The Girl is Not For Christmas - Emma V Leech Page 0,94
put her in better humour, as it was good for her pineapples.
“Charlie, I’m so glad you’re home,” she said with a smile. “Do hurry up to see Ceci, she’s missed you dreadfully.”
She embraced her brother warmly, which rather surprised King as he knew how angry she was with him. Personally, he wanted to break the fool’s nose, not hug him, but then Charlie wasn’t his brother. He’d never had a sibling, so must assume that was normal.
Charlie paled visibly at mention of his beloved.
“She’s not ill, is she?” he asked in alarm.
Livvy shook her head but took both of Charlie’s hand’s lowering her voice. “No, no, she is quite well and apart from missing you, in good spirits, but… Oh, Charlie, I’m afraid she lost the baby. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh,” her brother’s face fell, and King was glad not to have come storming out to confront him as his temper had wanted him to.
The man looked as if he’d just been punched in the gut.
“Oh, well. Not to be, then. I… I suppose… for the best,” he said, but with such a sorrowful smile King knew he didn’t mean it.
For all that Charlie was a blasted fool who couldn’t keep a shilling in his pocket if there was something idiotic to spend it on, he loved his family, that much was obvious.
“Papa! Papa!”
A chorus of little voices echoed from inside the house, and a moment later Charlie disappeared under the onslaught of children. His sorrow vanished in the light of his warm greeting and he hugged each child, handing out lemon drops in return for a kiss. A burst of jealousy ripped through King, so intense it stole his breath. Not because the children wanted to greet their father and did not run to him, not that. Just that… that Charlie had all this. King had always known he’d wanted this too, a home, a family, but he hadn’t quite realised how badly, how deep the wound had been when his father had tied his future up with some silly child he would feel more a father to than a husband. God, the idea sickened him.
“Ah, Boscawen. A word, if I may.”
King stiffened as he turned towards the voice, the sound of footsteps having been drowned out by the children’s excitement. He looked to Livvy, who shrank back, moving towards him. King wondered if she knew she’d done it and felt a burst of pride in knowing she felt she could rely on him, and utter fury that this creature could make Livvy shrink away. His bold, fierce Livvy who looked the world square in the eye was afraid of this man, and that made him furious.
He went to move forward, to tell Mr Skewes to get the hell away from her, but Livvy caught his sleeve. Her eyes held a warning light as he glanced back. Not your place, they said silently.
King clenched his fists, frustrated by the knowledge that she was correct.
“Mr Skewes,” Charlie replied, smiling warmly, and holding out a hand to his neighbour. “Good to see you.”
“I wish I might believe you, my lord,” Mr Skewes said, an angry edge to his reply. “I’m afraid I have come to doubt my welcome in this house.”
His cold blue eyes glared at Livvy and King moved in front of her, blocking his view, meeting that hard stare with one of his own.
Charlie glanced between Skewes and his sister, and then King.
“I’m afraid I don’t follow, Mr Skewes,” he said. “Come along into my study and we can talk in private. I’ll have some tea brought. I’m parched, I don’t mind telling you. Such a journey…”
“Oh, stop prattling on, you damned fool,” Mr Skewes said. “Your sister has made me a laughingstock, telling the whole bloody world that she’d not marry me if I were the last eligible man in the country. Well, either she marries me before the year is out or you can all take up residence in debtor’s prison for all I care. You can bloody rot there.”
Charlie gaped, clearly never having seen this side of Mr Skewes before now, nor having suspected it was there. The fellow never could see when someone was playing him for a fool; he’d been a magnet for bullies at school.
The children gasped, huddling around their father at the man’s words, which had clearly terrified them. Anger rose in King’s chest and he stepped forward, but a furious Livvy pushed past him.