera in Covent Garden.
“Madame Robillard had recommended the opera and here I am in one of her new gowns, going to the very same,” Helen mused.
Pen leaned over with a conspiratorial air. “I’m most eager to go myself, though not for the music, I must admit. I’m there to see the sets and the spectators! What about you? Does opera exist in Boston?”
As Nicholas hoped, Helen responded to Pen’s question with amusement rather than offense. “As it happens, Italian opera was just performed there a few years ago for the first time. There’s a new theater near Boston Common. I’ve wanted to attend, but…” She smoothed her skirts.
Pen cocked her head. “But what?”
“It wasn’t considered respectable entertainment in my circles. My husband’s family. They were…a disapproving sort. A century ago, theater was outlawed in Massachusetts, and they believed we should return to such a ban.”
None of what Nicholas heard was a laughing matter, though knowing Pen, he did see humor in how his sister tried, without complete success, to hide her horror.
“Oh? For what reason would one ban theater?”
