Page 69 of The Storybook Hero
“Oh, you must call me Augusta. And I hope we may call you Octavia. We have heard so much about you from Nicholas that I feel we are already … friends.”
“From Alex as well.” Olivia’s eyes held a mischievous twinkle. “I am Olivia. Knowing how exhausted you must be from the arduous sea journey, we decided to come fetch you ourselves.”
Octavia bit at her lip, too overwhelmed for the moment to reply.
“But I had planned—” Alex made another attempt to speak, only to be silenced yet again by Augusta.
“And no doubt overlooked any number of practical details. Men haven’t a clue about such things,” She gave an airy wave of her hand. “Run along with the children, Alex. We will bring our guest back to Wright House after we have made several stops in Bond Street.”
“Yes,” chimed in her sister-in-law. “I imagine Octavia could do with a few new gowns and sundries after all she has been through. We have already made a number of purchases. There are just a few final fittings to be done.”
“G-guest … g-gowns?” Somehow Octavia managed to recover her wits enough to stammer a reply. “S-surely you can’t mean for me to stay with you. Or to incur such extravagant expenseson my behalf. After all, I am a complete stranger, naught but a country parson’s?—”
“Nonsense! As far as we are concerned …” Augusta stole a sly look at Alex. “… you are part of the family.”
“You journeyed through the wilds of Russia with two cold, tired children and Alex, all the while braving wolves, kidnappers and Bonaparte’s army?” added Olivia, her lips taking on a humorous twitch. “My dear, you deserve more than a few gowns—you deserve a medal.” A pause. “On second thought, you deserve a whole row of them.”
Octavia’s gaze darted from the two smiling faces to Alex’s countenance. His wore a more enigmatic expression. What were his feelings about the prospect of being together under the same roof, if only for a short while? There was, she admitted to herself, little question as to her own emotions. While she had managed to feign an outward indifference to his presence, the thought of a reunion, however temporary, had her insides sliding around like jellied aspic.
Her jaw tightened. But only a naive gudgeon would fail to see that real life rarely provided a storybook ending. There was no point in starting another chapter, one that would only result in more … disappointment.
“It is a most generous offer, but I am afraid I cannot possibly accept it.”
Neither of the ladies batted an eye at her refusal.
“Of course you can,” replied Augusta firmly. “Both you and Emma would be much more comfortable with us Wright House rather than in some hotel surrounded by strangers.”
As there was no credible argument to that, she stared down at the tips of her half boots, hoping to hide the flicker of longing that lit in her face for just an instant.
“Besides, Nicky would be quite devastated. The stack of books he has picked out for his young friend reaches nearly to the ceiling of the schoolroom.”
“But—”
“No more ‘buts’ about it.” Octavia suddenly found herself between the two ladies, being whisked toward the waiting carriage. “Come along. We must hurry. One of the first little rules you must learn here in Town is not to be late for an appointment with Madame Celeste.”
Hell’s teeth!
Alex listened in glum silence as his sisters-in-law regaled their guest with yet another pithy bit of gossip about Prinny and the Carlton set. If they were trying to help improve his standing with Octavia, he groused to himself, they were certainly going about it in a deucedly peculiar fashion!
He hadn’t had the chance to exchange a private word with her since her arrival at Wright House four days ago. If truth be told, he had scarcely set eyes on her, what with the flurry of sightseeing activities and shopping expeditions that his relatives has organized for her and the children.
At the moment, however, his eyes were riveted on the lady in question. From his seat at the far end of the breakfast table, he had a clear view of the stylish new sprigged muslin day dress she was wearing. Despite its modest cut, it still exposed a good deal more of her creamy flesh than he was used to seeing. The design also emphasized the natural curves of her figure instead of shrouding them in a billow of sack-like folds. The sight was rather … mesmerizing.
“…. isn’t that right, Alex?” Augusta turned, one brow rising in pointed question.
He ceased cutting the piece of bacon on his plate into mincemeat. “Er, yes,” he mumbled, although he had absolutely no idea what had just be asked. “Of course.”
“You see!” She looked back to Octavia with a triumphant smile. “There is no need to put off the planned drive through Hyde Park just because Olivia and I must call upon poor Lady Crenshaw, seeing as her gout has taken a turn for the worse. I told you Alex would be delighted to serve as escort to you and the children.”
The thought of the four of them together, just like old times, caused his throat to constrict for a moment. It was not exactly the private moment he had been hoping for, but given the swirl of Leighs that had surrounded her of late, it was, at least, a step in the right direction.
Octavia must have caught the tightening of his expression, for her own face became a bit pinched. “Perhaps Lord Alexander has other plans?—”
“Of course Alex has no other plans. And if he did, he would simply have to change them.” Olivia took a bite of her toast. “It is a perfect morning for such an outing. Nothing like a bit of bright sunshine and fresh air to clear the head and invigorate the spirit. Now run along, both of you, before any grey clouds blow in to spoil the opportunity.”
As Alex rose, he could have sworn that both of his relatives gave him a surreptitious wink.
The carriage was brought around without delay and the little party was soon tooling through the gates at Park Lane. Olivia’s pronouncement was indeed correct—the day was mild for so late in autumn, the sun a large, buttery orb whose radiance took all the chill from the brisk breeze. Alex found himself wishing his mood might feel nearly as bright, for while the children kept upa steady patter of exuberant comments, Octavia had yet to utter so much as a word.
