The only other person weary of it was Maia, but even she braved on at the prospect of the entertainment that the city offered… and more so what the city wouldn’t offer.
Master Benedict Cox. He was the highest Warren Officer on his ship, and Maia had fallen for him when they’d met at the beach.
Southampton was the port of English embarkment, which meant that most of the men the girls met were soldiers, but Taygete agreed that there hadn’t been a man finer than Master Cox. He’d been standing in his dark frock coat with its gold navy buttons and had seemed to stand a foot taller than the men around him. Blond hair, golden eyes. Even at the age of sixteen, Taygete had thought him breathtaking, but it was Maia he’d swept off her feet.
And then Maia had learned just how many mistresses the man kept… and would most likely refuse to give up.
Taygete suspected a part of Maia had died that day, and a piece of her heart had shattered under her sister’s despair.
The sound of Maia’s weeping would stay with her for a long time.
Father had tried to get Maia to marry him, nonetheless. Benedict was sure to become a captain one day, and Father liked connections. Their mother had even tried— at first. But she’d quickly been moved by her daughter’s grief and had helped Maia end the courtship before the two could get engaged.
All of this had only happened a month ago, and Taygete wasn’t sure Maia was ready to meet another man, much less marry one. Taygete knew that their mother would do right by Maia in the end.
Taygete loved her mother. Mary oversaw the house with strength and gentleness, in spite of the lack of love between her and her father. Taygete, who was also a fan of romantic tales, didn’t understand how her mother did it but was glad that she did.
She’d do anything for her mother.
She’d do anything for Maia as well, to make sure her heart never broke again.
The sound of footsteps made her still, and a shadow appeared over her shoulder.
“Hello.”
She turned, placing her hand over her eyes to look at the tall gentleman who stood against the sun. She was unable to make out any of his features, but she did make out his stature. Lean, athletically built. He was likely the Marquess of Edvoy.
And Taygete had her toes in the pond.
Should she rise and curtsey? She was frozen in place for getting caught without her stockings on, something that had never happened to her before.
She cleared her throat before she spoke. “My lord.”
She noticed his head go back slightly and was not surprised by it. She knew her voice was odd. Deeper than a girl’s should be, with a rough tone that made it almost as ghastly as her name. There was nothing she could do about it. She’d tried to speak in a higher tone, but everyone had told her she sounded even more ridiculous, so she’d given it up and decided to simply be herself.
This had led her to be herself in more ways than one, which was why she’d stuck her feet in the pond.
She stared up at the man, but the light refused to make out more than his form. She gave up trying to make out his face when he reached for his jacket, undid its buttons, and gracefully folded to the ground. He stopped, balancing himself on his toes, his knees bent, and his face less than a foot away from her own.
Taygete dropped her hand to the ground to keep from falling backward as she set her eyes on what had to be the most beautiful boy in existence. He was young, yet his jaw was already well defined in his tanned skin. His nose was sharp and just as distinguished as the rest of him, except for his hair. Black waves seemed to grow in a way that did what they pleased, coming out in that playful way that took most men a large amount of pomade to capture. With the way it blew in the breeze, Taygete knew his hair was unburdened by serums and most likely light to the touch.
But she saw all of this without her gaze straying too far from his eyes. If he’d been standing a distance away, she’d have thought them black, but this close she could tell they were a dark blue with an even darker rim around them. They were stunning and surrounded by thick, black lashes.
Taygete didn’t take a breath until she saw him take one. Had he been holding his breath as well?
Her mother had been right to invite the marquess. Once Maia caught sight of him, she’d forget all about the grinning Master Cox.
“Maia.”
She blinked and continued to stare at him, realizing he thought she was Maia, which meant he’d not met her sister yet.
Of course, her sister had not met him either then. No right-minded woman would wish to leave this man’s side once they glimpsed his eyes. Were he Taygete’s, she’d not have left him to wander the garden by himself. She’d have latched onto him with a grip so tight tailors would have been forced to design their clothes together, one entire large piece of fabric. That’s how hard she’d have clung to him.
Just as Maia had done to Cox whenever he’d come in from wherever his ship had taken him.
It proved that beauty could cause pain, and Taygete wondered if this man would cause her sister an ounce of it.
In an effort to guard her sister’s heart, she didn’t correct the man’s assumption.
With the girls being sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen, many never knew who was older or younger, and Taygete would use that to her advantage.
She smiled. “My lord, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a few questions.”
He lifted a dark and naturally sculpted brow. “Ask me anything you wish.”
“Do you have a mistress?”
His eyes widened, and he stared at her with disbelief. “I don’t believe this a topic for young women.”
She made a sound of consideration before turning back to the pond.
Heartbreaker.
“Though, I will say that I can’t think of another woman while in the same vicinity as you.”
Taygete didn’t look at him as heat flowed up her throat and tinted her cheeks.
Then he lowered his voice. “And I swear that I will be as faithful a husband as my wife is to me.”
She looked at him then. She couldn’t resist. She had to. “Why would your wife not be faithful to you?” Surely, he knew that any woman who became his wife would have eyes for no other man.
He frowned. “A beautiful woman will have her fair share of admirers, even after she is wed. Surely, you’re aware of just how stunning you are.”
Stunning?
Taygete’s lips parted, and she looked away again. Her heart was racing, and she knew it was better to end her ploy before this went any further. She’d gotten the answer she sought. He would be faithful, and Taygete had no doubts that Maia would be the same. They were a good match.
She opened her mouth to tell him the truth, but he spoke before she could.
“Now, I need to ask you a question.”
Dear God.
She didn’t want him asking her anything, but she thought it only fair since she’d been so very blunt with him. She also knew that in her current state, she couldn’t run and cursed herself for taking off her shoes. She kept her eyes on the pond. “Very well, my lord. You make ask your question.”
“What are you doing?”
She turned to face him. “What?”
He was not smiling, yet she saw laughter in his eyes. His gaze traveled down her body and stopped at her feet before returning to her. “Why are your feet in the pond?”
She laughed nervously. “Why not?”
His eyes brightened, and he smiled. “Why not? That’s not an answer.”
She shrugged and moved her toes around a bit. “I like the feel of the water, especially when the sun is out. If my feet get too warm from the heat, I simply stick them in the pond, cool them, and then bring them back out.”
“Does that not dry your feet and make them hard?” His eyes danced mischievously, distracting her from the fact that he was removing his gloves and placing them in his pocket.
She shook her head. “No, my feet are soft.”
“I d
on’t believe you.” He lowered his voice and leaned forward. “I’ll have to see for myself.”
Before Taygete could stop him, his hand was around her ankle and her foot was out of the water. He turned her, her skirts raising with the maneuver, and then her foot was in his warm hands.
He added just a hint of pressure, and Taygete felt it travel up her leg and bloom between her thighs.
Her fingers bit into the sole as she stared at him and shivered.
His eyes darkened, and his voice was rough when he said, “You were right. Your foot is soft.”
Taygete’s vision blurred with her lightheadedness, and she didn’t know how she'd manage to speak. When she did, her voice was shaky. “You should let me go.”
He did as she suggested, and her foot hit the grass, but then a shadow covered her face and his mouth was on hers.
He kissed her.
His mouth was just as warm as his hands.
Taygete had never been kissed, yet she found herself tilting her head as he deepened it.
Her lips parted, and his tongue touched hers.
A sound she couldn’t control was drawn from her throat, and his own growl vibrated against her mouth.
It was beastly and shocking, and she pulled away, stunned.
“Maia.” He started to lean forward again.
Taygete straightened her spine. “No.”
He stopped. His gaze had been on her mouth, but he lifted his blue eyes to look at her.
Taygete swallowed, her heart racing with desire and guilt. “I’m not Maia.”
He froze before her, his entire body becoming rigid. He blinked and then his mouth pressed into a line. “Taygete.”
She’d never liked her name before, but even upset, Edvoy said it like a verbal caress.
There was no one left for her to be. Alcyone was only eight.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He frowned and his gaze moved away before he straightened, returning to his true height.
Taygete scrambled to her feet and tried to think of a way to fix their situation as she brushed the grass from her skirts. “We can’t tell anyone about it.”
He sighed heavily. “I know.”
She looked up and was surprised by the amount of pain she felt at hearing him agree with her.
But he’d not come for her. He’d come for Maia. Maia was the eldest. She needed to marry first, and Edvoy had sworn he’d be faithful to her. Her sister deserved that loyalty. She concentrated on that thought as she straightened her shoulders.
He was still staring at her.
She looked away.
“Taygete,” her mother called in the distance.
“I should go,” she said.
“Taygete—” Edvoy called.
“Goodbye,” she said before fleeing the garden, leaving both her stockings and shoes behind. And surely it would be goodbye, as far as she was concerned. She’d avoid dinner and any other occasion the marquess would be around, only facing again him when she had her feelings under control.
Until then, she’d remain somewhere where no one could see the tears that fell for a reason she would dare not name.
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CHAPTER THREE
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Southampton, England
Eight Years Later
Dear Lord Edvoy,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. It has been many years since we spoke, and though it grieves me that I’ve not written you as a friend prior to asking a favor of you, it seems my mother has left me with no choice.
Yet before I ask this favor of you, I must apologize if what I next write brings you any pain.
Though my sister and niece died tragically, our family has always counted you as one of us, and though distance has remained between us, that has always been the fact. You became our brother the day you married Maia, and nothing can change that. We know you cared for our Maia as best you could and want you to know that we do not blame you for her death in any way.
Maia and Artemis were taken from all of us, and when we cried, we cried for your loss as well.
In recent years, my mother has grown anxious about seeing Electra and Alcyone wed, and they have decided they would like to go to London to finally have a Season. Yet in order for that to be accomplished, they must have an escort. Since my father’s death, I have been unable to travel far from our company business.
Also, as you might have guessed, I have no desire to go to London in the least. While I knew you were of like mind for a few years, I have noticed your name appear in the London papers along with the other Men of Nashwood quite a bit in the last year.
That being said, I would like to ask you to escort my sisters through their London Season as their brother, since I cannot.
However, I would not ask this of you if I didn’t tell you about my sisters before you made your decision.
Electra, who is now twenty-five, has been engaged twice to soldiers who later died in combat. And while Electra would easily be considered a spinster, she comes with a large dowry and is still as beautiful as ever. I’m nearly positive that you will find her a match in a matter of weeks.
Alcyone, on the other hand, might be more difficult to manage. She’s eighteen and of a suitable age for a debut, but still has the mindset of a child. She’s a wanderer and will need to be closely supervised. The sooner she’s married, the better.
I would have asked my younger brother, Orion, to see to this matter, but he’s not returned from his deployment to France, and the family is unaware of when he shall return.
I’ll wait for your reply, old friend.
Sincerely, Titan Bellenger
Hugh stood under Cross House, an old shelter that protected him and a few other travelers from the rain, while his footman called for a hack. He tried to recall the last time he’d been at the Bellenger residence.
It had been a sunny day when he’d come to deliver the news to the Bellenger family that his wife of only a year had died along with their child, Artemis. That had been seven years ago, and he’d avoided them ever since, unable to look any of them in the eye knowing he’d failed them. Though Titan’s letter said otherwise, Hugh did blame himself, because he’d found his family much too late to save them.
A hack came, and he climbed inside, only a little damp from the rain.
When he’d received Titan’s letter, he’d known that no matter what the request, he would do it. He owed the family he’d hurt and would do anything to make it right.
He’d been surprised to read that Orion had joined the navy or that Alcyone was now of marriageable age. He remembered her vividly during those weeks that he’d courted Maia before finally marrying her. Whenever possible, he’d let the girl come with them when they’d ventured to the park. Her happiness and wild character reminded him of his own brother, Ray. He’d tried to get along with all of Maia’s sisters, finding it easy to woo Electra and Alcyone to his side, but Taygete had been another matter.
She’d avoided him, and though he’d intended to do the same, it had irritated him when she’d not looked at him during the rare occasions she’d accompanied the family for dinner. In the end, he’d been forced to let the matter go, knowing she’d made the right decision. Worrying about her had distracted him from worrying about Maia, but the woman who’d become his wife had come around slowly to the idea of marrying him.
He’d not kissed her without notice like he’d done Taygete, a heated, impulsive locking of lips that had burned him for days afterward. The first kiss he and Maia had shared had been nice in its own way.
Their entire marriage had been nice. She’d been good to him until the end, and he’d been faithful to her.
And he’d not married since. With the passing of his mother not long after Maia died, he’d not had anyone pushing him to do so.
Well, no one b
ut Lorena Cullip and her Spinsters’ Society. Lorena was his friend Emmett’s wife, but Hugh had met Lorena when she was just a young girl who caused trouble for all her brother’s friends. Years later, she was still making mischief and had employed a small regiment of friends to her aid.
She was a sweet and loving woman and had been there for him when he’d lost Maia. Hugh’s mother, who’d begun to thrive after his marriage to Maia, seemed to let go at the death of her grandchild, and Lorena was there through it all. Like a mother hen, she shielded him from the gossips, blacking out any mention of him in the papers, and had managed to take over his household so that they’d all become loyal to her as opposed to him—ensuring he bathed, ate, and went to bed at a reasonable time.
No amount of cursing and swearing could push her or her friend, Genie, away.
Lorena’s mother, Lady Constantine, had been there as well, but only so that no one would think anything untoward was happening between him and Lorena. The Cullips had never been a family to hold to rules and traditions, yet had it not been for those visits to the Duke of Valdeston’s house during those short summer weeks, Hugh would probably not be the man he was, and he’d not have survived without Lorena and Francis’ friendship.
Emmett was a lucky man, and there had been a time when Hugh had thought to propose to Lorena, but she’d always been more sister than anything else. He’d never had a true urge to kiss her.
Not like he’d kissed Taygete in the garden that day eight years ago.
It was wrong to think of his dead wife’s sister, but think of her he did.
Taygete had not been mentioned in the letter, so Hugh suspected that the woman had married and probably had a brood of her own.
He smiled at the thought, knowing it had to be true. She’d been much too beautiful to have gone this long without a suitor. If Titan had not explained why Electra was not married, he’d not have believed it.
The hack stopped before the house, and Hugh’s footman held an umbrella over his head as he rushed to the door, his boots slapping in the small puddles of water all the way up the stairs. When he stepped into the foyer, he was greeted with warmth, and the butler showed him to Titan’s office.
Miss Taygete’s Sweet Sister’s Society Page 2
