Page 83 of The Muse of Maiden Lane

Teddy turned on Alex, the muscles in his shoulders gone tense with anticipatory outrage. “Did you?”

“We did,” Alex said. “For your sister’s sake.”

A cold fury roared through Teddy’s veins. “Don’t even begin to frame it that way,” he warned him. “You knew I’d decided to stay. Both of you did.”

“That was before,” Alex said. “Surely you must see that Laura needs you.”

Teddy opened his mouth, on the verge of pointing out the obvious. His sister had a husband. She had servants. She didn’t need Teddy in Grasse to look after her. She didn’t need Teddy full stop.

“It isn’t that,” Laura cut in before Teddy could give voice to his thoughts. “It’s just that I worry so about you staying here on your own. Alex is afraid it will affect my health.”

“What about my health?” Teddy retorted.

Laura gave a guilty flinch. “It’s not forever.”

Teddy’s fingers curled on the arms of his chair so tightly he felt an ache in his knuckles. If the wood had splintered into his hands he wouldn’t have been surprised. “You have no idea what leaving would mean for me. What I’d lose if I went now. My plans for my career—my whole life—”

“You’re four-and-twenty, Teddy,” Alex said. “You’ll have plenty of time to strike out on your own in the years ahead.”

“It’s not about my age! Though why that should weigh against me, I haven’t the vaguest idea. Prince Albert was younger than me when he married the Queen. By my age he’d already sired three children.”

Alex was unmoved by the argument. “As that may be, unlike the late Prince Consort, you have no entanglements that would necessitate you remaining in town. You’re at perfect liberty to return with us on Wednesday.”

“On the contrary,” Teddy said. “I have a house. A studio. And I’m an inch away from securing my model.”

“Miss Hobhouse is here?” Laura asked, briefly diverted. “You didn’t say.”

“She hasn’t agreed to sit for me yet,” Teddy replied. “But she’s going to. I can feel it. If you drag me away now—”

Alex scoffed. “No one is dragging anyone anywhere. I’m asking you to come, for your sister’s sake.”

“What about a compromise?” Tom asked.

Jenny smiled at him. She had absolute faith in her husband and had plainly been waiting for him to solve this dilemma so they might all retire to the parlor for coffee.

Alex’s brows lowered with suspicion. “What kind of compromise?”

“Teddy could stay with us,” Tom said. “If Jenny agrees?”

Jenny exchanged a warm look with her husband. “Yes, of course. That’s exactly what he must do.” She turned to Laura. “Would that put your mind at ease, dear?”

Laura’s face suffused with relief. “It would,” she admitted. “I know he’d be well looked after here.”

“Looked after,” Teddy repeated under his breath. He glared, first at Alex and then at Tom. “Are you serious?”

“Just as a compromise,” Tom said. “It needn’t be permanent.”

Teddy rolled himself back from the table in a burst of frustration. “Well, what am I to say to that? I can’t stop you from pushing me here or pulling me there. I’m in a wheeled chair, after all. I have no ability to walk out of here and wish you all heartily to the devil.”

Jenny moved to rise. “This is a family matter. We should leave the three of you to discuss it.”

Tom stood to pull out his wife’s chair. “An excellent idea. We’ll withdraw to the—”

“Why bother?” Teddy interrupted. “My freedom of movement is already up for debate. If that’s not an assault on my privacy—”

“I’m afraid for you!” Laura cried. She leaned toward him from across the table, her eyes shimmering with emotion. “Can’t you comprehend that? I love you and don’t want anyone to hurt you!”

The room went silent. It wasn’t like Laura to lose her composure. She was usually the most steady and rational of creatures. She’d had to be during their years in Surrey, stretching every shilling to meet their needs as she’d struggled to look after Teddy and their aged, dotty Aunt Charlotte.