Page 91 of A Duchess to Reclaim

“Enough about your meetings, Theo. I beg you. They are all you talk about.”

Theo smiled sweetly at her brother.

“Would you prefer I talk about theDevil’s Masquerade?She asked, her tone laced with sarcasm.

“God help me,” Tristan groaned.

Amelia chuckled as she shook her head. The siblings had reached a compromise with Theo’s free time. She had promised to stop attending the masquerade if Tristan allowed her to attend more speeches and meetings of the blue stockings. And, now that their mother had sadly passed, she was going to more and more of them instead of going to balls and parties.

The passing of Lady Briarwood had been an uncomfortable mixture of great sadness and relief. Toward the end, Amelia had traveled to London often to be with Theo and her mother, and each time the once sweet woman appeared as more of a shell than the brilliant soul she once was.

Theo’s way of grieving was to spend more of her time pushing for women’s rights, and though Amelia agreed that they deserved more freedom, she found herself unable to be as stalwart for the cause as Theo or Ophelia.

Tristan’s way of grieving, she had discovered through talking with Dominic, was to throw himself into his responsibilities as an Earl. One such in particular was finding a wife. Amelia worried that trying to accomplish such a thing while dealing with such heartbreak would be unwise, but she’d kept such opinions to herself.

Especially since her marriage, though tumultuous at first, had ultimately saved her.

“Well if Dominic is not going to teach me how to shoot and Tristan won’t, you must do so, Everett,” Ophelia said turning to him.

“Come on lazy bones, get up and show me what to do.”

“I shall teach you,” Hugo spoke up.

“No,” Everett and Tristan said in unison as Hugo leaned over to kiss Seraphina.

Everyone but the two men chuckled.

“He is an excellent instructor,” Seraphina told them, bouncing Penelope on her lap.

“Here, Everett,” Hugo said, placing Preston onto Everett’s lap.

Everett grimaced at the smiling toddler, and immediately got up before Hugo could let his son go.

“On second thought I shall play instructor after all,” Everett said quickly, walking to Dominic, his hand outstretched for the pistol. “I don’t know why you people keep pressing me to spend time with your children. It is most unnatural.”

Dominic handed Everett the pistol and leather bag of ammunition, and together he and Amelia walked back over to the outdoor table shaded by the trees, where the rest of their friends all sat. The leaves above them were starting to turn shades of brilliant yellow as fall settled in, but they still had warm days from time to time.

“Where are your little monsters today anyway?” Tristan asked, preparing the pistol for another shot as Ophelia excitedly bounced on her feet by his side.

“They are out shopping with their governesses,” Amelia explained, sitting on Dominic’s lap, “We thought since it has been a while since we could all get together for some fun that perhaps they should be out.”

“A wise decision, apparently,” Everett retorted, waving the pistol for emphasis, “Though the way you ladies are acting, it still feels like excitable little girls are indeed underfoot.”

“Would you stop complaining and show me what to do already?” Ophelia insisted.

Amelia giggled as Everett and Ophelia glared at one another. Slowly, they were all getting to know one another better. Even though Tristan had been friends with the other four men for years, her, Theo, Rose, and Ophelia, really hadn’t interacted with any of them until Seraphina and Hugo had gotten married. Now they all seemed to act like siblings; constantly picking on one another and driving the other mad.

“I miss Rose,” Seraphina sighed.

“She will be here later on,” Amelia promised, “Her mother was taking her to an early luncheon of some sort.”

“That poor girl,” Seraphina said, shaking her head. “I am so grateful that I am no longer in her position. Please tell me you are not going to be that way with Lydia and Sarah.”

“Heaven’s no,” Amelia retorted. “Though Sarah is not like us. She still has a couple of years, but she is most looking forward to being on the marriage mart. And as Lydia likes to mimic everything Sarah does she feels the same way.”

“And you, old man?” Hugo asked Dominic. “How do you enjoy your new father-figure role?”

Dominic and Amelia both smirked. It had surprised them both how quickly her husband had stepped into the role of over-protective father figure for the girls. He was still very much himself when it came to handling things in a business-like, somewhat stiff manner, but the girls were certainly flourishing under his attention.

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