Page 92 of His Duchess of Scandal
Having seen them so tense around one another, all the times Phoebe had cried, and the endless scolding she had received, to hear them laughing together made something click into place.
Hermia had always been a pillar for her sisters. She had kept them strong and steady even on the days she had not felt able to. But here… here, this felt like the most natural thing.
She had been brought into this family as a mother figure, but she had not anticipated how seamless it would become to simply look at Charles and Phoebe and think,family.
Her husband glanced back at her over his shoulder, beckoning her over when they moved on from the parrot. As they walked away, the bird’s squawks rose in the air, delighting more families, but Phoebe had already pulled free from Charles and dashed onwards, finding a herd of lions in their den.
“Careful, now,” Charles warned.
“Papa, they are behind big gates—” She squeaked when, behind those big gates, a lion roared.
She laughed but stumbled back from the gates. Hermia couldn’t help but notice how she moved closer to Charles, seeking his protection and safety. He blinked in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected it, but he held her close.
Suddenly, from further down the pathway, a cry went up, followed by more laughter.
“The blasted thing took my wife’s handkerchief!”
Phoebe perked up at the accusation, and she ran towards the crowd gathered around a monkey enclosure. Sure enough, a fast monkey darted back from the fence, chittering away as it clutched a cream-colored handkerchief.
While the man cried out again, the old woman next to him was red-faced with laughter.
“Oh, it is one of many,” she gasped. “I am having more fun watching it run around with my handkerchief.”
Still, the onlookers clutched their belongings closer.
Phoebe grinned up at a young lady who toyed with her bonnet. Hermia could already see the wonder in her eyes.
“Have you ever thought of what a monkey might look like wearing a lady’s bonnet?” she whispered.
Phoebe giggled, catching Charles’s attention.
“What are you two conspiring about?” he asked.
“Nothing, Papa!” Phoebe leaned in. “Perhaps one monkey can take Papa’s top hat. I think it would look very handsome, just like him! Youdothink my papa is handsome, do you not, Hermia?”
Hermia’s eyes rose to Charles almost bashfully, not used to being so open about her attraction to him. “I do,” she confessed.
Charles looked back at her, listening but saying nothing.
“But I fear he knows it already.”
“Me too,” Phoebe whispered. “So, we shall not tell him to his face.”
Hermia laughed at the innocence of it all, guiding Phoebe to another enclosure. This one contained another lion, and she realized they had gone in a small circle, lost to the crowd being entertained by the bold monkey.
This time, Phoebe didn’t jump back when a lion roared. Instead, she joined in, tossing her head back and shaking her hair out.
A loud, unruly roar slipped out of her mouth, making Charles jerk his head around in disbelief. Hermia could not hold in her own roar of laughter at his reaction.
Nearby, a governess who was clutching a small boy’s hand jumped in fright. “Heavens!” she cried. Her eyes cut to Charles and Hermia disapprovingly.
Hermia tensed, waiting for Charles to berate Phoebe for her behavior, but he only looked away from the governess.
“You make a fine lion, Phoebe,” he complimented with a grin.
“What about you, Papa? You should roar too! You would be the big lion of our family, like that one.”
Phoebe pointed to the lion that seemed to stand taller than the others, but Charles was already shaking his head and backing away with a good-natured laugh.
