Page 61 of Every Rake Has A Silver Lining

After removing Kitty from Georgie’s inexperienced arms, he soothed her just enough to quiet her wails to sobs. Then he gave her to Charlotte, positioning her securely. “Cradle her head in the crook of your elbow. There. That’s it. Now, place your other hand here.” He moved Charlotte’s other arm under the baby’s back. “Support her and give her back gentle pats. That’s it. Now, the most important part. Relax and smile at her. Don’t frown at her like she’s me.”

Charlotte actually laughed, and Kitty ceased mid-sob, gazing up into Charlotte’s face with the wonder only a baby can manage.

Or so he thought until Charlotte’s face brightened with the same expression. “I did it!”

“You did.” Not quite painful, but still disconcerting, the twinge in his chest took him off guard. He did what he always did. He deflected. “Thanks to me.”

“Hmph! Your head is already inflated. Isn’t it, Kitty?” Kitty stirred, her rosebud mouth puckering and preparing for another onset of objection.

Simon prepared to pluck the child from Charlotte’s arms, but Charlotte quickly soothed Kitty back into submission.

Well, I’ll be damned.

“Don’t mind him, little one. He’s very full of himself, and we ladies cannot let him get the best of us.”

Seeing Charlotte’s confidence with Kitty grow diminished the insult she’d flung his way. But Simon also paid heed to her words.They were no surprise, but if he could still his mind long enough, he would ponder them later. Perhaps they provided a clue to wooing her.

When the nanny stepped in and removed the baby, she clucked her tongue over the fact that it wasn’t good for a newborn to be held so much.

Simon rather thought holding an infant was the best possible thing for them, ensuring they felt loved and secure. However, he conceded that too many hands on the child might not be the best.

With the lure of cuddling an infant gone, and after Aunt Kitty departed, Simon instructed the servants to pack his family’s trunks first, then his and Charlotte’s.

Three hours later, his mother squished his face in her hands as she bade him a tearful goodbye.

“We should be less than a day behind you. You act like I’m enlisting in the military again.”

“You’re too old for that,” Kate said. “Your decrepit bones couldn’t handle it.”

Next to him, Charlotte uttered a laugh before his father engulfed her in a hug. “I’m overjoyed you’re part of our family, Lady Charlotte. Keep this rapscallion in line!”

“I shall make it my life’s mission,” his wife answered, no doubt planning multiple ways to vex him.

“Maybe we can hold a ball in Swindon’s assembly hall in your honor,” Beth said.

Frannie rolled her eyes.

“If they can pull themselves away from each other,” Rebecca said.

“Promise you’ll let me take you around the estate?” Georgie asked.

“I . . . promise,” Charlotte answered.

Curious. Why did she hesitate?

As the carriage drove off, disappearing in the busy streets ofMayfair, he said, “If you don’t want Georgie to show you around, I’ll make your excuses.”

“It’s not that. Exploring your family’s estate will occupy my mind while you’re out murdering animals and torturing the fish.”

He laughed. “You do have a way with words.” He studied her. “I’d like for us not to keep secrets from one another. We may not have what Drake and Honoria do, but it could at least be a civil marriage. Why did you hesitate to promise?”

“It made me think of a promise I made to Honoria.”

“Oh?” He waited a moment.

“To give you a chance.” Without further explanation, she left, leaving him enveloped in lilac and a flicker of hope.

Unlike the day before, Simon stayed at home, spending the time instructing the staff and imploring them to handle as much as possible without bothering Drake. “Don’t plague His Grace with questions,” he said to the footmen gathered. “Frampton is your first line of defense.”

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