"Ha," Sinjun said. "You should see Douglas and Alex when they think no one's looking. You wouldn't believe what I've seen him doing, and Alex always throws her head back and makes these funny little noises and—"
"Be quiet, brat. Now, this had better be urgent or I'll tan your backside."
"I've got to speak to you, Ryder. Alone."
This was a very serious Sinjun, and Sophie, having regained her equilibrium, merely nodded, and took herself off.
Ryder crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the mantel.
"I'm too late."
"Too late for what?"
Sinjun, to her brother's absolute astonishment, turned red and wrung her hands. "They're nearly here. I rode as fast as I could back here to warn you. Oh, Ryder, I'm sorry, but there was nothing I could do. I know how you feel about Douglas or any of the rest of the family knowing how wonderful you are, but—"
Ryder had a peculiar feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What are you talking about?"
"The children should be here in no more than two minutes from now."
"You have two minutes, then, to explain all this to me."
"I took Jeremy over to Hadleigh to meet Jane and the children. All right, you can tan my bottom later for that, but Ryder, he fit right in and much enjoyed himself. He and Oliver are the best of friends. Oh dear, there's only one minute left. Jane came down with the measles. She immediately sent me a message saying the children had to leave so they wouldn't become ill; then Laura, one of her helpers, sent me a message at Northcliffe and she didn't know what to do. So I told her and Jane to send all the children here. What else should I have done, Ryder? Told Douglas?"
Ryder looked off into the distance. "Well, that solves one problem, doesn't it? Is that the sound of carriage wheels I hear? Probably. Who paid for all this, Sinjun?"
"I did. It took nearly all my savings, but I managed. I didn't want the children to travel by stage, so I hired four carriages, three for them and one for all the luggage, and I managed to secure four rooms at the Golden Calf Inn in Reading."
Ryder grinned at his sister. He patted her cheek. "You did well. Let's go meet all my brood. Good God, I hope none of them have come down with the measles. It can be quite nasty."
"What about Sophie?"
"Sophie isn't a fool," he said, but to Sinjun's fond and alert ears, his voice sounded very odd.
When he and Sinjun arrived on the front steps of Chadwyck House, there were Sophie and Jeremy assisting child after child from the carriages. Only Laura Bracken had come with them because the other two helpers had come down with the measles along with Jane. Laura, bless her heart, was exhausted. The children, luckily, were all well.
It was Jaime who first spotted Ryder. He let out a yell and rushed at him. Ryder swung the boy up in his arms and tossed him into the air, then hugged him tightly against his chest. The other children were on him in the next moment, and there was pandemonium for the next five minutes.
Sophie saw the little girl standing off to one side, her thumb in her mouth. She didn't understand any of this but, oddly enough, she was content to wait and see. It wasn't perhaps so strange with the children hanging on to his arms, legs, and neck that he wouldn't look at her.
Sinjun grabbed her arm. "I swear this isn't what you think, Sophie."
Sophie said easily, "No, I doubt it is. That boy over there must be all of eleven or twelve years old. Surely Ryder couldn't have fathered him. No, I'm learning that with Ryder nothing is as it appears to be."
"They are his children, his Beloved Ones," Sinjun said, desperate now, "but not really, all except for Jenny. Ryder saved each of them at different times, you know. He loves children and hates cruelty toward them, and—"
Ryder, dragging four children and holding two others, came down the steps, grinning hugely, but not at Sophie. He looked over her left shoulder as he said simply, "These are my children." He introduced all of them to his wife. Sophie smiled and spoke to each of them. A moment later, she realized with a shock that Ryder was embarrassed.
Then he got a huge smile on his face as he looked over at the little girl who was standing alone, watching silently.
"Now, all you wild savages, I want you to go with Jeremy and Sinjun to the kitchen. We don't have any furniture yet, but you can sit on the kitchen floor and Mrs. Chivers and Cook will make sure you have scones
and biscuits and lemonade. Go now, and later I'll tell you all about my adventures and why the house doesn't have any beds for you."
"And I'll tell you more stories about the Virgin Bride," Sinjun said. "Who knows, maybe she's followed Ryder and Sophie here."
Amy shrieked with excited terror.
Ryder simply took Sophie's hand and led her over to the little girl. Sophie stood still, watching her husband go down on his knees. He opened his arms and the little girl came to him. He held her close, kissing her hair, stroking her back, and she heard him saying over and over, "Ah, Jenny, I've missed you, little love. Now, would you like to meet Sophie? She's not as pretty as you, but she is nice and she makes me smile. Just maybe she'll make you smile as well."