Page 113 of A Bluestocking’s Secret Courtship

“Yes,” Sophia said, sighing wistfully, “and partly for the wrong reasons.”

A sharp yip on the stairwell caused Evangeline to jump. Cupid dashed up the stairs to paw at Sophia’s skirts. Evangeline took her lamp, and Sophia scooped the tiny poodle into her arms. He wriggled until he could lick her face. She sputtered, laughing as she turned her head side to side to avoid the onslaught.

“What are you doing here, naughty boy? You’re supposed to be guarding Aunt Beatrice.”

“Why do I need a guard?”

Evangeline jumped a second time. Aunt Beatrice was standing at the landing with one more flight to climb. “Auntie, where is your lamp?”

“Pfft! I can see perfectly fine.”

Sophia’s eyebrow arched, but she and Evangeline held their tongues. Their great-aunt was stubbornly opposed to wearing spectacles and probably couldn’t see a peacock if it landed on her lap even if she did.

“I heard footsteps overhead,” Aunt Beatrice said, “and I suspected my girls needed me.”

“We always need you, Auntie,” Sophia said.

Evangeline agreed and suggested they wait for the men’s return in Jonathan’s private sitting room.

“May I join?” a quiet voice floated up the stairwell. Regina appeared at Aunt Beatrice’s side. “My hunger growls were going to wake Xavier if I stayed in bed.”

“What a treat to have all my girls.” Aunt Beatrice linked arms with Regina to climb the last flight.

When they entered the sitting room, Evangeline opened the shutters. Muted sunlight peeked over the clay rooftops of neighboring villas, slowly erasing shadows in the courtyard.

Leda was stooped over the garden bed, pinching off herbs and dropping them into the basket hanging from her bent arm.

“It appears the kitchen is open,” Evangeline said while watching a groom fill a bucket of water from the cistern and haul it through the gate en route to the stables. How many horses did Lord Dominic keep?

She turned her attention back to her family. “I imagine Mrs. Georgiou can manage an early breakfast, Gigi.”

“I hate to bother her,” Regina said.

Aunt Beatrice clucked her tongue. “You need to eat, dearest. I’ve been told small meals eaten frequently prevent morning sickness.”

Regina patted their great-aunt’s hand resting on the sofa between them. “Fortunately, I haven’t been ill for nearly a week. I hope I am past it.”

Xavier stalked into the sitting room with the pistol holstered on his hip. His alarmed expression disappeared when he spotted Regina sitting next to Aunt Beatrice on the sofa. “I turned over in bed, and you were missing.”

Regina’s cheeks pinked. “I woke early and didn’t want to disturb you.”

“She is hungry,” Evangeline said, “but she doesn’t want to trouble the cook by asking her to perform her duties.”

Her older sister wrinkled her nose. “Why must you make it sound worse than it is?”

“By stating the obvious?” Evangeline shrugged. “Facts are facts.”

“I’m sorry, ma chérie, but I agree with your sister. I will visit the kitchen and blame my own appetite.”

“Ask if there are any sweets from last night,” Aunt Beatrice said as he headed for the door.

“The baklava,” Evangeline added. She never did satisfy her craving last night, not with the interruption.

Alone again, Evangeline asked about the journey from home. She’d been too caught up in her heartbreak to ask after her family, which was truly embarrassing now.

“There isn’t much to tell,” Sophia said. “We played a lot of whist.”

Aunt Beatrice cocked her head, raising her eyebrows in Sophia’s direction.