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A wistful smile crossed his face. “How can I forge?” His gaze went to Charles. “No one played that game better than Eris. She stumped me a couple of times.”
“It wasn’t quite as fun once you started to figure out the better hiding places,” Eris mused, “but it was a great way to pass the time.”
“Heather’s idea of fun was hiding in the library and eavesdropping on me and my friends,” Charles spoke up. “At other times, she would misplace my things and watch as I looked for them. Sometimes people think I act inappropriately, but they don’t realize how many times she lied when I told our parents what mischief she’d been up to.”
Eleanor didn’t hide her surprise. “Heather seems like such a proper lady whenever I see her.”
“She still has her moments, but I’m happy to say motherhood calmed her down considerably,” Charles replied.
“Sounds like you have some fun stories to share during dinner,” Byron commented.
“And you can tell us about how you caught Mr. Quimby by tracking lodging receipts,” Eris inserted.
Charles’ eyebrows furrowed. “Isn’t that the person who was stealing from several notable gentlemen around London?”
Eris nodded. “It is.”
“A lot of people were saying that the culprit was never going to get caught.” Charles turned to Byron. “I also want to hear how you managed to track him down. Algernon said that the gentlemen in White’s were up in arms about this thief. He said for the first time, everyone in the establishment got along.”
“A common enemy will bring a lot of people together,” Byron said.
The butler came into the room, and Eleanor saw that her father was with him. She hurried over to her father so he could see Cameron. He had come over the day Cameron was born, but Cameron had changed so much since then.
“I’m glad you could make it,” she told him.
He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I wouldn’t miss this evening for anything. How are you holding up after the birth?”
“I’m doing fine. I’ve been following Eris’ advice and taking things slowly.”
“Good. You don’t want to wear yourself out. Births are hard on ladies. It takes a lot to bring a little one into the world.”
“Well, Cameron is worth it. Would you like to hold him?”
Her father offered her a hesitant smile. “I would like to, but he’s so small. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“You won’t hurt him. Just hold your arms like I’m doing.”
He followed her instructions, and she placed the baby in his arms. Cameron opened his eyes then blinked as if he hadn’t expected to see someone looking down at him.
Her father laughed. “You won’t believe this, but shortly after you were born, I held you like this. I almost think I’m back in the past looking down at you right now. There’s a lot of you in this baby.” He swallowed. “I wish I hadn’t been in a hurry to run back to London. I thought it was so important that I secure a future for you by going back there to engage in business. I didn’t consider how much a child needed a parent.”
She squeezed his arm. “You’ve already apologized, Father. There’s no use in dwelling on the past. We can’t change it. The important thing is that you’re here now.”
He turned his tender gaze to her. “I promise you that I’ll make the most of this time.”
“I know you will.”
She gave him a hug then led him to the others where they had an enjoyable night.
Once in a while, I get asked if I’ve written books that feature prominent secondary characters that show up in my book. In this case, I have.
