Chapter 15
“Adelaide!”
The shout rang across the drive before the carriage had fully come to a stop.
Eric had scarcely reached the top step of the garden path when his wife was already moving.
She all but flew down the gravel path, gathering her skirts in both hands with a laugh he had never heard before, bright enough to turn every head in the courtyard.
The carriage door had barely opened when a tall gentleman stepped down, and before Eric could properly make sense of who he was, Adelaide had thrown both arms around him.
The embrace was effortless.
Not the restrained greeting expected between polite acquaintances, but the sort exchanged by people who had never once questioned whether they belonged in one another’s company.
The gentleman laughed, catching her easily. “I was beginning to think marriage had made you forget me.”
“As though that were possible.” She pulled back only long enough to look at him before embracing him once more, shaking her head with obvious disbelief.
“Theodore, you dreadful man. You were meant to be somewhere in Italy.”
“I was.”
“And now you’re here.”
“I am.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I assure you I’m entirely real.”
She laughed again, and Eric remained where he stood as something deep inside him tightened. It was an unfamiliar sensation, sharp enough to catch him off guard. He had spent years watching husbands become possessive over imagined offenses and had privately considered the habit ridiculous.
Now, without warning, he found himself watching another man smile at his wife. A handsome man at that. Entirely at ease touching her.
His throat felt unexpectedly tight. The realization irritated him almost as much as the feeling itself. He had no reason to object. And yet…
Before the embrace could continue another moment, his feet had already carried him forward. He did not consciously decide to move. He simply did. “Hello.”
She turned immediately at the sound of his voice. “There you are,” she said, smiling as though she had forgotten the rest of the world existed. “Eric, I—”
Without thinking, he reached for her. His hand settled naturally against the small of her back, guiding her gently toward his side. The gesture was perfectly respectable. A husband welcoming his wife after greeting unexpected visitors.
Yet when Adelaide came to rest beside him instead of standing before the stranger, something inside him eased in a way he found deeply unsettling. Only then did he realize he had positioned himself neatly between the two of them.
The gentleman noticed it as well. His brows lifted almost imperceptibly before amusement flickered across his face.
The earl had finally descended from the carriage with considerably less enthusiasm than the younger man. “I see introductions have already become unnecessary,” he observed dryly.
Adelaide laughed. “I’m sorry.” She looked toward Eric. “Theodore Holbrook.”
Her smile softened. “My oldest friend.”
She turned toward Theodore. “My husband, His Grace, the Duke of Wolverton.”
Theodore stepped forward immediately, offering his hand without hesitation. “It is a pleasure, Your Grace.”
Eric accepted the handshake.
“Glad to meet you.”
“As am I.” Theodore glanced toward Adelaide. “I would have attended the wedding had I possessed the remarkable ability to cross half of Europe in a fortnight.”
Adelaide folded her arms. “You might have tried harder.”
“I received your father’s letter outside Florence and reached England only three days ago.”
Eric found himself asking, “You have been abroad?”
Theodore nodded. “For nearly eight months. My uncle insisted I spend some time on the Continent before settling into respectable responsibilities.”
“And failed miserably, I should imagine,” Adelaide replied.
“Completely.”
“I warned him you would.”
“You did.”
Eric listened as though the conversation belonged to someone else.
Eight months.
That explained it.
His thoughts stalled. But why had his name never arisen?
Adelaide spoke readily enough of Violet, Elise, of her father, of estate matters, of books, of women’s societies.
Never Theodore. The omission struck him as strangely significant despite every reasonable explanation.
The earl smiled tiredly. “I thought the country air might improve both our spirits.”
“It already has,” Theodore said.
Adelaide looked toward her father with unmistakable concern. “You should be resting.”
“I have been resting.”
“You look thinner.”
“Theo, I do not suppose that this person in front of us is a physician and not my daughter?”
“I always believed myself your physician,” Adelaide said quickly.
“And entirely without qualifications.”
Theodore chuckled. “That has never stopped her before.”
“It certainly has not.”
The three of them laughed together. Eric smiled politely, though he could not contribute. Every story seemed to begin halfway through. Every joke belonged to years he had never witnessed. They spoke in unfinished sentences and somehow understood one another perfectly.
It should not have bothered him. He had known Adelaide scarcely two weeks, and this man had apparently known her most of her life. The comparison was absurd.
Yet each easy smile felt strangely personal. Each shared memory quietly reminded him that there existed entire chapters of his wife’s life into which he had never been invited.
The front doors opened behind them, and Atlas descended the steps with his usual relaxed confidence. “I wondered what all the excitement was.”
He greeted the earl warmly before turning toward Theodore. “I apologize for my lack of formality… I do not believe we have met.”
“This is Theodore,” Adelaide said with a delightful excitement that Eric could not seem to be able to match.
However, Atlas smiled without hesitation. “My apologies, Mr. …”
“Holbrook.”
“Good to meet you, Mr. Holbrook. I am Atlas Sullyard, the duke’s cousin. Let us address each other as old friends, then.” Atlas extended a hand, and the two men exchanged greetings before Atlas drifted naturally to Eric’s side.
He lowered his voice just enough that only Eric could hear. “They certainly seem close.”
Eric kept his eyes ahead. “They grew up together.”
“So I gathered.” Atlas’s tone remained perfectly conversational. “It must be comforting.”
“What must?”
“Having someone who knows one’s wife so well.”
Eric did not answer.
Atlas waited only a heartbeat before adding quietly, “Although I confess…”
Eric looked toward him.
“…I’ve rarely seen Adelaide smile quite like that.” The words landed more heavily than they should have, and Atlas merely offered him a sympathetic smile before stepping away to assist the earl toward the house.
It was an entirely harmless and reasonable observation. Yet as Eric watched Theodore bend his head to hear something Adelaide had said, prompting another effortless laugh from her, he found himself wishing, quite irrationally, that he understood the joke.
Just then, Abigail arrived at his shoulder letting him know that the rooms had been prepared for their guests, and he gestured silently for her to go show the footmen where to go with the luggage.
He stepped forward then. “Adelaide?”
Eric had been standing at the top step to Wolverton, silently reconsidering whether he ought to have interrupted or just let them continue on their conversation in the courtyard.
The earl and Mr. Holbrook had turned as the silence continued, until finally Adelaide turned to him and he smiled. “Mrs. Graves has informed me that the rooms are ready.”
“Lovely,” Adelaide said cheerfully, clasping her hands together as she watched the footmen carry the luggage into the house.
Eric laughed quietly before clearing his throat. “I was also wondering…” She waited patiently. “…whether everyone might enjoy a picnic this afternoon.”
Her brows lifted. “A picnic?”
“The weather seems agreeable, and Theodore has traveled for weeks. The earl could perhaps use the fresh air.”
Adelaide turned slightly to see that her father and Theodore were nodding emphatically. “I suspect you are right on all counts.”
Eric rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly aware that he sounded rather ridiculous. “And Elise enjoys eating outdoors.”
For a heartbeat Adelaide simply looked at him. Then the corners of her mouth softened into something warmer than amusement.
“I think,” she said gently, “that sounds like a wonderful idea.”
He had not realized until that moment how much he had hoped she would say yes.
***
The afternoon unfolded beneath a clear summer sky, the sort of day that seemed incapable of hurrying itself.
Blankets had been spread beneath a broad oak overlooking the lower meadows, where the breeze carried the scent of wildflowers through the long grass.
Abigail and several footmen had prepared far more food than any reasonable gathering required before discreetly retreating toward the house, leaving the family almost entirely alone.
But Elise made solitude impossible. “Catch me!”
She darted between Adelaide and Theodore before changing directions entirely and racing toward Eric.
“No,” Eric replied calmly. “You haven’t caught me yet.”
“But you have lost already.”
“I wasn’t aware we were competing.”
“We are now.” She spun away again before anyone could answer.
Theodore laughed. “I don’t remember having half that much energy.”
“You never did,” Adelaide replied. “I distinctly remember outrunning you.”
“You remember incorrectly.”
“I remember perfectly well.”
“You cheated.”
She shook her head. “I would never.”
Eric watched them with quiet interest. The ease between them remained obvious, though now that he listened more carefully, it resembled something different than he had first imagined. There was no flirtation. No careful performance. Only years of familiar disagreement polished smooth by repetition.
It reminded him, unexpectedly, of his sister before everything in his life had become… complicated. The thought eased something tight inside his chest.
Elise returned carrying an armful of wildflowers. “Look! Look!”
“What have you found?”
“These, for everyone.” She thrust three crushed daisies toward Eric with unmistakable pride.
“For me?” Eric accepted the flowers with all the seriousness they deserved. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”
“Well… they’re a little flattened.”
“I suspect that gives them character.”
Elise appeared satisfied with the explanation before scampering away once more.
Theodore settled onto the blanket beside Eric while Adelaide wandered after Elise through the meadow, occasionally stooping to identify flowers or rescue the child from particularly ambitious patches of clover.
For several moments neither man spoke. Finally Theodore smiled. “I owe you a better introduction.”
Eric looked toward him.
“I was rather distracted earlier.”
“I noticed.”
“When one hasn’t seen family in nearly a year…” He glanced toward Adelaide. “Manners occasionally suffer.”
“I understand.”
“I hope I didn’t give the wrong impression.”
Eric hesitated only briefly. “I confess I was uncertain what to think.”
“I imagine you were.” Theodore laughed quietly. “Adelaide has always been my sister in every respect except blood.”
Eric felt the last lingering thread of jealousy loosen almost immediately. “I suspected as much after seeing you both interact.”
“I should hope so. If she ever heard me described otherwise, she’d likely throw something.”
“That sounds believable.”
They shared an easy laugh. The silence that followed felt considerably more comfortable than the one before it. Theodore watched Adelaide kneel beside Elise to weave a tiny flower crown. “I’ve missed seeing her this happy.”
Eric found himself saying, almost without thought, “She seems quite at home here.”
Theodore looked at him with quiet approval but wisely chose not to comment. Instead, his expression shifted. “There was something I meant to ask.”
“Of course.”
“The lady’s maid.”
Eric frowned. “Elise’s mother?”
“Yes.“
The question came casually enough, but Theodore’s attention sharpened in a way Eric hadn’t expected.
“She appears to be settling well enough.”
“You are acquainted with her?”
“Only just so… yes. Moreso with her daughter.”
Theodore’s gaze remained fixed on Adelaide in the distance. “Has she seemed… herself after the move?”
Eric considered the question. “I’ve known her only a short time and did not know her before.”
“Naturally.”
“Though she has always appeared capable and efficient, and a great companion to my wife.”
“And does she seem… healthy?”
Eric blinked. “Healthy?”
Theodore recovered almost immediately. “I’m sorry. Strange question.”
“A little.”
“I simply thought…” He shook his head with an easy smile. “I know them all very well, as well as the structure of Talbot Park. I just wondered whether she had settled comfortably with the new structure of Wolverton in comparison.”
“Ah,” Eric smiled then, fully aware that Adelaide and her father had treated the maid and her daughter as their own family instead of staff. “Yes, I believe she has.”
“Good. She is very important to Adelaide.”
The concern seemed genuine. Curious, certainly. But genuine.
Before Eric could ask anything further, Elise drew nearer to them and Theodore rose. “I believe I promised someone assistance collecting enough flowers to decorate the entire county.”
Elise waved enthusiastically from halfway across the meadow.
“I’d better keep my promises.”
He excused himself with a nod before jogging toward the child, who immediately seized his hand and dragged him toward the stream. Eric remained seated, watching them disappear into the tall grass.
The earl had taken out his spectacles and was admiring some insects that had landed on a shady spot under a nearby tree. Eric let his gaze drift naturally, farther uphill to where Adelaide was.
She had wandered away from the others while Elise and Theodore busied themselves with flowers. She stood alone now, facing the broad valley stretching beyond Wolverton’s northern boundary.
The afternoon breeze tugged gently at her skirts. She seemed utterly absorbed by the view. Then Eric noticed where she was standing.
His heart lurched so violently it almost hurt.
She was only a few feet from the cliff’s edge.
The ground there dropped away into nearly sixty feet of jagged rock before giving way to the river below.
Every muscle in his body went rigid.
“Adelaide!”
Her name tore from him before he realized he had screamed it.