Page 64 of Just a Little Daring

Her twin flashed her a bright smile and shook his head. “Nothing. Just a little in awe of this gathering. They’re barking, the lot of them.”

Vivien laughed as he’d wanted her to, but she knew her twin too well to be fobbed off. They needed to talk. She was about to suggest they go for a walk when August’s mother chinked a teaspoon on the side of a china cup to gain everyone’s attention.

She laughed at the look on her son’s face. “Don’t look so horrified, August, darling. I shan’t give a speech, I swear. However, I do have news that I wish to share with you.”

“Oh?” August said, and though his expression was calm enough, Viv suspected he was bracing himself.

“Charlie and I are moving out.”

August blinked. “What? Oh, but mother, there’s no need—”

Charlie cleared her throat, shaking her head. “Hold your tongue, dear boy. Your mother is speaking.”

August subsided with a frown.

“A house cannot have two mistresses,” Mrs Lane-Fox said with a smile. “And as much as we have enjoyed our little experiment with running a retreat, it’s dashed hard work.”

“We’re packing it in and going travelling for the next year,” Charlie cut in. “Through France and Italy.”

Mrs Lane-Fox nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Not until after the wedding, naturally, but when we return, we thought we’d prefer something smaller and cosier, just for us. Like… Like the little farmhouse down by the brook on the far southern side of the estate, if you wouldn’t mind having us so close?” she added anxiously.

August glanced at Viv, who nodded, smiling, so he got up and crossed the room, crouching down before his mother and taking her hands. “Of course we don’t mind, but are you sure? This is your home. Viv and I were going to build something new and—”

His mother pressed her finger to his lips and shook her head. “You are so dear to me, August. You were always such a good little boy, but far too serious. You cannot know how glad I was when you fell in with those other dreadful boys and began causing mayhem. It was so wonderful to see you happy, though you never quite shook the habit of worrying about us. I have appreciated the way you have looked after us all, even if we do not always appear as grateful as we ought to. This is your home, as it has never quite been mine, and you love this place as I never have. You ought to have it to yourself with your new bride. I am so proud of you, proud of the man you have become. If all men were like you, the world would be a far, far better place.”

“Mama,” August protested, his voice choked as his mother embraced him and kissed his cheek.

“Don’t look too pleased, though, because I am afraid I’m still leaving you with your sisters,” she added wryly.

August snorted.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Anna said, grinning at him. “We’re going to stay with friends of Mama’s for a couple of months to give you some peace. But then we will be back to make your life far more exciting than it would otherwise be.”

“Heaven help me,” August murmured, but he was smiling.

Everyone laughed and champagne was called for so that they could toast the engaged couple. It was a merry gathering, with lots of loud chatter and unrestrained happiness, but Ash—who was usually the centre of attention at any gathering—was still quiet.

“Come for a walk with me,” Vivien said, offering him her hand. “The gardens are ever so pretty, and I want to explore.”

Ash frowned and shook his head. “No, your fiancé will want the pleasure of showing your around.”

“Come along, lazybones. August won’t mind,” she insisted, getting up and giving him a look that suggested he do as she asked or else.

“You are such a bully,” he grumbled. With a long-suffering sigh, Ash got up and followed her out. Viv smiled at August as they left and he just nodded, his expression warm. The twins walked the gardens arm in arm for a while, the sunshine warm upon their backs as they admired the bursts of spring colour from an exuberant display of bulbs and flowering shrubs. Much like the house, the garden had been allowed to run wild, but here it worked, giving the once formal borders a romantic, haphazard appearance that seemed to cocoon the building so that it embraced the surrounding landscape rather than dominating it.

“I am happy for you,” Ash said, at length, but Vivien heard the part he did not say.

“It will be so strange to be apart from you, Ash. I can’t quite imagine it. I’ll miss you so very much, which is why August suggested you might like to stay with us this summer. Say you will, at least outside of the season. I know you could not bear to miss all the excitement in town.”

Ash leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You are a sweetheart, but I don’t want to intrude on your happiness. The last thing you and your new husband will want is your brother under your feet.”

“Don’t tell me what I want,” Viv retorted, earning herself an eye roll. “You’re not just my brother, you’re my twin. I’m uncertain how I will feel about not seeing you all the time, but it’s a little daunting.”

“I feel like I’m being cut adrift,” Ash admitted sheepishly, glancing at her. “I know I’m a grown man and that it’s utterly stupid—”

“It isn’t stupid at all. I feel the same. I love August with all my heart, and I want to be his wife and live with him, but….”

Her voice hitched, and she turned and hugged her brother fiercely.