His By Christmas (Hamilton Sisters) (21 page)

More than anything, he loved how she felt when he kissed her and held her in his arms. It felt as if she belonged to him.

Jeffrey Eddington stood there, immobile, staring at the woman he loved as she sat beside her sister. Tears streamed down her pretty face and he was powerless to help her. Hell, he was more than likely the cause of her distress, for all that she was pretending he wasn’t. He wanted to be the one to comfort her. He wanted to hold her, and kiss her, and tell her that everything would be all right, that he would make it all right.

Somehow he had fallen in love with Yvette Hamilton, and God help him, he didn’t quite know what to do about it. Yvette couldn’t love him. She certainly didn’t want to marry him and he had nothing but a scandalous past to offer her. He was nothing but a rogue and an illegitimate son. He couldn’t make her a duchess as she deserved to be. He was not good enough for her. It was a hopeless situation. Even if there was the slightest chance that she loved him back, her family would never understand or approve of such a
liaison
between them. Why, Lucien would surely kill him for taking advantage of his wife’s little sister! And rightfully so.

What a god-awful mess he had made of things!

He was a complete and utter fool. An idiot. An infamous rogue caught in his own trap.

How the hell had he fallen in love with Yvette Hamilton?

“Jeffrey, why don’t you and I go downstairs and have a drink?” Declan Reeves asked, with a wry grin. “We’ll leave the two girls here alone to talk. I know I could use a drink and by the look of you, I’m sure you could use one too.”

Jeffrey, glancing at the pair of sisters on the sofa, now both crying, readily agreed with Paulette’s Irish earl.

A strong drink was most desperately called for about now.

21

In the Spirit

“Let’s see you stand,
Maman
,” Colette Hamilton Sinclair coaxed her mother gently, as she held on to her arm.

Genevieve stood, her thin body shaking, and clutched her ornate gold cane tightly. She looked up at her daughter proudly. “See? I can do it. I can stand on my own.
Regarde-moi. Je suis là debout sur mes deux pieds. Je me sens mieux, n’est-ce pas?
” Although slightly slurred, her words were understandable.

“That’s wonderful!” Colette clapped her hands in delight, relief flooding through her.

Genevieve was so much better than she had feared while sailing home. Colette had imagined all sorts of dreadful prospects and luckily none of them had come to pass, but still the dramatic change in Genevieve’s appearance was shocking nonetheless. Her mother was not completely bedridden and her speech was intelligible, but she looked much thinner and frailer and there was something different about her face. All things considered though, Colette was more than relieved at seeing her mother again.

“Oh, Mother, you are doing so well!” Juliette said, watching with bated breath.

Genevieve suddenly stumbled, about to topple over, and Colette reached out to catch her, just in time.

“Oh, let me help you!” cried Colette. Then Fanny rushed over to assist her in getting Genevieve settled safely in her bed once again.

“I am happy you are both home,” Genevieve said.
“Je suis ravie que vous soyiez revenues.”

“We are happy to be home with you,
Maman
,” Colette said, smoothing her mother’s hair.

Genevieve frowned. “I have a headache.
J’ai besoin de me reposer. J’ai mal à la tête. Je n’aime pas ça.
”

“Yes, it is time for her nap now, girls.” Fanny looked at both Juliette and Colette, dismissing them with her eyes.

“I suppose you shall make me live here with you now,” their mother said, closing her eyes in weariness.
“Je suppose que tu vas m’obliger à rester à Londres maintenant. Est-ce que j’ai le choix?”

Colette sighed. “We’ll talk about that later,
Maman
.”

As bossy as ever, Fanny pushed them out. “Your mother is tired and needs her rest. Come back in to see her after supper.”

“Yes, of course, Fanny. Oh, Mother, we’re so happy to be home again and to see you so improved! This is going to be a very happy Christmas, with all of us together. We’ll let you sleep and visit you later.” Colette kissed her mother’s cheek, as did Juliette.

They both left the bedroom, slowly walking down the long upstairs hall of Devon House together.

“She looks much better than I expected from Yvette’s letter,” Juliette remarked.

“Yes, thank goodness,” Colette agreed. “But I’m wondering what we shall do about her. She’s right, you know. She’ll have to stay here. We can’t have her go back to Brighton and continue to live in that cottage alone. Not anymore.”

“She’ll never agree to live in London again. She hates the city.”

“She has made that fact quite clear over the years, but I’m afraid she won’t have much of a choice in the matter, just as she said. Lucien and I would gladly welcome her to stay with us, where she can be looked after properly with a trained nurse, not just relying on Fanny.”

Juliette shook her head ominously. “I agree with you, Colette, but you know how Mother is. She will be very difficult to persuade.”

“Perhaps not now that she’s ill. All of her care cannot rest on poor Fanny’s shoulders. She must realize that. I’m going to employ a trained nurse to help out immediate—”

A sudden high-pitched scream from the nursery caught their attention. The two sisters exchanged knowing glances. More shrieks ensued, followed by some very irate shouting.

“That sounds like my daughter,” Juliette said, looking weary. “I’ll go see what trouble she is causing this time. Perhaps while you’re looking for a nurse for Mother, you could find a very strict governess who can handle little Miss Sara Fleming for me?”

Colette laughed at her sister. “I shall see what I can do. You run along and solve the problems in the nursery, and I’ll go downstairs to see if the rest of our trunks have arrived from the ship yet.”

Grumbling in annoyance, Juliette continued on to the nursery. She called back, “I know she’s my retribution for all the heartache I caused our parents.”

“I know you’re absolutely right about that!” Again Colette laughed, knowing that Juliette’s high-spirited daughter had indeed inherited not only her mother’s looks, but also most definitely her personality. The three children, Sara, Phillip, and Simon, had grown weary of each other’s company after months together in New Jersey and a week crossing the Atlantic in close quarters on the
Sea Minx
. They had all just arrived at Devon House earlier that day and were still unpacking and settling in, and the children had been sent to the nursery. Obviously things were not going well.

“Paulette and Lisette will be here later, so there will be some new children for them to play with. Console them with that thought,” Colette called after her sister, before making her way down the massive staircase.

It was good to be back home again. Colette had missed her beautiful house. But most of all she missed the bookshops! It was the longest she had ever been away from them. Her plan was to visit them first thing in the morning. However, she still had the great tasks of unpacking and readying Devon House for Christmas ahead of her yet. Not to mention the dilemma of what to do with their mother.

As she reached the bottom of the staircase, Granger was opening the front door for Jeffrey Eddington. Colette broke into a smile at the sight of him looking as debonair as ever.

“Jeffrey!” she called in delight.

He looked up at her in surprise. Then his expression turned to joy and he grinned broadly. “Colette!” He rushed to meet her with a warm embrace. “When did you return home?”

“This morning!” Colette hugged him tightly. “Oh, it’s so good to see you! I wasn’t expecting to see you here so soon!”

“I was coming to see Yvette.” He paused at her confused expression and added hastily, “And your mother. I check in on them both every day.”

“Oh, how sweet of you!”

“How was your crossing?” he asked. “Did you enjoy America? Where is Lucien? And Juliette and Harrison?”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, we have so much to talk about! Harrison is still at the dock with his ship, Lucien’s in his study, and Juliette is upstairs, trying to wrangle her daughter.”

Jeffrey laughed. “I saw Paulette and Declan last night when they arrived, so now everyone is home again.”

“Yes, we’re all home for Christmas this year! Isn’t it wonderful?” Colette took his hand in hers, happy to see her friend again. “Come sit with me while I rest for a moment, have some tea, and figure out which tasks need my attention first. Lucien is in his study, going through piles of correspondence. You can go see him only after you’ve had a good long talk with me.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Jeffrey followed her to the drawing room.

“So, tell me everything,” she said to him when they were alone.

Jeffrey, frozen in his tracks, looked quite panic-stricken for a moment, almost guilty. “What do you mean?”

Perplexed, she stared at him. How odd! Why would Jeffrey look guilty? She could not recall ever seeing him look anxious about anything before. “I want to know all about what happened with Mother. Yvette told me that you were an immense help to her.”

His brows furrowed and his eyes glanced at her questioning. “Where is Yvette this afternoon? Is she upstairs?”

“She ran out for a fitting at her dressmaker. You know how Yvette is. Your father’s annual Christmas ball is coming up and she wants to make sure her new gown will be perfect. We’re all going to be there. I think it may be the first time ever that all five of the Hamilton sisters will be attending the same ball together.”

He relaxed considerably at her words and smiled again. “Now that fact alone will ensure that my father’s Christmas ball will be a resounding success.”

“I’m rather looking forward to it myself. It’s so nice to be back home.” Colette sat upon a chair. “Now, tell me everything.”

“I’m sure you know all of it by now,” he said, taking a seat near her. “You have seen your mother, of course? Don’t you think she looks well?”

Colette sighed. “Yes and no. She’s not as bad as I imagined, but not as good as I had hoped.”

Jeffrey’s expression turned grim. “You’ve no idea how bad it was that first night, Colette. Your mother gave Yvette and me quite a fright.”

“They were both fortunate you were there when it happened. Mother and Yvette have been singing your praises. Especially Yvette.”

He grew almost bashful at her compliments. “Thank you, but I did nothing anyone else wouldn’t have done given a similar situation. I care deeply for her.”

“Her?” Colette raised a brow.

“Your mother,” he amended hastily. “I care for your mother and for your sister.”

“Of course you do. We all care for you too, Jeffrey. I hope you know that.” She nodded, but kept an eye on him. Jeffrey was acting quite peculiar this afternoon. “And I am most grateful to you for all that you did for us while we were away. I think Lucien was only able to enjoy our trip because he knew that you were watching over Yvette.”

Jeffrey looked a bit sheepish. “He told you about that, did he?”

“Yes. My husband usually tells me everything. Sooner or later.” She smiled at him and paused before adding, “Yvette told me all about Lord Shelley this morning, although we already knew from your letters to Lucien. Do you really think he’s going to propose to her?”

Jeffrey’s expression darkened. “Yes. Lord Shelley seems quite set on her.”

“What is he like?”

He shrugged. “He’s a nice enough fellow. There’s nothing wrong with him at all. In fact, he has much to recommend him. It’s just . . .” He shook his head.

“You don’t like him, do you?” Colette asked.

“No, it’s not that. Whether or not I like the man has no bearing on the situation in the least. However . . .”

“However,” she prompted him. It wasn’t like Jeffrey to hold back on giving his opinion.

“Well, I don’t think Yvette will be happy if she marries him.”

“Why ever not?”

“It’s just a feeling I have.”

“Have you mentioned this to Yvette?”

He seemed a bit reluctant to admit it, but he said, “Yes, I have.”

“Well, what did she say to that?”

He shrugged casually, although he looked a bit pained. “She is still intent on marrying him, regardless of what I say to her.”

“I see.” Colette had the oddest feeling that there was more to the story than Jeffrey was admitting. “She’s attending Lady Deane’s ball with him this evening.”

“Is she?”

Again, there was a distinct look of displeasure on Jeffrey’s face. Surely Colette was not imagining it! He certainly did not care for the idea of Yvette being with Lord Shelley. “Yes, she mentioned that she wouldn’t be dining with us this evening, because she had promised Lord Shelley that she would attend the ball.”

“I see.”

Colette hesitated. She knew her younger sister quite well. “It would be just like Yvette to think that being a duchess would make her happy. Yvette said Lord Shelley is quite anxious to meet all of us and now I must say I’m most eager to meet him. He’s coming to Devon House for tea tomorrow afternoon. I will let you know what I think after I see them together. But if any of my sisters was born to be a duchess, it’s Yvette.”

Jeffrey did not say a word, but his expression grew grim.

Colette shook her head at his gloominess. “Come now, Jeffrey. You’ve known Yvette and her romantic notions since she was a child. Becoming a duchess is romantic to her. I’m sure she will be fine.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” he muttered rather ominously.

Colette’s heart skipped a beat as a reason for Jeffrey’s reluctance to accept Yvette’s choice occurred to her. “Is there something you’re keeping from me? Do you know something we don’t about Lord Shelley? You don’t think he’d be the type to strike her or anything like that, do you?”

“No, of course not!” he protested heatedly. “I would lock her up in her room if I thought she was placing herself in that kind of danger.”