His By Christmas (Hamilton Sisters) (5 page)

“This will be the easiest money I ever made.” James continued to smile, as he pumped Jeffrey’s hand with growing delight.

Withdrawing his hand from James’s grip, Jeffrey advised him coolly, “Don’t spend it yet, Cousin. You’d do well not to underestimate me.”

4

September Rain

“Yes,
Maman
, of course, I’m ready,” Yvette answered, adjusting the skirts of her new lavender gown. They were on their way to visit her sister Lisette and her new baby that afternoon. Yvette had intended to go riding in Green Park with Lord Shelley, but the drizzling rain had spoiled those plans.

“Then let us be on our way. I am weary of waiting for you.
Je suis fatiguée de t’attendre. Cela fait déjà dix minutes que j’attends. Dépêche-toi
,” her mother, Genevieve Hamilton, said impatiently while pounding her ornate cane on the floor to enhance the emphasis of her words.

“Well, let’s go then, shall we?” Yvette quickly ushered her mother into the waiting carriage, complete with the Sinclairs’ liveried footmen, that would carry them the short drive to her sister’s townhouse. Yvette would have preferred to walk there, but her mother was not able to make even such a short distance nor would she be able to tolerate the damp weather. There were a lot of things that Genevieve Hamilton could not abide and she was quite vocal about them. All the time.

It was too hot. It was too cold. Too many people came to visit them. Not enough people came to visit them. Her tea was not strong enough. Her tea was too strong. Didn’t anyone know how to make a proper cup of tea anymore? And what was the matter with the servants at Devon House? Didn’t Colette know how to train them properly? No one knew how to take care of her the way she wanted. She missed Brighton. London was a horrid, loud, and dirty city. On and on it went. All day. Every day. Nothing pleased her. Nothing satisfied her.

Yvette had protested vociferously against having her mother come to stay with her while Colette and Lucien were away, declaring that she was quite able to manage on her own. However, neither her sister nor her brother-in-law would budge on this matter. It was final. Appearances must be kept up and she was not to be left unattended. Genevieve Hamilton came to Devon House. Yvette consoled herself that she had won the battle to stay in London and not go to America. At least she had that triumph!

So her mother, with the air of a great martyr, reluctantly left her cottage by the sea in Brighton and came to stay with Yvette at Devon House. Genevieve had only been there a few days and already Yvette was exasperated with her. Her mother always had that effect on her. She would be glad to get to Lisette’s house and share the burden of her mother’s draining presence with another sister for a while.

As the carriage wended its way through the wet London streets, Yvette blocked out the incessant French ramblings and complaints about the bumpy roads and dreary weather from her mother and thought only of William Weatherly, Lord Shelley.

Lord Shelley had invited her to go riding in the park with him!

Yvette had been more than pleased with her progress with him since the ball the night before last. He was showing a definite marked interest in her. Not only had he danced with her, but he had also walked her out to the terrace, where they had conversed. They had talked easily together about nothing of true importance. She had seen the signs before in other gentlemen, but Lord Shelley seemed quite smitten with her. If one could call a future duke smitten!

Everything was going according to her plan. She sighed heavily, looking out the carriage window. If only for the rain, she would be with him now!

Instead, she had been obligated to accompany her mother to her sister’s home for the afternoon. Not that Yvette minded visiting her sister and her sweet little children. It was just that she would have preferred to be out in Green Park in Lord Shelley’s carriage, where everyone could see her with him.

“Are you still disappointed that your plans were changed, Yvette? I can see that your eyes are sad.
Tu as l’air très triste. Je peux lire une certaine déception dans tes yeux.
”

Surprised, Yvette turned to her mother.

“You think I am a foolish old woman who does not know what is going on around me. But I know, Yvette, I know.
Je sais ce à quoi tu penses. Tu penses que je suis insensée mais je ne le suis pas. J’en sais quelque chose. J’ai raison. J’en suis certaine.
You were looking forward to being with a certain gentleman today, were you not?”

“
Maman
, please.” The last thing Yvette wished to do was discuss her feelings for Lord Shelley with her mother.

“No need to say so. I am right, I know.”

“Well, yes,” Yvette admitted the truth with reluctance. “I was supposed to go riding with a very nice gentleman this afternoon. Had he come to the house, I would have introduced you.”

“Who is he?”

“Lord Shelley.”

“Ah, yes. Of course you would rather be with a handsome gentleman than visit your sister. It is only natural.
Mais bien sûr que tu voudrais être avec un bel homme. Quelle femme ne le voudrait pas?
I knew the truth of it. Tell me about him.”

“There’s nothing to tell yet, Mother.”

“Ha! That is a lie! Now, this gentleman is the reason you wished to stay in London and the reason I am here in London, a city I despise, and not in my comfortable house in Brighton, to watch over you. I am not a fool, Yvette
. Je ne suis pas dupe. J’insiste pour que tu m’en dises plus sur cet homme. Je saurai tout, tôt ou tard. Je le saurai.
I insist you tell me about him.”

“It’s nothing, Mother. Truly. There is nothing to tell at this point. He is a very kind gentleman who asked me to go riding with him. Because of the weather, we have postponed our outing. That’s all there is to tell.”

“I do not believe you. However if what you say is true, then you are a bigger fool than you think I am.” Genevieve laughed. “You will tell me before long! Mark my words.
J’ai raison. J’en suis certaine.
”

Yvette was grateful when they finally arrived at the pretty townhouse where Lisette lived with Quinton Roxbury, her architect husband. The footman helped her mother into the house just as the autumn rain began to fall in earnest. Yvette hurried up the steps behind them, managing to escape most of the rain.

“Oh, such a downpour! It is lucky I am not drowned.
Je déteste Londres. Je n’en peux plus de toute cette pluie. If y fait si froid et si humide,
” Genevieve exclaimed bitterly as Lisette rushed to greet them in the wide entry hall.

Their mother was in one of her dramatic moods, as always, and Yvette was fast losing patience with her. Luckily, her sister Lisette was there to take over. With her caring nature and calm sweetness, Lisette was the only one of all the Hamilton daughters who had the power to soothe their fractious mother when she was in one of her disagreeable dispositions.

“Oh,
Maman
, come sit by the fire and dry off,” Lisette exclaimed with worry, fussing over Genevieve and taking her cloak and handing it to her butler. “At least you aren’t too wet.”

“Ah,
ma petite fille
,” Genevieve murmured. “You look so well, so healthy, so beautiful. How is my newest little granddaughter, the sweet baby?”

Lisette beamed with pride. “Oh, Mother, she is absolutely perfect!”

Yvette hugged her sister, whispering low, “It hasn’t even been a week yet and Mother is quite literally driving me mad.”

“Of course she is,” Lisette whispered back with a secretive laugh. “What did you expect?”

“How shall I ever survive this?” The months until Christmas yawned before Yvette much like a prison sentence.

“You will survive though.” Lisette smiled at her in sympathy. Then she said loudly, “Come, both of you, and have some tea and visit with my daughter and me. Oh, and we have a surprise guest today too!” Lisette took Genevieve’s arm in hers and led her into the drawing room.

“A surprise guest?” Yvette wondered aloud as she followed her mother and sister into the Roxburys’ tastefully decorated parlor. A warm fire glowed in the grate to ward off the fall dampness, candles flickered brightly in the sconces against the rose-patterned wall paper, and an elegant table was set for tea with the finest china. It was a welcoming scene typical of Lisette.

Except for the sight of Jeffrey Eddington standing in the center of the room, with a baby sleeping peacefully in his arms.

She hadn’t expected to see Jeffrey at Lisette’s house today any more than she had at the ball the night before last. The memory of what he’d overheard her saying caused her cheeks to flush slightly. She still felt the shame of her words, even if she hadn’t meant them the way they must have sounded to him.

Now, here he was, with his dark black hair brushed back from his clean-shaven and impossibly handsome face and his sky blue eyes dancing with merriment. He looked quite at home holding Lisette’s infant daughter. In fact, he looked remarkably comfortable with a baby in his arms. The image stunned Yvette.

Surely she had seen him holding one of her nieces or nephews before! Hadn’t he held Phillip or Simon or Sara when they were babies? Or Thomas or one of Lisette’s twins? Why could she not recall a clear memory of that? Why did this scene, of Jeffrey holding baby Elizabeth so sweetly, unsettle her so much?

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he whispered, as he continued to gently rock Elizabeth in his strong arms.

“Ah,
monsieur
, what a sight for sore eyes you are!
Je suis toujours contente de vous voir. Vous êtes un beau scélérat, Lord Eddington, c’est bien pour cela que je vous adore.
” Genevieve grinned broadly at Jeffrey, who had always been a favorite of hers.

Lisette escorted their mother to a comfortable chair near the fire and covered her lap with a blanket.

“I told you we had a surprise guest,” Lisette explained, clearly delighted by the turn of events.

“What are you doing here, Jeffrey?” Yvette could not help but ask. She still had not moved from the doorway. At the sharp glance Lisette gave her, Yvette stammered, “What I meant was it’s such a surprise to see you here. We weren’t expecting you.”

Jeffrey flashed her one of his best grins. “I’ve been away so long that I hadn’t seen Quinton and Lisette’s newest addition. I didn’t know that you were going to be here today either, Yvette. Or you, Mrs. Hamilton. But I was delighted when Lisette said you would be joining us.” He walked over to her mother and handed her baby Elizabeth.

Slowly, Yvette took a seat on the sofa across from her mother. Such a goose she was being! She had never felt uncomfortable with Jeffrey Eddington before. He was family. Surely it was because he had seen her with Lord Shelley the night before last. Jeffrey was not stupid. He must have noticed her interest in Lord Shelley.

She had hoped to keep her interest in him a secret until they were more definite, when she was sure of his intentions and she could present him to her family as a
fait accompli
. How surprised they all would be when the baby of the Hamilton family became a duchess! They would finally see that she had grown up. How she longed for the day when everyone in her family could see that she was just as important as they were.

However, at this point it was still quite tenuous with Lord Shelley, and if things did not end well, she could not bear for her family to think she had somehow
lost
the chance for a duke.

With things going so well, now she only hoped Jeffrey wouldn’t give her away too soon. She wasn’t quite ready to reveal the wonderful news that a duke was interested in her. Silently, she pleaded with Jeffrey not to mention a word.

Giving her a curious look, Jeffrey took a seat beside her on the small sofa. Had his eyes always been so blue?

“Oh, my granddaughter is beautiful! Quite beautiful!” Genevieve exclaimed with pride, looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms.
“Ma petite-fille est belle.”

“I think she looks like Yvette.”

All three women stared at Jeffrey in surprise.

Genevieve looked down at the baby and then looked slowly back up at Jeffrey in astonishment. “
Quelle surprise!
I think you are right.”

“Elizabeth has Yvette’s fair coloring and blond hair,” Jeffrey continued. “Look, especially around the eyes.”

Yvette stared blankly at Jeffrey, then giggled. “That’s ridiculous. All I’ve heard my whole life is how alike all we Hamilton sisters look. Of course Elizabeth looks like me! She’s Lisette’s daughter and I look like Lisette and Lisette looks like me. And we both look like Colette, Juliette, and Paulette too. We’re all related.”

Jeffrey, shaking his head, continued to press his point. “You all look alike undoubtedly. But each of you has something special about her that sets her apart from the others. Something unique. You have that too, Yvette. I see it in little Elizabeth too.”

Genevieve smiled in delight. “You are a wise man, Lord Eddington, our darling Jeffrey. A most discerning gentleman
. Vous avez vraiment raison. Vous remarquez des choses que les autres ne voient pas. Vous êtes un homme sage.
He is right. Elizabeth favors her
tante
Yvette.” She placed a kiss on the baby’s forehead. “Yes, he is quite right. But then handsome gentlemen are usually right about matters concerning beautiful women.”

“Mother!” Lisette scolded lightly. “What a silly thing to say.”

Genevieve was insistent. “But it is true.
Ma petite-fille est belle. Quel beau bébé. Elizabeth ressemble vraiment à Yvette.
Elizabeth does look like Yvette! Our Jeffrey is quite correct.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hamilton.” Jeffrey bowed his head gallantly toward Genevieve. He obviously loved being right.

Lisette was about to reply when she was distracted by the arrival of her towheaded twin boys. Accompanied by their nurse, the tiny duo toddled into the parlor and scampered to the sofa where Yvette and Jeffrey were seated.