In fact, it was probably time for him to continue to London soon. What he hadn’t expected was that his time here had been both interesting and enjoyable. His relationship with Octavia was evolving. Although he’d always teased her, he understood her better now. While their dealings were no less contentious, there was a different tone. At some point, he’d started feeling more comfortable whenever her attention was on him.
“Alright, fine,” she said. “But only for a moment. It’s chilly today.”
Lord Hennington harumphed and re-shook his newspaper to steady it.
“I’m sure he’ll be delighting me with sonnets, Father.”
“Hell would freeze over,” Finn said under his breath, but loud enough for Lord Hennington to hear.
The wind was sharp as they stepped outside. It was sunny but cool, and as she took her place at his side, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. There was an ease between them, and it wasn’t the ease of a courting couple pussyfooting around each other. It was the ease of a friendship. A friendship could develop between them. Increasingly, he liked dealing with her, arguing with her—teasing her. He liked to see her bristle, and then come back at him. But at the heart of it, it wasn’t friendship. It was something else.
"So you intend to return to London,” he said as they stepped out into the brisk air.
“Yes, I will probably do so as Julius travels. I don’t anticipate living with Cressida will be delightful. Somehow, I doubt the honeymoon has changed her disposition, but one could only hope she’s calmed down slightly. More likely I will go live with Caius and Eliza. She needs me at this time.”
Eliza was still a sore topic, the source of all the contention between them. “She will make a wonderful mother, I’m sure,” he said. “And I’m sure you will be a very protective aunt.”
“I can’t quite conceive that there will be a child and it will grow and be a part of our family.”
In a way, he understood. Children were such a foreign concept. He could definitely see how it would be hard to anticipate how a child would fit into the family. It must change a family significantly.
“I was the last child in my family,” she continued.
“I was the only.”
“Do you not miss having family? I couldn’t imagine not having my family. As deeply vexing as my brothers are, I couldn’t imagine living without them.”
“I will be honest and say that for a long time, it didn’t matter to me, but of late... it’s become a central theme in my mind.”
“So you don’t have to rely on strangers to come rescue you when you’re in trouble?”
“Until now, I’ve always prided myself in not getting into trouble.”
“Some things not even you can control.”
It was even hard to imagine he would have a wife and children. How many children would he have? One, five, somewhere in between? He’d have no clue how to deal with them. But there was an emptiness, and he knew he would fill it with his own family.
“And what of you? Mr. Fervoy will not receive your attention anymore, I take it.”
“No, he has disappointed me.”
“Are your standards so high men cannot help but disappoint you?”
Octavia looked annoyed. “One has to have some standards. This is the most important decision of one’s life, wouldn’t you say?”
“It is,” he conceded.
“I don‘t want to spend my life making excuses for someone, or making excuses for why I’m not happy in my marriage. Do you not see the difference in people who are happy and those who aren‘t?”
Of course he did, which was why he’d held hopes for Eliza for longer than he should have. “But happiness may stem from not expecting people to be perfect.”
“If merely decent is too high, then my standards will simply have to remain high. I’m sure someone will live up to them. I only need one, after all.” Octavia stroked her hand up and down her arm.
“Then I hope you will find him. You are cold. We should return inside.” Saying that, he’d enjoyed the fresh air after being so long inside. Such a simple thing that he had completely taken for granted.
“What is taking Julius so long? He should be here by now,” she said when they started walking back to his house.
“Maybe they don’t want the honeymoon to end,” he suggested.
“One can only hope. If it was me, I probably couldn’t wait to be out of her company. And that is the very reason I have high standards. I require a better fate.” The mood was lifted, but he did seem to understand her better after this discussion. She was trying to safeguard her own happiness, which, when looking back on it, she’d been trying to do for her family as well. Certainly not a quality he would scoff at, and maybe if he had family, he would be the same.
Then again, no one was like Octavia Hennington.
Returning inside, Octavia took up her vigil by the window and waited. It couldn’t be long now, she’d stated, unless they were having a very leisurely route. Their typical return journey from Dover involved staying at the Stoney Marsh inn, and leaving shortly after breakfast service started meant they would be here soon. She watched and intermittently checked the clock. “He’s here,” Octavia said excitedly, having spotting Julius’ carriage coming through the row
