Emily’s youngest brother, Milton, came next, his hands spreading out on either side of his body as he gave his sister a brilliant smile. He shook James’ hand, vowed he would follow in his cousin’s steps by not marrying until he was in his forties, and announced he needed to take a piss. He sauntered off as James struggled to keep a straight face.
“Well, he’s not changed a bit,” they both said in unison, and then they laughed.
Emily inhaled and turned her attention to the last of those who stepped into the house. “Welcome home, Mother. Father,” she said, always amused by the fact that her father was well over six feet tall while her mother was barely five.
Christiana Wellingham Grandby, her curly hair cut short and streaked with gray, regarded her youngest daughter with a happy sigh and then turned to look up at James. “I never thought it would take you this long to snag one of my daughters,” she scolded. “But you did end up with the best one. And if you repeat that to any of my older girls, I will deny it.”
Chuckling at his wife’s comment, Gregory Grandby gripped James’ hand in a firm handshake. “Thank you,” he said. “You received the settlement?”
James nodded. “I did, thank you. I’ve seen to arrangements for Emily, of course, and I bought a townhouse in Curzon Street.”
“So soon?” Christiana mewled. “When will you move?”
“I already have, but you can pay a call anytime when you’re in town to shop,” Emily offered.
“Oh, I’ll do more than that,” Christiana countered. “I’ll take a room there for respite.” She quickly added, “I’m only teasing, of course,” her comment directed to James. “I know I said I wanted ten children, but then I forgot they would eventually come with offspring. Now it’s as if motherhood has started all over again.” Then she sailed off in the direction of the Grandby wing.
James gave Emily a sideways glance, and she gave her head a slight shake. “Not until we’re sure,” she whispered.
Gregory caught the words but merely dimpled. “Any news from Trenton House?”
James and Emily exchanged looks of surprise. “Like what?”
Her father grinned. “I hear the earl and countess are returning from their holiday today.”
Emily inhaled sharply. “Gabe will be introducing them to his new wife,” she breathed. “Poor Gabe.”
James furrowed his brows, his jaw dropping. “You mean ‘poor Frances’, do you not?”
Understanding his meaning, Gregory guffawed and then made his way to the library as Emily gave her husband a brilliant grin. Then she glanced around and realized they were once again alone.
“Well, I’d offer my lap again, but Father is in there,” she said as she tilted her head toward the library.
James dared a glance up the stairs. “I could admire the shape of your bum.”
Giggling, Emily didn’t answer but lifted her skirts and hurried up the stairs. Attempting as calm a manner as possible, James followed her.
He took the last few steps two at a time.
Meanwhile, at Trenton House
Having spent most of the gloomy Sunday afternoon in her workroom, Frances had finished washing and was changing into a day gown when she became aware of a commotion downstairs.
Thompson inhaled sharply and said, “They’re home.”
Frances stared at the maid and then at her reflection in the dressing table mirror. “I’m so nervous, I think I may be sick,” she murmured.
“Her ladyship is not one to be frightened of, my lady,” Thompson assured her. “Now, let me just pin up this one lock of hair, and you can go down and meet her.”
Frances settled onto the chair and watched as Thompson tidied her hair. She thought of the series of small bud vases she had finished firing that day, all identical but for the floral pattern she had painted on each. Surely the gift of them to the countess would help smooth her way with the woman.
Gabe had written to his parents with word of their marriage, but the next correspondence he received from his mother had obviously been penned prior to her receiving his note. Frances now wondered if the countess even knew her oldest son had married.
“I really wish Gabe was here.”
A knock at the door nearly had her jumping out of her skin. “Come,” she called out, her voice tentative.
Had the countess come upstairs already?
Gabe stepped in and gave her a brilliant smile, David sitting in one of his arms. “Your wish has been fulfilled,” he announced.
Frances ran to him, hugging him hard. “I didn’t expect you home for hours.” She moved to take the baby, but Gabe indicated he would hold him.
“I came just as soon as I heard the Sea Breeze had docked,” he replied, offering his arm.
“Isn’t that the same ship that brings the finds from Greece?” she countered as they made their way to the stairs.
“One of them, yes. My parents weren’t the only valuable cargo aboard. We’re expecting a few crates at the museum tomorrow.”
“But... I thought the earl and countess were in Italy,” she murmured.
“Well, they started there and then made their way to Greece. Sort of a Grand Tour. Their itinerary had them in Athens until last week. They would have taken the Sea Breeze out of Piraeus, the port nearest Athens,” Gabe explained. “Perhaps my father was able to acquire a vase or two for his study.”
Frances stiffened as they descended the stairs. She could hear unfamiliar voices in the hall below. She wondered if bringing the babe down with them was such a good idea, and was about to ask Gabe why he thought to do so when a sudden hush fell over the house.
They had reached the top of the last flight of stairs to discover several sets of eyes aimed in their direction.
“Breathe, Frances,” Gabe said in a quiet voice, his face displaying a brilliant smile as they continued down the rest of the stairs.
His gaze fell first on his mother. From the way she glowed, she looked as if she had been sun-kissed. If there was any gray in her hair, it didn’t show now.
Meanwhile, his father, an older-looking version of himself, was most definitely tanned from the sun. His golden blond curls, streaked with a few lighter strands, looked as if they hadn’t been combed in a fortnight.
William, his arms crossed and displaying an expression that could only be one of humor, looked as if he’d grown a few inches. He was as tan as his father and nearly a twin in appearance to Gabe.
Frances took in a shuddering breath and, upon seeing several smiling faces aimed in her direction, found it easy enough to form one of her own.
“Welcome home,” Gabe called out.
“We’re so glad to be here,” Gabriel Wellingham, Earl of Trenton, replied, stepping up to take Frances’ hand. “It’s not every day I get to meet a new daughter.” He leaned over and brushed his lips over her knuckles at the same moment Sarah, Countess of Trenton, hurried up to kiss her son on the cheek and take the babe from his arms. William stood back and waited until he could follow his father in greeting Frances.
“Mother, Father, William, I’d like you to meet my wife, Frances,” Gabe said, realizing almost immediately that his mother would be in possession of David for some time.
“It’s so good to finally meet you,” Sarah said as she grasped Frances’ hand with her free one and gave it a shake. “I am just in awe that Gabe found you. An artist whose works we already own! And David. Such a good looking little boy,” she murmured. “Oh, isn’t he just a darling?”
David stared at the countess for a moment before he gave her a huge grin and then lowered his head to her shoulder.
“My first grandchild,” Sarah sighed. “You’ll have a cousin very soon, I expect,” she added, her eyebrows waggling in Gabe’s direction.
“Anne is already expecting a baby?” Gabe asked in awe.
Gabriel cleared his throat. “She is not the only one. Seems Rome is the place to go if you’re in want of a child.”
“Trenton!” Sarah scolded, quickly ad
ding, “We’re not yet positive.”
“Mother?” Gabe’s eyes rounded in shock.
Frances covered her mouth with a hand in an attempt to hide her humor.
“I’ve wanted another ever since William went off to university,” Sarah replied as she turned her attention back to David. “But if I don’t have one, I suppose I can just shower my attentions on this little man.”
David once again grinned, his four teeth gleaming under the light from the chandelier.
Relieved at how quickly Gabe’s parents had accepted her and David, Frances said, “You’re welcome to do so whenever you wish, my lady.”
“Careful, there, or you’ll never have a chance to hold him again,” Gabriel warned. He turned his attention on Gabe. “Any trouble while we were gone?”
Gabe shook his head. “None. But I have made a slight modification to the storeroom at the back of the house,” he said as he waved toward the corridor.
“Oh?”
“I must take a look,” Sarah said, as she made her way toward the back of the house. “It’s well past time something was done in there.” She angled her head toward David. “I always thought it would do as a pantry, but cook didn’t like that it had windows.”
Frances’ eyes widened—she hadn’t yet had a chance to tidy it since she had pulled the vases from the kiln. “I fear there’s a bit of a mess in there,” she whispered to Gabe when he drew up alongside her.
He bussed her on the temple. “Shh. It can’t be any worse than your workroom at the museum,” he chided.
Sarah stopped short at the threshold, and those behind her were forced to stop in their tracks before she gingerly stepped in.
“Apologies for the mess,” Frances said once she had made it into the room.
The four bud vases, set up in a straight line on the worktable, were the first things Sarah noticed. “Oh, these are beautiful. Did you make these?”
“For you, yes, my lady,” Frances answered. “I was going to wrap them in tissue and put them in a box—”
“For me?” Sarah handed David to Gabe. She lifted one and examined it closely. “This floral pattern looks just like one I have on the sideboard in the dining room,” she murmured.
“That’s because it is the same, Mother,” Gabe said. “Frances made that one, too.”
Sarah straightened and exchanged a glance with her husband. “You commissioned those pieces from the Wedgwood studio, did you not?”
“I did,” Gabriel replied. “The vase in the hall as well.” His eyes narrowed a moment before he faced Frances. “Mr. Frank Longworth, I presume?”
Her face pinking, Frances dipped a curtsy. “Indeed, my lord. I’m very honored to make your acquaintance.”
“And I yours,” he said with a grin. He turned to his son. “You do realize what this means?”
Gabe regarded his father with a look of confusion as William grinned behind him.
“With a famous ceramist in the house, your mother may never allow her to return to the museum. She’ll keep her here to show her off to all her friends and have her busy creating ceramics—”
“I will not,” Sarah said emphatically. She dared a glance at Frances and added, “Well, maybe an introduction or two, if you’re willing.” After a pause, she added. “I’m so very glad Gabe found you.”
Her lower lip trembling, Frances said, “Oh, I believe it was the other way around, my lady.”
“She speaks the truth,” Gabe said, remembering the day she had found him in the receiving area at the museum, when he was sure a two-thousand-year-old rhyton had seen its last days. “But once I knew where to find her...” He paused and then allowed a guffaw when he remembered something he had said at White’s. “I chased her until she caught me.”
Gabriel displayed a brilliant grin. “Like father, like son,” he murmured.
Author’s Note
Bastards and Adoption
During the time in which this book takes place, a child was considered a bastard if he was born out of wedlock. Even if his parents married after his birth, he was still considered a bastard. For purposes of inheritance, the father could recognize the child as his own and provide a settlement for him, but the child could not inherit any aristocratic titles.
Although adoption and fostering have occurred on an informal basis for centuries in England, adoption wasn’t legally recognized until 1926.
Pottery Restoration
Most ancient Greek pottery is terra-cotta, a type of earthenware ceramic, dating from the 11th century BCE through the 1st century CE. The word Attic in black-figured pottery refers to its origin of the Athens region of Greece.
The usual restoration method started with reassembling vessel fragments. Missing fragments were replaced with new glazed and fired pieces of pottery and then gaps were filled in with plaster. The surface was then painted, sometimes extensively.
The materials used in these restorations included shellac, protein glues, oil paints, gypsum, plaster of Paris, barium sulphate, calcite, clay, kaolin, and waterglass (calcium silicate).
Depending on the tastes of contemporary society and collectors, decorative imagery was censored and painted over. Common examples include a fig leaf to cover genitals.
Previous restorations can cause unintended damage over time. Metal pins or staples corrode and deteriorate. Plaster repairs can become unstable. In-painting can fade or discolor. Intentional over-painting from past conservation efforts is another form of damage, as is overly aggressive cleaning with acid.
Acid cleaning is meant to remove insoluble salts and minerals from the surface of archaeological ceramics. Pottery that has been improperly cleaned and damaged by acid may have pitted, cracked, powdery, or flaking surfaces.
Also by Linda Rae Sande
The Daughters of the Aristocracy
The Kiss of a Viscount
The Grace of a Duke
The Seduction of an Earl
The Sons of the Aristocracy
Tuesday Nights
The Widowed Countess
My Fair Groom
The Sisters of the Aristocracy
The Tale of Two Barons
The Passion of a Marquess
The Desire of a Lady
The Brothers of the Aristocracy
The Love of a Rake
The Caress of a Commander
The Epiphany of an Explorer
The Widows of the Aristocracy
The Gossip of an Earl
The Enigma of a Widow
The Secrets of a Viscount
The Widowers of the Aristocracy
The Dream of a Duchess
The Vision of a Viscountess
The Conundrum of a Clerk
The Charity of a Viscount
The Cousins of the Aristocracy
The Promise of a Gentleman
The Pride of a Gentleman
The Holidays of the Aristocracy
The Christmas of a Countess
The Heirs of the Aristocracy
The Angel of an Astronomer
The Puzzle of a Bastard
The Choice of a Cavalier
Stella of Akrotiri
Deminon
Origins
Diana
About the Author
A former technical writer and author of twenty-four historical romances, Linda Rae Sande enjoys researching the Regency era and ancient Greece.
A fan of action-adventure movies, she can frequently be found at the local cinema. Although she no longer has any tropical fish, she follows the San Jose Sharks and makes her home in Cody, Wyoming.
For more information:
www.lindaraesande.com
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