Miss Taygete’s Sweet Sister’s Society

by Charlotte Stone

  She felt Hugh’s hand tighten on her and realized what anyone could assume about them. Sure, there were certain liberties with him being her ‘brother’, but she thought it best to escape his hold. Yet when she tried to move away, he wouldn’t allow it. With his hold as tight as it was, she knew her only method of escape appeared to involve leaving her dress behind, which was not a very good idea at all.

  Francis, who had Genie on his arm, looked between them and when his eyes settled on Hugh, he grinned. Then he lifted a brow.

  Taygete looked up at Hugh and saw him return the grin with a single nod, and Taygete wondered what the men were communicating.

  “Ray was right,” Julius said as his violet eyes roamed over her. “You’re beautiful.”

  Taygete had heard the words before, but from a man like the Marquess of Darvess, they seemed to carry more meaning. He looked like an angel with a head of gold and eyes like amethyst. She was lost for words.

  "I told you as much,” Ray said as he stepped forward with Electra on his arm.

  Hugh turned to Ray, and his voice was not kind. “You’ve been talking about her?” He pulled her close.

  “Hugh,” Taygete settled her hand on the one Hugh had placed on her hip, struggling to push it away.

  Ray spoke over her to his brother with innocent eyes. “I spoke about them all. They are beautiful.”

  Electra laughed.

  Taygete tapped Hugh’s hand. “Hugh.”

  “I think we need to speak,” Hugh said to him.

  “About what?” Ray asked.

  “Hugh?” Taygete called.

  “Actually,” Morris said as he moved forward. “I think we need to speak.” The Duke of Cort’s blue-green eyes were fixed on Hugh but fell to her before lifting to Hugh again.

  Taygete froze as an unsettling feeling creeped into her bones.

  “What are you to discuss with him?” Sophia asked, her hand still in her husband’s. Husband and wife both had black hair.

  Morris turned to her. “That’s between Hugh and I.”

  “Why can’t we all discuss everything together?” Lorena asked from her position by Emmett. She placed her hands at her hips and looked at Morris expectantly.

  Morris held her eyes and said, “Well, if you wish to discuss everything, why not start with your secrets and the ones the Sisterhood doesn’t tell us?”

  Lorena and Sophia straightened. Alice looked away. Genie covered her mouth to suppress giggles.

  Morris smiled. “My thoughts exactly.”

  Taygete looked around the room and wondered just what secrets everyone held. She felt as though she’d just walked into the middle of a play and had missed the first act.

  “Let’s move to the study,” Emmett said. Then he looked past everyone to the butler. “Sudworth, keep the women away from the study.”

  Sudworth, who was much younger than the usual butler and handsome as well, nodded.

  Lorena huffed at Sudworth. “I hired you before I wed Emmett! How dare you take his side.”

  Sudworth held her eyes. “I’m sorry, my lady, but now that Emmett is your husband, I must do as he says.”

  Emmett smirked.

  Lorena glared at him and then all the men before removing herself from Emmett’s side and taking a seat on the couch.

  The other women followed her.

  Hugh finally removed his hand from her hip, only to place it on her shoulder and turn her to face him. “I’ll be back.”

  “All right.”

  He looked out the window where the storm went on and then at her once more. “If the storm continues, then we’ll stay for dinner.

  “All right.”

  He smiled. “And probably stay the night if it gets worse.”

  Taygete didn’t like those words. “I’m sure it won’t go on for that long.”

  Hugh touched her cheek then left.

  Taygete turned to find the other women staring at her with smiles, including Electra. She didn’t dare ask why they were looking at her. She didn’t even have to guess the reason. She’d have to speak with Hugh about the way he was behaving. She didn’t wish to lead anyone to believe there was more to them than being in-laws.

  She moved to a chair and noticed a tea tray had been brought out. She grabbed a biscuit as Florence asked, “What do you think they’re discussing?”

  “Taygete, of course,” Lorena said before she looked at Taygete again. “I didn’t know possessed feelings for Hugh.”

  Taygete choked. “I don’t! And I’m sure it is not me they’re discussing in there.”

  Sudworth returned to the room and turned to Lorena. “They’re discussing Miss Taygete, my lady.”

  Lorena smiled at Sudworth. “Thank you, Sudworth, and I must say, you put on a lovely performance for Emmett.”

  Sudworth bowed. “You know I live to serve you.” Then he left.

  Taygete realized her mouth was hanging open and shut it.

  Then Lorena turned to her and said, “Now tell us everything we need to know about you and Hugh.”

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  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

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  “I should have married her when I had the chance,” Hugh said aloud. He’d never confessed those words aloud to his friends, never wishing to speak ill of Maia or thinking about problems he could never fix, but Taygete’s reappearance in his life had changed everything.

  He’d planned to keep things light between them, but then he’d asked his question in the carriage and everything had changed.

  She’d said no, the stubborn woman, and Hugh wanted to know why.

  He also now wanted the impossible.

  “We can’t change the law, Hugh,” Morris said. He was leaning on an elbow against the back of a high wingback chair by the fireplace. The room had darkened with the relentlessness of the weather and fading day. Lamps had been lit and scattered around the room.

  Hugh stood by the door and stared at the men present, his brother included.

  Ray stood a few feet away from Hugh and said, “I knew it from the moment I met her that she was the one for you. During the week before the wedding, you could barely keep your eyes off her. You were subtle, so I’m sure no one else saw it, but I did, and I also noticed how Taygete avoided looking at you. I still don’t understand why you married Maia.”

  “Mother was ill,” Hugh said. “She wanted Maia as a daughter.”

  “She wanted a daughter,” Ray corrected. “It didn’t have to be Maia.”

  He was right. Hugh knew this now, but at the time, he’d been young and his mother had been the most important woman in his life, Taygete included. He’d have done anything to keep her alive. He’d have married the very devil if that’s what it took. His mother had been everything, but now that she was gone, Hugh realized that he had the rest of his life to live knowing he may never have true love.

  “Is she the reason you never married again?” Francis was sitting in the chair Morris was leaning on.

  “Perhaps, but I’m not sure. All I know is that I want her.”

  “As what?” Morris asked. “Your mistress? Because you can never have her as anything else.”

  “You could take her for a wife,” Frank cut in from where he sat on the couch with his brother, Calvin, and Julius. “But you’d have to accept the possibility that your sons won’t inherit.”

  “At this point, I think I could live with it,” Hugh said. “I’m tired of living my life for others and in this case, that would include my children. They’d inherit wealth. That will have to be enough.” Then he looked at Ray. “That means your sons would inherit.”

  Ray had started glaring earlier during Hugh’s speech but looked ready to attack if given the chance. “This is ridiculous. You’re not passing your responsibilities onto me. We’re not doing this. There has to be another way.”

 
; “The law is clear,” Frank said. “Hugh’s marriage would always be voidable no matter what.” Meaning at any moment for the rest of their lives, a judge could claim that Taygete was indeed not his wife.

  “But not voided from the start,” Francis said. “I support you, Hugh, as my father would have.” The late Duke of Valdeston valued love over all else.

  Frank said, “Without question, we’ll do everything in our power to see to your happiness. What would you have us do?”

  “It’s simple,” Hugh said. “We’d need the king to accept the match.” He looked at Morris. The Duke of Cort had been working his way into the King’s privy council.

  Morris frowned. “I believe His Majesty is quite through doing favors for me. He already pardoned Sophia’s father for switching places with his brother.”

  Hugh had forgotten about Morris and Sophia’s situation, even though the rest of Society had not.

  “Perhaps the Chief Justice Baron Nicholson can help,” Francis said.

  Hugh took a moment before saying, “We may have an issue with that if his brother arrives.”

  “His brother?” William asked from where he and Aaron stood by the window. “You mean Commander Nicholson? What does he have to do with this?”

  “He wants Taygete,” Hugh said.

  A silence fell over the room.

  “Could this situation get any worse?” Ray asked.

  “Taygete might say no,” Hugh said. “That was the only obstacle he cared about. She could very well say no. If she did, nothing else would matter.

  “You’re the Marquess of Edvoy,” Julius said. “I can’t think of a judge who would wish to take you on as an enemy.”

  “Or the rest of us,” Aaron said as his eyes turned menacing. It was a look Hugh had not seen in quite a while, not since Mary and Lily had come into his life. The girls had softened him but apparently not enough.

  “So, we use the Season as a way to see if it will work,” Francis said. “We’ll invite the judges and their families to the balls and see what they have to say.”

  Hugh liked the idea. “Taygete will have to go along with it.”

  “That’s not our issue,” Morris said with a grin. “You’ll have to win her all on your own.”

  That, Hugh knew, and he realized how nervous he was.

  He wanted her so much and knew she held some affection for him. He simply had to find out the reason she’d denied him.

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  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

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  “There’s nothing to tell,” Taygete immediately said. She looked around at Lorena, Sophia, Alice, Florence, Genie, and Electra, who were all staring at her with their own versions of disbelief. “There is nothing happening between me and Hugh,” she emphasized when no one spoke a word.

  “Why not?” Sophia finally asked with a lifted, perfectly sculpted brow. “He’s gorgeous.”

  Electra and Genie giggled from their place on the couch. Lorena, Sophia, and Florence sat on the opposite couch. Alice sat in a chair next to Taygete’s.

  “He’s my brother,” Taygete said.

  A scoff came from the most unlikely source. A small blonde maid came into the room and put a tea tray on the table before straightening and giving her a look. “He’s not of your blood. Sugar?”

  Taygete stared at the maid and said, “The law doesn’t care… and no sugar, just cream.”

  “Is the law the only thing stopping you?” Electra asked. There was concern in her gray eyes, an expression that set Taygete’s heart racing. She truly didn’t wish to speak of this and, moreover, she didn’t want to speak about it with her sister.

  There were many reasons she and Hugh could never be together, but instead of going through them all, she simply said, “No. I don’t wish to marry.” She took the tea offered her and sat back.

  “We’ve all said that before,” Lorena said as her tea was served to her.

  Alice nodded over her cup. “I didn’t wish to marry, because Calvin broke my heart when he kissed my cousin.”

  Taygete felt her words strike her heart. She recalled just how close Calvin and Alice had seemed. Calvin’s love for his wife was plain for all to see.

  Alice reached over and touched her hand with a smile. “It’s all right. Calvin regretted it, and he wasn’t himself at the time. It was before we began courting.”

  Taygete could not say the same of Hugh’s choice to be with Maia, though she knew that she’d helped make that decision for him. She recalled him trying to speak with her after the kiss, but she’d simply ignored him.

  Had she not, would he have chosen her?

  Most likely not.

  He’d told her in the carriage that Maia had been his mother’s choice, but Taygete hadn’t asked for more details. Now, she wished she had.

  And yet, she didn’t. Nothing mattered. Neither the past nor the future.

  Lorena said, “I burned down Emmett’s house.”

  Genie turned to her. “You did not!”

  Lorena lifted a shoulder and sipped her tea. “It’s what everyone believed at the time. I felt so horrible about it, and I was sure that Emmett would never love me after that, so I refused to have anyone else.”

  Taygete smiled. “But he did love you, didn’t he?”

  Lorena smiled. “Yes, and he didn’t give me a choice in the matter in the end. Once he had it in his mind that we would be together, there was little I could do to stop him.”

  “It was the same way with Calvin,” Alice said.

  “And Morris,” Sophia added.

  Florence nodded. “I’ve come to find that once the Men of Nashwood get an idea in their heads, there’s no one who can stop them, including us.”

  Lorena smiled at Taygete. “So, with that being said, I’d begin preparing for the inevitable.”

  “The inevitable?” Taygete whispered as fear ran through her veins.

  Tears filled Electra’s eyes. “Has Hugh given you any indication that he wishes to be with you?”

  Taygete had to hold back her laughter at that question. Hugh had made it very clear that he wanted her, but she wasn’t sure it was in the way the other women thought. He’d not promised love or marriage. What he offered was time to enjoy one another.

  But then there had been the question in the carriage.

  “He has,” Lorena whispered. She was staring at Taygete, looking at her as though her face said everything. “Tell us what happened between you two.”

  Taygete did wish to speak about it, if only to gain more understanding about Hugh. She thought the women around her could help, and yet… she looked at Electra.

  Electra stared at her and twin creases formed between her brows as hurt filled her eyes. “Tay, you can trust me.”

  Taygete blinked and looked away. Her voice grew hoarse with emotion. “It’s not that, Electra. It’s simply… I don’t want you to hate me.”

  “I could never hate you,” her sister said.

  She heard the shuffling of feet and looked up as Electra appeared before her. Her sister perched herself on the chair's arm and took Taygete’s hands. “No matter what, I could never hate you, Tay. Never.”

  Taygete didn’t agree. If Electra knew what she’d done and why it was her fault that Maia was dead, she’d change her mind.

  But Taygete supposed she did owe her sister part of the truth. Electra kept no secrets from her. It was only fair that she returned some of her burdens. And after nearly a decade of holding it in, she did want to speak of her troubles.

  “We kissed.” Taygete’s heart raced as the words left her lips.

  “When?” Lorena asked.

  Taygete looked at Lorena but tightened her hold on Electra’s hands. “Eight years ago, on the day Hugh came to meet my sister.”

  The entire room made a collective sound of surprise. Everyone but Electra. Her s
ister’s only reaction was to tighten her fingers, giving Taygete the strength to say more.

  She swallowed. “I was by the pond in our back garden.”

  “You loved that pond,” Electra said. “I wondered why you stopped visiting the fish.”

  It had become too painful after Hugh left with Maia. The pond, which had always filled her with gladness, had become a reminder of loss.

  Taygete went on. “Hugh arrived, and I allowed him to think I was Maia so that I could ask him a few questions. You see, my sister had already gone through a broken courtship, because of infidelity. I wanted to know what sort of a man Hugh was.”

  “Hugh would never dishonor his wife,” Lorena immediately said. “None of the men would.”

  Taygete smiled. “I know. He told me as much and then one thing led to another and before I knew what was happening, he kissed me… and I returned it.” Enthusiastically. It had been her first kiss, and Taygete had never regretted it. The setting couldn’t have been more perfect.

  She still recalled the feeling of the warm sun and the pressure of Hugh’s mouth. The breeze and the hushed sound of the city and how sour everything had become when he’d called her Maia. She’d tried to remove that feeling by kissing other men, but it had never worked.

  “After the kiss, I told him who I truly was. I stole that kiss from Maia.”

  “You didn’t,” Electra said. “He didn’t kiss you because you were Maia. He kissed you because he liked you.”

  Taygete took her hands back. “But had be known who I was in the beginning, he never would have done it.” She stared at Electra. “Don’t you see? Had I not interfered, everything would be as it should.”

  Electra frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  Taygete pressed her lips together, realizing she’d said too much.

  “That’s not true,” Lorena said with a bittersweet expression. “Hugh kissed you because he saw something in you.”