““Robert says he will not give me a chance to change my mind. But I shall not. He has summoned the vicar from the town village, and the servants will decorate the chapel with hothouse flowers, evergreens, holly, and lots of mistletoe! Girls, I am so happy! And Callie, I know how you’ve always longed for an older brother to indulge your eccentricities.”
A sinking sensation entered her belly. “Brother?” she parroted. “What brother?”
“Yes,” a voice proffered from behind, then Graham came into view. “Earlier, my father informed me of the joyful news and reminded me how thrilled I should be in getting two new sisters. I am delighted, of course.”
There was a dark, sarcastic edge to his tone she found discomfiting. Brother and sister?
A sick sense of unreality crept through Callie. With trembling fingers, she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. In a daze, she glanced at Letty, who was staring at her with concern.
Is all well? Her sister mouthed.
Her throat burning, Callie attempted to smile. It wobbled, then emerged, but it felt like a baring of her teeth. She nodded, hating the slow, painful, and unfamiliar emotions twisting through her.
“My boy!” the earl said with boisterous joviality. “Come closer.”
He stepped forward, and father and son hugged fiercely. “I am happy for you, Father,” he said gruffly.
Then he released the earl and turned to her mother and gave her the most charming yet respectful bow. “Welcome to our family, Lady Danby.”
Her mother laughed, delight glowing in her eyes. “Oh please, do not be so formal!” she hugged him and upon releasing him, lifted her gaze to his and said, “I would not object should you wish to call me Mo…Mother.”
He flinched, his expression shifting from open warmth to an unfathomable visage.
“Not now I mean,” her mother said in a horrified tone. “Or not ever…only if you are comfortable, or you could just call me…”
Her husband rested a hand on her shoulder. “My dear, my son knows what you mean,” he said with a tender smile.
The viscountess released a sigh, and some tension left her shoulders. “I fear I am a bit nervous. This was all so wonderful but unexpected.” She sent a careful glance at Callie. “I sensed some undercurrents between you earlier by the lake, and I gather you dislike the viscount. I am asking you to make a credible effort in getting to know him since he will be your older brother. Robert assures me his son’s forbidding and arrogant countenance hides a warm heart, and I do so much want our family to be happy!”
It was Callie’s turn to flinch, and she wrapped her hands around her middle, the memory of his body penetrating hers…the pain and then that excruciating pleasure. The knowledge that she could love him…that she wanted him to overwhelm her senses.
“My dear,” her mother said with a worried frown. “Are you well? You seem rather flushed.”
“I…we…we were caught in the rain.”
“How selfish of me! The rain started only a few minutes after your outing.”
“No, Mama,” Callie said, gripping her hands. “You are not selfish at all. I am so delighted for you.”
Her mother hugged her and whispered, “Thank you for all your naughty mischief. We needed that nudge.”
Over her mother’s shoulder, she spied Graham, watching them with an unfathomable expression in his gaze. Then without another word, he turned and left the room. Callie reflected that with his departure, he took all the earlier hope she had felt and left behind the awful disquiet.
Graham rode along the lanes of Holliwell Manor, inhaling the cold crisp air into his lungs. He’d had a most restless night, and hoped an invigorating run would clear his thoughts. It was damned difficult to do when he felt like he did not understand the past day. His father was getting married to the viscountess. He was happy for his father and Graham saw that the attachment between the pair was genuine. The manner in which the viscountess stared at his father had been quite revealing and it had laid the doubts in his heart to rest.
The sound of hooves thundered close, and he shifted in his saddle to watch the approach of his father. Graham waited until he stopped beside him before urging his horse into a trot. His father kept his slow, steady pace until they entered deeper into the park woodlands.
“In a few hours I will be married,” his father began gruffly.
“I know,” Graham said quietly. “I am truly happy for you father.”
He cleared his throat before turning his horse so that he faced his son directly.
Graham arched a brow. “What is it?”
“Whatever you are thinking in relation to Callisto cannot happen.”
It felt like a shard of ice pierced his gut. “You do not know my thoughts in regard to her father.”