London Loves - Book 3 - Love's Great Adventure Series (15 page)

“Uncle Max!” Mattie bellowed, running up the steps toward her uncle.

Max scooped her up in his arms and gave her a hug. “Hello, Mattie!”

“Did you have a nice honeymoon?”

“Yes, it was marvelous.”

“Do you have any pictures?”

“Martha, we just got here,” Sebastian chided. “Take a breath. Give Uncle Max some space.”

“Come inside, we’ll have some tea,” Penny said, ushering everyone into the house while the servants unloaded the bags from the car.

Mattie took the lead, followed closely by Sebastian and Maxwell, while Penny and Tess lagged behind. “You are glowing,” Tess complimented. “Did you have a wonderful time?”

Penny took Tess’ hand and gave a broad smile. “It was magical. I so hope I’m pregnant. I can’t wait to have little ones running about the place.”

“Mattie would love that.”

“Don’t you and Sebastian ever think about having another child?”

“Maybe in a few years. There’s still a lot I have to accomplish in my career before I go thinking about it.”

“But you’re so good with Mattie,”

Tess chuckled. If Penny only knew the struggles with depression she’d encountered throughout the pregnancy and after Mattie’s birth. Tess didn’t always feel like the perfect mother—in fact, she thought she was adequate, but that was all. It was the one thing she wasn’t perfect at, and it always nagged at her. Fortunately, Sebastian made up for her shortcomings in the parenting department. “Sebastian gets all the credit. Everything I’ve learned has been from him.”

Victoria and Sigourney joined them for dinner in the formal dining room later that evening. “I don’t understand how Max manages to keep Lily away, but I’m grateful,” Sebastian muttered to Sigourney, who sat next to him.

“That’s easy,” Sigourney responded, sipping her wine. “He’s given her the Mayfair house and tells her when he’ll be here so she doesn’t show up unexpectedly. It’s something similar to a shared visitation arrangement.”

“And she’s fine with this?”

“I doubt it, but she doesn’t speak of it.”

“So Max and Penny stay at her townhouse in Kensington when they’re in London?”

“Yes, it works out nicely for all parties involved,” Sigourney replied. “Honestly, I don’t understand why everyone can’t get along.”

“She kicked me out of the family. Maxwell invited her to the wedding and she choose not to attend. If you ask me, she’s the one with the problem.”

“She is stubborn, I’ll grant you that.”

“I’ve had enough drama to last me a lifetime. I’m better off without her in my life.”

“Sad but true.”

Max spoke up from the other end of the table. “I thought we could all go fox hunting tomorrow. What do you say?”

“I want to go!” Mattie said, squirming in her seat with excitement.

“Martha, you aren’t big enough to hunt yet. How many times to I need to explain this to you?” Sebastian questioned.

She turned her head to pout at her father and then looked at Tess. “Mummy?”

“Mattie, you are still learning to ride the pony. How about you and I go out for a ride tomorrow morning instead?”

The child shrugged her shoulders, resigned to her fate.

“When you are a little older and taller, I promise to teach you how to hunt,” Max chimed in to cheer up the little girl.

After dinner, everyone retired to the drawing room for drinks and a game of cards. It wasn’t bridge they played, however; somehow, Mattie conned everyone into a game of Go Fish. Sebastian sat back with Tess and watched as his brother and sisters played with his daughter.

“Of all the twist and turns that life could take, who would have thunk we’d end up here?” he said to Tess.

“With Mattie teaching a group of aristocrats how to play cards?”

“Exactly.”

“Our baby girl is pretty spectacular,” Tess agreed. “I know the first couple of years were bumpy. I could certainly have handled it better. We’re so blessed we have her, Bas.”

Sebastian kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”

“Okay,” she grinned, leaning her head against his shoulder.

The next day, the group was dressed in their riding attire and took off for a morning of sport. Tess and Mattie stayed behind for a leisurely ride around the grounds. The fog was just lifting off the dewy, verdant land as the hunting dogs raced forward and the riders followed behind at a gallop.

Sebastian enjoyed pushing the horse to its limits, jumping fences and feeling the sinewy muscles of the animal move under him. The fast pace of the horse and the adrenaline coursing through his veins warded off the chill in the air. He was racing alongside Maxwell, who gave him a sideways glance and grinned before kicking his horse to proceed faster, inching ahead of Sebastian.

Laughing, Sebastian wasn’t about to give up the challenge and forged ahead in an attempt to beat Max, leaving his sisters far behind. As the animal gained speed and he was catching up to his brother, Max’s horse reared tall with a loud whinny. Max was thrown backwards off the horse, who dropped to the ground next to Max. The horse writhed in pain.

Sebastian pulled on the reins hard to stop his horse. He jumped off the saddle and ran toward his fallen brother. “Max!” he yelled, falling to his knees and touching Max’s chest. Maxwell’s neck was twisted in an unnatural position, his blue eyes open wide, staring at Sebastian.

It was in that moment that he heard Penny scream. “No!”

Sebastian checked his wrist for a pulse and placed his hand in front of Max’s mouth for any signs of breathing. Nothing. “Fuck! Max, don’t do this!” he shouted.

When Penny reached them, she dropped to her knees and took Max’s hand, staring at him in shock. Sigourney and Victoria rode in on their horses.

“Get an ambulance,” Sebastian instructed.

His sisters took off without a word, racing back to the house for help.

It took an interminable twenty minutes for the medic to arrive. During that time Penny remained still, on her knees and holding Max’s hand. There were no words spoken, no tears, just a shocked silence between Sebastian and Penny.

The stable hands had come to look at the horse. “Snake bite,” one said aloud. “Let’s get him back to the stable.”

Maxwell wasn’t that lucky: his neck had snapped in the fall, killing him instantly. It was certainly no comfort to any of his family. Sebastian pulled Penny away from her husband so the medics could do their work. They solemnly lifted Maxwell’s body off the ground and placed him on a stretcher. Penny buried her head in Sebastian’s chest to hide from the gruesome sight of her dead husband being driven away in an ambulance. Sebastian held onto her for dear life, as much for her sake as for his.

“Let’s go back to the house,” he gently urged.

“I’m not getting back on that horse,” Penny whispered.

“We’ll ride back with the stable hand,” he said, guiding her to the waiting truck.

Sebastian was relieved that Tess and Mattie were nowhere in sight when the truck pulled up to the back entrance of the castle. He didn’t want them to witness any of this. Penny clung to Sebastian as he walked her into the castle. Sigourney and Victoria were already back and had tea waiting in the sitting room. His sisters walked over to Penny, “Sit down, have some tea,” Victoria instructed.

“I don’t want any tea,” she muttered.

Sebastian walked over to the sideboard and poured two glasses of scotch. He handed one to Penny and kept the other for himself. They glanced at each other, feeling sad and deflated, and swallowed the scotch in one gulp together.

“We should call Mother,” Sigourney said to her siblings.

“You should do it,” Victoria agreed.

Sigourney nodded and quietly left the room.

Sebastian noticed Tess and Mattie standing in the doorway. Tess was holding Mattie back by the shoulder, a sad and confused look on her face. Penny looked up, too; then she burst into tears. Sebastian shook his head, a nonverbal plea for Tess to leave the room and take Mattie with her.

“Mummy, what’s wrong with Aunt Penny?” they heard her ask as Tess ushered her down the hallway.

Victoria handed Penny a tissue. Penny leaned her elbows on her thighs and placed her sobbing head in the palms of her hands. Victoria looked at Sebastian, unsure what to do next.

“Go find Sigourney. Give us some time alone,” he said.

Victoria agreed, and with that she walked out of the room and closed the heavy double doors behind her.

Tess and Mattie were sitting on the staircase, their expressions full of worry. Victoria walked over to them. “What’s happening?” Tess needed to know.

“Where’s Uncle Max?” Mattie repeated.

“I think Mattie should go back to the nursery. We need to talk.”

“I don’t like the sound of this, Victoria.”

“Please?”

“Mattie, please go to your room. Why don’t you read a book while I find out what’s happening, and I promise as soon as I know something, I’ll come upstairs and fill you in.”

“Okay, Mummy.” Mattie whispered, and slowly climbed the stairs to her room.

“You said Max fell off his horse when you came up to call the ambulance. Why didn’t Penny go with them to the hospital?”

Victoria winced at Tess’ question. The reaction provided the answer to her inquiry.

Tess closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “No, not now. How could this have happened?”

“The horse suffered a snake bite and reared. Max was thrown from the horse. He snapped his neck,” Victoria explained in a short burst of sentences.

Sigourney joined the two women. “Mother’s been notified. She’s getting the next flight out of Paris. She insists on making the funeral arrangements.”

“Shouldn’t that be Penny’s job?” Tess asked.

“I don’t know that she’s in any frame of mind to do that right now,” Victoria conceded.

“We should go see how she’s doing,” Sigourney said.

“No, Sebastian wanted some time alone with her. Leave them be for now.”

Penny was sobbing so hard, her entire body shook under Sebastian’s protective hold on her. He tried rubbing her back in slow circles to calm her. Either it was beginning to work or she was just running out of tears. A dozen wet tissues were scattered on the floor at her feet.

Penny took a deep breath and slowly blew it out, trying to regulate her breathing. Finally she said, “What do I do now?”

It was a very big question and Sebastian wasn’t sure how to respond. He took another tissue and gently dabbed the running mascara from her eyes, stalling to find the right words to comfort her.

Then she said, “What if I’m pregnant, Sebastian?”

“Then you’ll always have a piece of Maxwell here with you.”

“How can I raise a child alone?” she asked, her eyes brimming with tears once again.

“You aren’t alone. Tess and I will help you. If he can’t have his biological father, he can have me.”

The tears spilled over again. “It’s not fair. Why did this have to happen? Why now?”

“I don’t know, Pen,” he helplessly replied. “Do you want me to call the doctor? Maybe he can prescribe a sedative.”

Penny nodded in agreement. “Anything to not think. I want to sleep.”

The double doors partially opened and Sigourney popped her head into the room. Sebastian motioned for his sister to come forward. “Let me go call the doctor. Are you okay to stay here with Sigourney?”

Penny nodded again. Sebastian stood from the couch and pulled his sister aside.

In a hushed tone, she said, “I’ve informed Mother. She’s on her way.”

Resigned to the fact that he would have to face the woman he hated yet again, he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just as well. Penny is in no shape to handle funeral arrangements right now. Will you stay with her?”

“Of course.”

Sebastian left the room to find Victoria and Tess talking by the stairs. They looked to him for answers that he didn’t have. “Where’s Mattie?” he asked them instead.

“In the nursery. I promised I’d go talk to her when I had information,” Tess replied.

In the whirlwind of emotions, he’d forgotten he’d have to explain this all to Mattie. Crestfallen, he looked at Victoria. “Can you ring the doctor for Penny? She wants Valium.”

Victoria agreed and left the couple alone. With that, Sebastian pulled his wife into his arms and kissed her for all he was worth. “Are you okay?” Tess asked, caressing the side of his face.

“No. All I keep thinking is ‘thank God it wasn’t me.’”

“I keep thinking the same thing, Bas. We’d be lost without you.”

“This is so fucked up. They just got married. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“It doesn’t seem real,” Tess admitted. “Should we tell Mattie?”

“Let’s go hold our girl and give her the bad news,” Sebastian agreed.

They held hands as they ascended the marble staircase and made their way to Mattie’s room.

Inside the nursery, Mattie was sitting cross-legged looking through a picture book. She smiled when her parents entered the room.

“Mummy, can you tell me now?”

Tess sat on the bed to the right of Mattie. Sebastian sat on her left and pulled her onto his lap. “Uncle Max had an accident today,” Sebastian began.

“Is he okay?”

“No, he was hurt very badly and he died,” Tess responded.

Mattie looked up at Sebastian and then looked at Tess. “But I had breakfast with him this morning,” Mattie stated in confusion.

“He fell off his horse when we were hunting, Mattie. It was a terrible accident. Sometimes bad things happen to good people,” Sebastian further explained.

“What happens when you die?”

“You go to heaven to be reunited with all the people you love who died before you,” Tess explained.

“So I’ll get to see Uncle Max again someday?”

Sebastian chuckled. It was all he could do, astonished by the way his little girl was handling the situation. “Yes, you get to see him again, but not for a very long time.”

“Daddy, promise me you won’t go hunting again. I don’t want you to die,” Mattie said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Tess rubbed a tear away with the back of her hand and glanced at Sebastian.