Page 35 of Duke of Emeralds
Relief washed over Thomas, loosening the knot between his shoulders. Practical matters were a welcome anchor. “Aye,” heagreed readily, the single syllable carrying more warmth than he intended. “The more the merrier. Your insight would be valuable, Colin.” He looked to Isaac for confirmation.
“Indeed,” Isaac nodded, his earlier amusement settling into his usual serious demeanor. “Your experience with the Copperton estates would be most welcome. We ride tomorrow at ten, weather permitting.”
“Capital!” Colin beamed. He raised his glass. “To new ventures, then. And profitable partnerships.”
Thomas and Isaac lifted their glasses in unison. “To new ventures,” Thomas echoed, the familiar burn of good whisky a grounding sensation.
Colin’s gaze slid back to Thomas, that familiar impish glint returning. “And,” he added, his voice dropping to a sly murmur, “to appeasing our weary Duchesses. May their country respite restore them… and their husbands’ peace of mind.”
Thomas froze, the glass halfway to his lips. The wordsour wary Duchessesechoed, sharp and specific. Hester.
The image of her flashed, unbidden: perhaps bent over a book in the library, sunlight catching the strands of her light brown hair, or walking the gardens with that quiet intensity.
The yearning surged back, potent and immediate, to simply see her.
CHAPTER 18
The needle pricked Hester’s finger just as the footman’s announcement cut through the afternoon quiet. “Your Grace, the Duchesses of Copperton and Craton, and Lady Nancy Gallagher.” Her embroidery hoop clattered to the floor, the half-finished blanket for the orphanage forgotten. Hester was already halfway to the foyer before she registered moving, her slippers whispering over polished oak.
“Oh!” The sight of Anna’s warm smile, Fiona’s serene glow, and Nancy’s irrepressible grin sent a rush of pure delight through her. “What an impeccable surprise!” She flung her arms around Anna first, breathing in the familiar scent of violets and parchment, then Fiona, whose embrace felt softer, fuller. “At least she’s not sending us away for dropping unannounced on her honeymoon,” Nancy declared, already unwinding her scarf with theatrical flair.
Hester pulled back, arching an eyebrow at her friend though her own lips twitched upwards. “That depends entirely on how you behave, Nancy. There’s still time.” The shared laughter thatfollowed felt like sunlight warming her skin after weeks of cool propriety. As she embraced Fiona again, her hand inadvertently brushed the slight, firm curve beneath her friend’s high-waisted muslin dress. Hester drew back, eyes widening. “Oh my! You’re beginning to show, dear!”
Fiona’s hand rested protectively over her stomach, a beatific smile transforming her face. “The little lord or lady grows at an alarming rate. I thought to seize every opportunity for travel before I’m quite thrown into confinement.” She shifted slightly, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. “Might you direct me to the retiring room? This little investor makes rather urgent demands.”
Anna, already eyeing the biscuit plate a footman carried towards the drawing room, selected a macaroon. “Only if that baby doesn’t confine you to the chamber pot first, dearest.” Fiona shot Anna a look that mingled affection and exasperation before following Hester’s gesture down the hallway.
“Come,” Hester urged, linking arms with Anna and Nancy, steering them towards the comfort of the blue drawing room. The weight of Nancy’s familiar grip and Anna’s solid presence beside her eased a tension in her shoulders she hadn’t fully acknowledged. She gave the bellpull a firm tug. “I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to see you all,” she confessed, sinking onto the silk-covered settee. The truth of it settled deep in her chest, a warm, expanding relief.
Anna settled beside her, smoothing her skirts. “Our husbands were bound for the country on tedious business—fields,investments, the usual masculine preoccupations. We merely commandeered their carriages for a restorative escape from the suffocating air of Town.”
“And when I discovered their dastardly plot to abandon me,” Nancy chimed in, snatching two lemon cakes from the arriving tray before the footman could set it down, “I became their most determined stowaway. Resistance was futile.”
Hester laughed, the sound bright and genuine, surprising even herself. “I never saw anyone so delighted to be a third wheel.”
“Fifth wheel,” Anna corrected smoothly, her eyes dancing with mischief as she accepted a cup of tea Hester poured. “Two carriages, two devoted couples, and Nancy. An entirely superfluous wheel yet somehow essential to the contraption.”
Nancy waved a dismissive hand, sending cake crumbs cascading onto the Persian rug. “Pish! Superfluous? I’d have haunted your very hallways, Hester, rattling the china, if they’d dared leave me moldering in London.” Fiona reappeared just as Nancy finished, taking the seat beside Anna.
Hester poured Fiona’s tea, the fragrant steam curling upwards.
As she passed the delicate Sèvres cup, she leaned forward conspiratorially. “Careful with the tea, darling. We wouldn’t wish another urgent retreat upon you quite so soon.”
Anna and Nancy dissolved into immediate, unladylike peals of laughter. Fiona’s mouth dropped open in mock outrage, but a second later, her own shoulders began to shake, and she joined in, her laughter mingling with her friends’.
“You’re next, Hester. And when you find yourself in this condition, you’ll understand precisely what it feels like.” Fiona gave her small bump a tender pat.
The words landed like a physical blow. Hester’s knuckles whitened around the delicate handle of her teacup. A jagged shard of longing pierced her—the phantom weight of a child in her arms, the whisper-soft brush of infant hair against her cheek. The image was so vivid, sowanted, it stole her breath.
Reality crashed in, cold and stark. Her marriage was a transaction. Children were the price paid for emotional safety, a necessary sacrifice to guard her fragile heart. Yet the disappointment that flooded her was real, a bitter tang coating her tongue. She forced a smile that felt brittle, focusing on the floral pattern swirling in her cup.
“Why, I think she already has that glow, don’t you think, Anna?” Nancy leaned forward, her sharp gaze sweeping over Hester’s face.
Anna tilted her head, a conspiratorial glint in her eye as she winked at Nancy. “Oh, probably a touch early for such signs, my dear, but who truly knows? These things can be quite unpredictable.” Fiona, momentarily distracted by a blueberry lemon cookie, nodded vigorously, crumbs dusting her lap.
“Who knows indeed?” Fiona swallowed her bite. “For all it takes, sometimes, is once.” Her smile was innocent, teasing.
The air grew thick. Hester set her cup down with a sharp clink that silenced the light chatter. “None of that,” she stated, her voice flat, “will be happening.” The finality of it hung heavily between them. The laughter died instantly. Anna’s playful expression vanished. Nancy’s teasing scrutiny turned to worry. Fiona’s hand froze halfway to another cookie, her eyes wide. The cheerful atmosphere evaporated.
