Miss Taygete’s Sweet Sister’s Society (The Spinster’s Society) (A Regency Romance Book)

by Charlotte Stone

  Hugh chuckled. “No, the only women Aaron entertains are his wards, Mary and Lily.”

  Taygete smiled and asked a question that turned his gut. “Do you ever think about… Artemis?”

  “Almost every day,” he told her. When he reached out to touch her hand, he was surprised. He’d put his gloves back on before he’d left. Still, he could tell that underneath her own gloves rested soft skin.

  “I’m so sorry, Hugh.” Twin lines of anguish appeared between her brows. “I’m so very sorry.”

  “Taygete, you’ve nothing to be sorry about. You did not cause the accident.” And to this day, the Bellenger family still didn’t know the whole truth. He’d kept the fact that she’d been kidnapped to himself, needing to hunt down the man responsible on his own.

  Hugh and the other members of the brotherhood had caught up with the criminal and what had taken place after that would forever remain a secret between those who had been present.

  Many didn’t know the secrets that bound the men to one another, and they never would.

  Taygete’s eyes turned away, and he wondered at her thoughts.

  “She’d have been beautiful like her mother,” she said aloud after a few moments.

  Hugh agreed but didn’t wish to continue with a conversation that would only add a bigger divide between them. He wished to get closer to her and to understand her better. Then hopefully, he’d eventually find a way for them to be together. “Tell me about the hospital. What made you decide to become a nurse?”

  She spoke a little louder as the sound of the storm rose. “I saw there was a need and volunteered.” Her voice had an ease to it, as though the question were of no consequence, but it was.

  A woman of her station didn’t need to work at all, much less work hard.

  “Charities fulfill needs,” he said. “Why not simply sit on the board of one of those instead of working as a nurse?”

  She looked at her hands before she looked at him. “I wanted to keep busy. The hospital keeps my mind going as well as my hands.”

  “Were you keeping busy to avoid marriage?”

  She seemed to pause before she spoke again. “At the time, I was trying desperately to not think about Maia.”

  He understood that very easily. Nursing sailors back to health had been Taygete’s way of coping, yet two years short of a decade and she was still hard at work.

  The carriage, which had been moving slowly for a while, came to a halt as the storm grew worse. He heard the sound of the horse’s agitation as thunder sounded. Were they not already halfway there, he’d have turned them back. He glanced outside and realized he could barely see a thing. It seemed much later in the day than it truly was. The rain fell heavily, beating the carriage and most likely the men and animals.

  His footman appeared at the door, already drenched from head to toe, letting him know that the road was blocked up ahead.

  “What would you advise?” Hugh asked him.

  “We will press on, my lord,” the man said.

  Hugh nodded, but said, “If the storm grows any worse, head back.”

  “Yes, my lord,” the footman said before disappearing.

  To Taygete, he said, “I’m sorry that I dragged you from the house. Had I known the weather would turn, I’d have never left home.”

  “I’m all right,” she said with a small smile. “We’re quite used to the rain in Southampton. I often walk home in it from the hospital.” She pressed closer to the window and turned her eyes to stare up into the clouds. Hugh thought that if given the chance, she might have stuck her hand outside. It reminded him of the pond, his most precious memory with her.

  He wanted to make more memories with her, to fill his life with a picture of her in every part of his day so he had something to think on when they parted, something that would get him through a future that didn’t include her.

  “Do you enjoy working in the hospital?” he asked.

  The strain that had been fading from her face was all but erased with the storm. “Yes.”

  The carriage crept forward, and Hugh almost wished it would stop again, for he was enjoying his time with Taygete and even more so enjoying the hint of a smile on her face.

  She enjoyed her work, but Hugh could barely understand how she could stomach it. Hugh had heard the stories and read the papers about what dangers soldiers faced in war. Missing limbs, the smell of death, blood, and other bodily fluids pungent in the air. The tale of victory always aligned itself with tragedies along the way, and Hugh suspected that Taygete had seen some of those tragedies and the aftermath of them.

  He beat down the urge to protect her from it. Such things were not for women to witness, but Taygete obviously had and didn’t seem weakened by it in the least. “You’re an amazing woman.”

  Her eyes flashed wide at the compliment, and her cheeks reddened. “It’s not as though I’m a soldier. I simply help where I can.”

  He could just imagine it and knew that Taygete probably gave the men more than physical health. With a face like hers, it was likely she gave them hope as well. Her beauty would call to even the most stubborn of hearts. It was no wonder Commander Nicholas wanted her. She’d probably given him hope as well at some point.

  He just hoped it hadn’t gone beyond that.

  He decided he’d save those questions for another time. “You must have had some gruesome sights. How did you manage it?” The carriage began to move faster, getting past the worst parts of the road.

  “It wasn’t easy at first,” she said. “But now I couldn’t imagine a life where I no longer worked there.”

  Hugh adjusted himself to face the door as the carriage turned the corner that would bring them to Lorena’s house. “Why not marry?” he asked.

  “Because, I don’t want to,” she said. “I can’t imagine any man would allow me to continue doing what I do if I married.”

  No, Hugh couldn’t imagine it either. He certainly would not allow it. He was always wondering at the connection between her and Commander Nicholson. How many other men had fallen in love with her? How many of them had asked for her hand? He was sure the number was more than she could count, more than any women could. She was simply that enchanting. God forbid she be the woman to help save your life.

  “You wouldn’t,” she whispered.

  Hugh stared at her and realized they’d been looking into each other’s eyes as he’d been away at his thoughts. She must have been reading his face.

  Her words confirmed it. “Your displeasure it very clear. You’d never allow your wife to work in a hospital.”

  “Not with so many men, no,” he confessed.

  She leaned back in her seat. “Then how fortunate for us that we can’t marry.”

  “If the law were different, would you have considered it?” he asked. “Would you have married me?”

  The carriage stopped, and the footman’s feet splashed into the water on the ground as he came to the door.

  “No,” Taygete said as it opened. Then she turned and allowed the footman to rush her to the front door.

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  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

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  Taygete’s heart was racing but not because of running up the front steps that led to Lorena’s house. The winds had caused the storm to fall at an angle, causing her to get wet in spite of the footman’s best efforts.

  Hugh emerged into the house right behind her and when she glanced in his direction, his eyes were hard, telling her without words that their discussion had yet to meet its end.

  It was not the reaction she’d wanted. What she’d expected was for him to resign from his pursuits.

  And she’d not lied when she’d told him no. The law was only part of the reason she could never have the man beside her. The other parts had to do with guilt and the fact that he’d been married to her si
ster.

  Lorena and Electra strolled out of the sitting room, followed by a very handsome tall man who only grew more gorgeous as he came closer. His features were strong and masculine, and he walked with confidence and beauty.

  Electra rushed over to Taygete before wrapping her in a hug, snapping her attention back to the matter at hand.

  “How is Alcyone?” Electra asked and turned her eyes to Hugh. Taygete hadn’t known that Electra knew their sister had been found, so Taygete surmised that Hugh had sent a note by Lorena’s while she’d been with Alcyone.

  Hugh said, “She’s fine. Your mother is with her.”

  “This storm looks to be getting worse,” Lorena said. “You both should stay until it ends.”

  “How was Southampton?” the handsome stranger asked Hugh. He had dark careless waves and steel gray eyes that seemed as piercing as metal.

  Hugh’s expression was still hard. “I’ll tell you more when we’ve the chance to speak alone.”

  Taygete wondered what he wished to discuss with him.

  “Why must you speak alone?” Lorena asked, as though reading Taygete’s thoughts.

  The stranger turned to Lorena. “If he wishes to discuss it without you present, it means he doesn’t wish for you to know, my love.”

  Lorena narrowed her eyes before looking at Taygete. “Taygete, this is my husband, the Earl of Ashwick.”

  Taygete thought he looked like an earl. “My lord.” She curtsied.

  “Emmett will do, since you’re family,” the earl told her with the flash of a smile. “We’re glad to finally meet the rest of Hugh’s clan.”

  Taygete returned his smile. She simply couldn’t help it. Her family had gray eyes they’d inherited from her father, but the Bellenger gray was so very different from Emmett’s. Ashwick’s seemed to gleam like the flicker of light against a blade. She would imagine that not many lied to him. Those eyes seemed to demand the truth or suffer the consequences.

  “He’s quite handsome, isn’t he?” Electra asked.

  Taygete blinked and turned to her sister with a gasp, both embarrassed at getting caught staring and outraged that Electra would say such a thing in front of the earl, no less. “Electra!”

  Emmett chuckled.

  Lorena laughed. “Oh, it’s all right. I’m sure Emmett and the others are quite used to being stared at. You’ll get used to their presence.”

  Taygete didn’t have to wonder who the ‘others’ might be. She knew Lorena was speaking about the ten men who made up the Men of Nashwood.

  As though compelled to test her theory, Taygete glanced at Hugh. His was a face she thought she’d never get over, a beauty that touched her soul. He noticed and whatever irritation he’d had in his eyes slipped away under her gaze.

  Taygete looked away, hoping that once again, she’d not been caught staring.

  Still, Hugh took a step toward her and placed a hand at her back as he spoke and laughed with Lorena and Emmett.

  She ignored his touch and looked up when more footsteps were heard coming into the room.

  She looked toward the sitting room and had to blink simply to make sure she was seeing correctly, for the man coming toward them looked so much like Hugh it was unnerving.

  But then she noticed the slight difference in his features and knew who he was as he stopped before her.

  “Raymond?” Taygete asked with wide eyes.

  Ray Vance gave her a devilish grin before leaning forward and kissing her partly on the cheek but also on the corner of her lips as well. “Taygete.” His voice had deepened, and Taygete felt a slight tingling as he pulled away. It seemed the enchantment didn’t only revolve around the Men of Nashwood but extended to their family and friends as well.

  His dark smile grew as though he knew exactly what he’d done to her. His dark blue eyes were so much like Hugh’s, had always been like his brother’s, but had always been full of great mischief.

  Hugh added pressure to the small of her back, and she felt him grab the material possessively and braced for him to pull her back against him.

  But before he could thoroughly embarrass them, Ray took her hand began to lead her away. “How are you?”

  “Fine,” Taygete said after finding her voice. She heard conversation going on behind her and knew they were being followed into the sitting room.

  “How are you liking London so far?” He showed her to a chair by the fireplace.

  Taygete looked out the window and was amazed at how dark it had grown. The storm seemed as though it had no plans to end anytime soon. She turned to watch Raymond bring his own chair closer to hers, positioning it with his back to the rest of the room, and settled in before she spoke. “The city is crowded, but I believe I’ve managed to meet the best it has to offer.” She’d not forgotten the moment Hugh had shared with Lorena in front of the seamstress’ shop. These were good people.

  Ray looked at the others in the room, and Taygete did as well.

  Lorena and Electra were sitting on the couch, talking about the upcoming party. Hugh had Emmett alone in a corner, speaking in low tones, but every once in a while, Hugh would glance up and meet her eyes before turning back to Emmett.

  Ray turned back to her. “They’re very good people. My brother was fortunate to have had them after my parents died and after Maia’s death.”

  Taygete sighed around the hurt that settled against her ribs. “Yes.”

  Ray leaned forward and changed the subject. “What delicacies have you tried?”

  She smiled. Raymond had always been aware of Taygete’s secret obsession with food. “Your brother fed us very well last evening. We had White Fricassee.” The dish was made with chicken in a delicious lemon cream sauce with mushrooms. It was one of her favorite meals but had tasted much better than any she’d ever had. “It was divine.”

  Ray’s eyes widened. “White Fricassee? My brother isn’t a fan of sauces. He prefers his meat dry.”

  Taygete tried to recall Hugh at dinner last evening, but since she’d avoided looking at him, she didn’t know if he’d eaten or not. “Well, I don’t know why his cook would make it if he didn’t like it.”

  Ray’s smile grew big. “I have no idea.”

  She stared at him and started to think that he knew just as well as she did why he’d ordered the meal.

  He’d ordered it for her.

  Her heart seemed to move with the speed of the pouring rain.

  Ray began to speak again. “I’m to be an escort to you and your sisters at the parties. I’ll arrange it so we’re close.”

  Taygete shook her head. “Oh, I won’t need escort. I’ve no ambition to marry.”

  He adjusted himself in his chair, turning more toward hers. “That doesn’t mean that there won’t be a man who wishes to marry you.”

  Hugh’s questions about laws came to mind. Why he’d asked it, she didn’t understand. There was nothing they could do. The laws were in place to protect families such as hers from men who went after large dowries.

  She and Hugh could never marry.

  “I’ll refuse anyone who asks for my hand, much less a dance,” she told him.

  He frowned. “You can’t refuse to dance.”

  “Why not?”

  “For a woman to refuse one dance means she must refuse them all.”

  “And why is that an issue?”

  He leaned forward more and held her eyes. “Because I plan to dance with you myself.”

  She smiled and shook her head from the humor of his words and to dislodge her mind from the spell of his nearness. “Then you shall have the very first dance and then I shall hurt my ankle.”

  He chuckled, and she recalled the way they’d been eight years ago, both young and easily finding trouble. They’d had an instant connection, but Taygete had always known part of it had been because Ray looked so much like Hugh. He was as close as she could get to Hugh without actually being with Hugh.

  It had made her feel guilty in the end, which was why she’d sto
pped writing Ray years ago, but she had to admit that she still thought of him a great friend.

  “You’re not hurting your ankle.” Hugh’s voice was right in her ear and when she turned around, she had to lean away to keep their lips from brushing. He was leaning on the arm of her chair with his eyes on her. “And I will have your first dance.”

  Taygete swallowed and tried to find words that would lighten the thickening air around her. “But if you are dancing, who will be watching my sisters?” She turned to Ray. “That goes for you as well.”

  Ray looked at them then gave a slight nod before Hugh grabbed her hand and lifted her from the chair, forcing her onto her feet without giving her much of a choice.

  Then Hugh pulled her close enough for her body to brush his.

  She pulled in a breath and tried to get her hand back, but he would not relent.

  A group of men stepped into the room, and Taygete lost all thought as her eyes beheld what had to be the rest of the Men of Nashwood, ranging in various heights and shades, yet all were tall and handsome in their own right.

  She thought it unnatural that such a large group of friends would all have stunning features, yet there they were.

  She was glad that Hugh had seen fit to grab her, because had she been sitting, she’d have been caught staring again. But he began to move her forward, and Taygete was forced to concentrate on something else, like moving her feet.

  He introduced them all, and Taygete had no trouble remembering their names. What woman would forget them?

  She found out seconds later that Electra had already met the men and took note that some of the Spinsters had arrived as well.

  “Francis’ home is next door, so they likely walked over,” Electra said. “I heard there’s a pathway through the garden.”

  “There is,” Calvin confirmed with a grin as he wrapped his arm around Alice’s waist and pulled her closer. “I've used it a time or two myself.”