The inspiration for his latest opus lay sleeping peacefully in a cot near the window.
The nursemaid on duty smiled and bobbed a curtsy, then withdrew, leaving them with their son.
Lord Edmund Frederick Carlisle Brampton was just three months old and remained blissfully unaware of the doting gazes trained upon him.
Frederick lounged against the window frame and, in the soft moonlight that spilled through the glass, watched Stacie as her gaze traced the small round face, the tiny nose, the delicately pursed lips.
Whether Edmund would have her hair or Frederick’s was still moot, but Frederick felt sure his son would inherit her periwinkle-blue eyes.
Yet as he relaxed and the tension of performance sloughed away, it wasn’t his son who commanded his attention. He drank in Stacie’s Madonna-like expression, the glow of pure love that infused her face, an expression unlike any other in the universe—and inside him, music stirred.
Eventually, she drew back with a sigh, then she looked up and saw his smile. “What?” she whispered.
Smile deepening, he shook his head as he reached out, slid an arm around her waist, and settling her beside him, drew her toward the open door. “I cannot understand how you ever doubted the power of your love—for me and for our children.” Through the shadows, he captured her gaze, caught her hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed her fingers. “You are radiant—literally radiant—with it, and as ever, I am in awe.”
She smiled, then halted and, stretching up on her toes, kissed him. “I do love you,” she whispered against his lips.
Unable to resist, he drew her back for a longer, more thorough kiss, but eventually, albeit reluctantly, they both drew back.
He met her eyes and lightly grimaced. “We have guests.”
“And protégés to do our best for.”
“Indeed.” He guided her through the doorway and nodded to the maid, who slipped back into the room as he and Stacie walked down the corridor.
He and she had carved out a unique position within the haut ton, but along with that much-desired state came responsibilities—responsibilities they both took seriously. Championing the alumni of the music school attached to St Martin-in-the-Fields had become a shared purpose, a joint endeavor.
Another sort of family, in a way.
The thought made him smile as they returned downstairs, and dutifully, with a commitment he’d never expected to possess, he steeled himself to accept with due grace the accolades of their guests.
An hour later, Stacie was circulating among their guests when she came upon her younger brother, Godfrey, taking his leave of Mary.
“I’ve hardly had a chance to say hello,” Stacie protested as she linked her arm in his.
Godfrey grinned and patted her hand. “I’m your younger brother. Hello is optional.”
She chuckled. “Do you really have to leave?”
He nodded. “I’ve a commission in Cornwall—quite an intriguing one. I want to get an early start.”
“Very well.” Stacie exchanged a look with Mary, who then waved them both away as she returned to Ryder, who was deep in conversation with another peer. Stacie held on to Godfrey’s arm. “I’ll see you to the door.”
“Hmm.” Godfrey eyed her warily. “Why do I get the impression that look you just exchanged with dearest Mary bodes me no good at all?”
She shook her head and steered them determinedly through the still-substantial crowd. “You’re imagining things. But I’ve been meaning to point out to you—you who are the last of us to wed—that despite our past, love does, in truth, conquer all.” She met his eyes. “I’m a shining—indeed, my husband informs me I’m a radiantly glowing—example of that.”
“You are radiantly glowing, but I rather suspect it’s Frederick himself who’s the cause of that.”
Stacie pinched his arm.
“Ow!” He mock-scowled and pretended to rub the hurt. “I knew I should have left you with Mary.”
They reached the front hall, and she drew him to one side and halted. “Stop trying to change the subject. I accept that I was the one most affected by Mama and her machinations, but you were there often as well. As much as I had to, you, too, need to leave behind your years with her and all the twisted lessons she tried to teach us. Quite literally, we need to forget her and all her works and go forward and live our own lives and not allow her to taint those. I know that’s not always easy, but if we want happiness in our lives, that’s what we have to do.”
Stacie looked into Godfrey’s eyes and saw the gentle, easy smile curving his lips reflected there.
Godfrey squeezed her hand and held her gaze. “Would you believe me if I told you I’d thrown off Mama’s influence years ago?”<