Beauty Tempts the Beast (Sins for All Seasons #6) - Lorraine Heath Page 0,90
each line, Althea turned to Benedict, who was little more than a blur through the veil of tears she’d been unable to blink into submission. “Did you know that’s where this project was headed?”
As he handed her his linen handkerchief, he slowly nodded. “Finn and Lavinia wanted to give Robin our name, asked our permission, and since we were all in agreement, we wanted to do it in a way that let him know he was part of all of us.”
She dabbed at her eyes, at the tears. Such a simple gesture and yet its impact couldn’t be measured, would change the manner in which the boy viewed himself. She might possibly never have another moment like this, of sharing in the giving of a gift that had not cost a single penny but was still more valuable than gold.
As she sat there clutching the linen of a remarkably generous man, surrounded by the members of his incredibly kind and thoughtful family, she didn’t know why happiness rested in returning to Society, why she had put such value on its embrace.
If she became another man’s mistress, she would likely never see Benedict again, would most certainly never be alone with him again. She would have no more evenings of sitting in a library and talking. No more moments of discovering yet another facet of this layered, complicated man.
“Well done,” Aiden announced, and she glanced over to see that Robin had finished painting the E and was wearing a broad smile that had to be causing his jaw to ache. “When the canvas is dry, we’ll frame it and you can hang it in your bedchamber, so you don’t forget you’re a Trewlove now.”
“I won’t forget,” Robin said with such earnestness that Althea had to use the linen once again. “Ever.”
As Robin strutted back to his place, she couldn’t help but believe that any woman Benedict took to wife would emanate the same sort of pride at sharing his name.
“Coming down quite heavily as a matter of fact,” Thorne added.
“Mum, Finn, and Lavinia were already planning to stay the night. Everyone else must stay as well. We have ample room.”
“Gillie, we didn’t bring any clothes with us,” Fancy said.
“Wear tomorrow what you’re wearing tonight. Your safety is more important than changing your frock. When you retire, you can borrow one of my nightdresses. I have plenty to go around. Think of the poor horses, drivers, and footmen going out in this. And what if it’s so thick on the streets tomorrow that you can’t join us?”
Althea paid no heed to the myriad voices over her shoulder as the others discussed the consequences of their options. Her gaze had returned to Benedict’s as though she needed confirmation that he’d not melted away, but was real, had never been only a dream.
“Do you want to remain or leave?” he asked quietly.
“They’re your family. The choice should be yours.”
“Are you comfortable being among them?”
They were like being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold day. “Yes.”
“We’ll stay then, shall we?”
Chapter 21
Althea lay in the bed, in a nightdress that fairly swallowed her since her hostess was several inches taller than she was, staring at the window where distant streetlamps or garden lamps provided just enough light to reveal that big fat snowflakes continued to fall as the wind whistled eerily beyond the glass.
Everyone had decided to stay, and the remainder of the night had seen a good bit of alcohol consumed following a sumptuous dinner. Robin Trewlove had eaten with them, but afterward he and Mrs. Trewlove had gone up to bed. Althea had been concerned that an awkwardness between her and the ladies might settle in when the gentlemen went off to have their port, but this family apparently didn’t follow the tradition of giving men their time alone. Everyone had headed to the billiards room where Selena had soundly beaten Aiden three times.
At one point, when Althea was sitting on a sofa with Benedict, watching Aiden’s thrashing, Thorne had wandered over and crouched before them. “I was wondering if you might have any ships heading to South America in the near future.”
“What do you need from South America?”
“A toucan.”
“What the deuce is a toucan?”
“Colorful bird with a large beak.”
“What the devil is Robin going to do with a toucan?”
“What the devil does he do with the massive tortoise I gave him?”
Benedict had sighed, but it had lacked any true irritation for what was certain to