Page 75 of Her Infuriating Earl
“Let us join the menaces I call sisters,” Phoebe said, resting her hand on Daniel’s as, casting shy glances at one another, they made their way to the manor.
* * *
“I do not see why I cannot be in there with them,” Phoebe grumbled, sipping her tea with a vengeance as she waited impatiently in Amelia’s private parlor.
The twins had gone into the main drawing room two hours ago, to converse with the two gentlemen who had been selected by Amelia and her gifted matchmaker. Brook was in there, Daniel was in there, but, for reasons unknown, Amelia and Phoebe had been prohibited from entering. Or rather Phoebe had, and Amelia had decided to keep her company.
“You would not think that marriage should be gentlemen’s business, yet it so often is,” Amelia replied with a wry smile. “I could poke my head in if it would soothe you? Although, I should say that it is a promising sign if they have spent two hours together and have not yet called for a cessation of the meeting.”
Phoebe nodded slowly. “I suppose that is true.”
“You are unused to them doing things without you,” Amelia said, reaching over to give Phoebe’s arm a gentle squeeze. “It is natural for a mother, and though you did not give them life, you have been every bit their mother since you lost your own. Still, we must all look forward, and I am hopeful that your future is going to be a bright one.”
Phoebe cast the older woman a shy, sideways glance. “There is still no announcement to make, my dear Amelia. I do so hate to keep you in suspense, but I promise, you shall know the moment there is a proposal.”
“I have no doubts that there will soon be a wedding, but it is… good, I think, that the two of you have been allowed to acquaint yourselves better with one another before an engagement,” Amelia said thoughtfully. “I think your marriage will be stronger for it.”
Phoebe exhaled with something like relief. “I am glad to hear that from one person, at least. My friends and my sisters have been harassing me to rush proceedings, but, as you say, I think Daniel and I are stronger fornotrushing into a wedding. I believe it has reassured him that, even with this curse hanging over him, he is allowed to live slowly. He does not have to hurry.”
“But how do you feel about it?” Amelia asked, her voice cracking slightly.
Phoebe furrowed her brow, turning her gaze toward the parlor window and the gardens beyond, where spring was in full bloom, at last. “I refuse to worry about what might be,” she said, after a pause. “There is no proof that it will claim him, even though I have seen the history books of his family line. If I did not have Matilda, perhaps I would be fretting, but she has some notions that have soothed me in regard to the curse.”
“She does?” Amelia brightened, shuffling closer to her.
Phoebe nodded. “I cannot explain it the way that she does, but when I took her aside and told her about this inherited sickness, she said I should not worry too much. She said I should think of a family with a dark-haired father and a fair-haired mother, and imagine that they had three children—two sons and one daughter. She said that all three children might be dark-haired or fair-haired, or that they might be a mixture, or that one might even possess red hair. The same with their eyes. If I think of this inherited sickness in the same way as the color of a child’s hair, it seems it is all a matter of chance, and his odds are rather better than I thought.”
Amelia stared at Phoebe, dumbfounded. “Daniel has dark hair,” she gasped. “His father had hair as fiery as those flames over there when he was younger.Hisfather also had red hair—I have seen the portraits. Butmyhair is dark… and he has always looked more like me than his father.” Her breath hitched. “Do you think that could mean that the curse will skip him?”
“I would not like to say, one way or the other,” Phoebe replied gently, “but I remain more hopeful than I was before. Either way, I will love him for as long as he is here on this earth and beyond. My mind cannot be changed by what ifs and maybes. I cannot be without him.”
Amelia suddenly pulled Phoebe into a tight embrace, whispering into her shoulder, “Thank you. Thank you for… choosing him. Thank you for staying at his side.” She hugged her even tighter, crushing the breath out of her lungs. “I can think of no one finer to be my daughter-in-law. I have always championed you, and I am glad he has seen sense.”
“I had to see sense, too,” Phoebe said, hugging the older woman back. “We were both rather silly.”
Amelia burst into weepy laughter. “Who is not, when they are helplessly in love?”
Just then, the parlor door swung open, and Daniel himself breezed inside as if he had been summoned. He beamed from ear to ear, standing in the doorway as though he were posing for a portrait, waiting for one of the two women to ask him what the news was.
“Am I interrupting?” he asked, confusion rippling across his face as he noticed his mother and Phoebe still locked in a tearful embrace. “Has something happened? Is everyone well?”
Amelia waved a dismissive hand in his direction. “We are perfectly well, my darling. Can an old woman and her future daughter-in-law not hold one another and have a rather necessary cry over a cup of tea, to raise our spirits?”
“If that is… uh… of benefit to you.” Daniel looked at Phoebe for an explanation, but she gave a small shake of her head. She would tell him everything later. “Well, fortunately for your tears, I have some joyful news!”
Phoebe sat up straighter, clasping her hands together. “What has happened? What is the news? Tell us at once!”
Seemingly pleased that he had their attention, Daniel replied, “Joanna’s suitor, Lord Broxbridge, has asked for her hand in marriage. And she has, just this minute, accepted.”
“And Ellen?” Phoebe urged, excitement bubbling in her veins.
Daniel made an apologetic face. “Next time, perhaps.”
“Indeed, she has all the time in the world, and if she is not to be married, well, I expect there might soon be a vacancy in the Spinsters’ Club. They will take care of her, as they have taken care of me,” Phoebe said, flashing him an irreverent wink. “Oh, but we must celebrate this happy news! Amelia, I do not suppose you have any of that champagne in the cellars, do you, to toast this occasion?”
Amelia grinned. “I have bottles and bottles of it. I shall have some fetched immediately.” She paused, staring at her son. “Daniel, what is the matter? Your face has gone all… peculiar.”
“Does this mean…” Daniel kept his gaze fixed on Phoebe.
