Page 57 of His Wicked Secret
Horatia carefully transferred the child into Audrey’s arms. “Yes, thank you.”
The baby stared up at Audrey with sleepy hazel eyes. His button nose wrinkled as he yawned and stretched, putting one fist above his head before he relaxed. Audrey gently stroked a finger down his cheek and then touched his tiny, delicate, perfect fingers, which he gripped with surprising strength.
The babe struggled to stay awake, but his eyes closed and he gave a toothless yawn, and a tiny peep of contentment escaped him. Then he tucked his hand, still clutching her finger, under his chin. A swell of love and adoration filled Audrey’s body and soul. The only way she could have loved him more, if that was even possible, was if he had been her own.
“Such a little dear,” Audrey said.
“He certainly is,” Horatia agreed. “I was so afraid for him at first.” Her eyes softened as she gazed down the baby. “But little Evander is a fighter. He’s going to be brave when he grows up.”
“And strong.” Audrey gently extracted her finger from the baby’s clutches and handed him back to Horatia.
She carried Evan back to his bassinet by the window and nestled him inside. The midday sun illuminated the crib like a place of worship. Audrey looked to her sister, seeing her differently for the first time since Evan’s birth. Horatia was still her sibling, but she was now a wife and a mother, privy to parts of life that Audrey might never know.
“The doctor said sunlight will help him. It does seem to work.” She pushed down on the edge of the bassinet, gently rocking it. Then Horatia sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside her.
“Come. Sit. Tell me everything that’s happened since I’ve been resting.”
Audrey’s eyes filled with tears as she sat down next to her sister, remembering the time before marriage when they had been the two younger sisters of an overprotective brother - two allies in a man’s domain. It had been a year since they had been able to conspire late at night or indulge in early-morning gossip as maids prepped their hair. Audrey had not let herself realize how starved she was for this kind of intimacy with her sister. Her throat clogged with all the news of the past year - including what she’d been doing with Jonathan the past week, right under her sister’s roof.
“I’ve heard you’ve been up to something rather unconventional.” Horatia gestured to Audrey’s clothes.
“Well, since when have you ever known me to be conventional?”
“You mean apart from shopping for clothes and going to balls?”
“How dare you!” Audrey cried out in mock defense. “When it comes to clothes, I am not conventional. I am outstanding!”
Horatia looked down at Audrey’s attire, and she realized she hadn’t changed out of her waistcoat and breeches. “Yes, well, that is different.”
“I… Yes, perhaps a little,” she admitted, her face flushing. “I’ve been learning to fight.” She waited for her sensible sister to cry out, but Horatia merely nodded. “You’re…not angry?”
“Angry? Why would I be angry?”
Audrey toyed with the embroidered surface of the bedding with a fingertip. “It’s not very proper, is it? Not proper at all, in fact. I was worried you would be disappointed in me.”
Horatia giggled but then grew solemn. She embraced Audrey, bending her head so that their foreheads touched. “I believe we have all learned that propriety cannot save one’s life. When I was kidnapped and nearly killed last Christmas, do you know what I wished? That I knew how to fight.” Horatia said this with such ferocity that Audrey froze. Her sister was all sweetness, but even she had been tested by danger and found her skills to survive lacking. Relief filled Audrey. Horatia understood why her lessons mattered. Women had to stop becoming victims to the whims and desires of men.
“So you won’t tell me to stop?”
Horatia reached out and covered one of Audrey’s hands. “No. In fact, I insist you keep going. Learn everything you can. Lord knows you seek out trouble enough as it is, and no force on earth will ever stop you from doing so. The last thing I want is for you to go through what I did and have no chance of protecting yourself.”
Audrey shivered as she recalled the frantic worry she’d felt that day. The day she’d almost lost both her sister and her brother to the same vile hand - the only people keeping her from being so totally alone in the world.
Just then, Horatia’s face transformed into a mischievous and sly expression. “So you’ve been taking lessons from Jonathan, have you? How’s that coming along? Do you still want to marry him?”
Yes. “No.”
Horatia’s crestfallen look told Audrey that her ability to deceive had improved. In the past her sister had always been able to see through her, but not this time. Something about that weighed her heart down with sorrow.
“What happened? I thought you fancied him.”
“I do.” Audrey glanced away. “But I do not think he has any interest in marriage.”
“I forget,” Horatia said. “He is somewhat younger than the rest. The rest of his friends are over thirty years old, and they are just learning to enjoy settling down. Give it time.”
Audrey squared her shoulders and faced her sister.
“I’m nineteen. I have only a year or two more before I become a laughingstock to the rest of theton. I had so many beaux that first season until Cedric became so boorish and scared them all off.”
