Page 21 of Charming Artemis

“I never do.” He earned a smile for that rejoinder.

Harold was next in line.

“If you quote scripture at me, Iwillswear,” Charlie warned. Had he said such a thing to his very church-minded brother a year earlier, he likely would have been lectured about propriety. Harold had softened since his now-wife had become part of his life.

“I was going to remind you that murder is frowned upon. It is one of the significant ten, you’ll remember.”

“I don’t plan to murder her,” Charlie said.

“Yet,” Harold tossed back as he gave way to the next in the farewell procession: Toss.

“Do you have advice for me too?” Charlie asked.

“What advice could I possibly have?” Toss scoffed at the very idea. As always, he couldn’t hold entirely still. No one had the pent-up energy Toss did. “I’m not married. I’ve never even courted anyone.”

“You’re not in one place long enough for courtship,” Charlie said.

“A great deal of truth in that.” Toss slapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck to you, my friend. Try not to die.”

“Lovely.”

Sorrel and Philip, a child in each of Philip’s arms, approached next.

“I’m assuming you mean to share words of questionable wisdom,” Charlie said dryly.

“Of course,” Philip said. “But Sorrel told me to keep my toast trap firmly shut. ‘Toast trap.’” Philip scoffed and shook his head. “Could she not have chosen veal vestibule or pudding pocket, some food with a degree of refinement?”

“There is nothing refined about a pudding pocket,” Sorrel said, shaking her head minutely.

Philip’s expression turned rather hilariously pompous. “My dear, a pudding pocket is only as elegant as the one who possesses it.”

Sorrel eyed him with a hint of misgiving. “Wearespeaking of your mouth, aren’t we? I certainly hope you don’t actually have pudding in any of your pockets.”

“And risk the wrath of Wilson?” Philip shook his head firmly. “He would murder me.”

Sorrel turned to Charlie. Though she put on a brave face, she did not at all keep her pain hidden. Her already shattered body had not recovered well from the birth of her children. After such a demanding day and despite the hour not being late at all, she likely needed to lie down.

“Come visit us as often as you can,” she said. “Not for Philip’s sake—he and his pudding-filled pockets don’t deserve visitors—but for the children. They will miss you.”

Sorrel liked to give Philip a difficult time. One look at his grin whenever she executed a verbal jab testified to his enjoyment of their banter.

“I am half tempted to take the children with me.” Charlie took Julia’s tiny hand in his and chucked Kendrick under the chin. “But to quote my pudding-pocketed brother, Wilson would murder me. And the twins need their mother. And grandmother. And Layton and Marion and their children. And they might even miss Philip.”

His oldest brother pretended to be offended. “After a comment like that, I will not do you the favor of remaining here to see you off on your journey. I will take my children and my wife and trudge off.”

Charlie knew perfectly well that Philip was taking his family away in order to allow Sorrel to rest. He loved her too much to see her continue to suffer but also didn’t wish to embarrass her by revealing to everyone within earshot that she was too weak to continue standing.

A moment later, Mater stood at Charlie’s side in the otherwise empty vestibule. She set her arm around him. “I was proud of you today, Charlie. You managed to make your bride smile in a moment when she must have been terrified. Your father had a knack for that too.” One could not mistake the hint of tears in her voice. “Be patient with her. Treat her with compassion.”

“The duke gave me the same orders.” Charlie hugged his mother in return. “He spoke kindly, something I suspect he almost never does.”

“He has a more tender heart than he lets on,” Mater said.

“And how do you know that?”

She looked up at him. “Have you not yet realized, my sweet Charlie? I knoweverything.”

He allowed a silent laugh. “I wish I were going back to Lampton Park with you instead of dragging my miserable wife to Brier Hill.”

---