“Happy Christmas, dear. Come sit with me.” Mrs. Stanley sat and arranged herself on the settee by the fire. Olivia sat obediently next to her. “I will tell you a secret. I do not enjoy this cold weather. I’d much prefer to be in the south of France.”
“That’s hardly a secret Grand-mère.” Genevieve joined them. “You complain daily about the godforsaken snow.”
“Belhaven Hall can be drafty in the winter,” Olivia said. “I hope your room in the newer wing has been comfortable for you.”
“Yes, dear. The room is very nice. But downstairs, I think I shall stay by the warmth of the fire.” She patted Olivia’s knee. “Doesn’t my grandson look handsome tonight? He is such a good boy. Even with all that trouble his father got him embroiled in, he always kept a level head.”
“Grand-mère,” Genevieve muttered low. “Mother instructed us not to speak about Father’s business. It’s Christmas; let us focus on the future, yes?”
Olivia looked back and forth between the two women. Their expressions were mercurial as silent conversation flowed between them. What was the trouble Max had become embroiled in? What business? She glanced over at Max where he stood in low conversation with his mother. He did look handsome tonight in his evening clothes. His normal tousle of hair had been tamed back from his face, and his cravat was crisp and white against the black of his formal jacket.
The door opened again. Mr. Daniels entered. “Your guests have arrived.”
Olivia stood and crossed to greet her friends. Max joined her as Charlotte and her family entered. Olivia leaned in to kiss her friend’s cheek. “Welcome. Happy Christmas.” She turned to Max. “You have met Lord and Lady Weston, and this is Lord Weston’s aunt, Lady Diana Wells.”
Max smiled at Charlotte and Daniel. “Welcome.” Then he bowed over Lady Wells’s extended hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“And this is Lord Weston’s brother, Lord Hawksridge,” Olivia said.
“Welcome,” Max said. His gaze swung back and forth between the two brothers.
Miles offered his hand. “To answer your unsaid question, yes, we are identical twins.”
Max chuckled. “And I thought I was being discreet.”
“We are used to it.”
“I’ll admit it can be confusing, even when you have known them their whole lives,” Lady Wells said affectionately. “Charlotte is the only one who can reliably tell them apart.”
“That’s not true. I can always spot Hawksridge with his ramrod posture and polished shoes.” A voice came through the doorway.
Everyone turned. Susanna and her parents crossed the hall toward them. She stopped next to Miles and gave him a broad wink.
Olivia ushered them into the room. “Lord and Lady Dearborn, may I introduce you to Lord Rivenhall. This is Lord and Lady Dearborn and their daughter, Lady Susanna Ashby.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Lord Rivenhall. I enjoyed visiting with your mother earlier this week,” Lady Dearborn said.
Max bowed over each lady’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He gestured to the room. “Please let me introduce you all to my family.”
Everyone moved into the room, and more introductions were made. The room buzzed with good cheer. Lots of hugs were exchanged. Soon Eleanor and Lucius arrived with Sophia in tow. Lord and Lady Hornsby arrived next, and the last guests to come were Charlotte’s parents. Lord and Lady Markham arrived with Charlotte and Lucius’s eldest brother Edward and his wife, Katherine.
After introducing them to Max and his family, Olivia retreated to the other side of the room. She didn’t care for her friend’s family. If Charlotte hadn’t insisted, she would never have extended an invitation to them. Lord and Lady Markham had disowned Charlotte after she broke her engagement with Hawksridge to marry Daniel, and they refused to hand over her dowry. Then, when Lucius spoke up on her behalf, they had also cut off his funds.
Even though Miles and Daniel had worked things out between them, Lady Markham had never recovered from the scandal and had not forgiven her daughter. Charlotte’s older brother Edward had been the one to extend an olive branch to his younger siblings last summer in hopes of bringing the family back together. The Markhams could rot, in her opinion.
Susanna came to stand next to Olivia. “Poor things, I don’t know who looks more uncomfortable, Charlotte, or Daniel and his brother. And that is saying something as Miles never shows his discomfort, unless he is trying to lie, of course.”
Olivia glanced across the room to where Hawksridge and the Westons stood. Charlotte placed a hand on her belly and straightened her shoulders. She murmured something to her husband and crossed the room toward her parents. Miles and Daniel stood with arms folded across their chests, wearing identical scowls.
“I can’t believe she is going to speak with them. I purposefully placed the Markhams at the other end of the table from Charlotte just so she wouldn’t have to,” Olivia said.
“I think this pregnancy has affected her feelings about their estrangement. She doesn’t want the baby to not know its grandparents.”
“Even if those grandparents are awful?”
Susanna shrugged.
“Here, let’s go introduce Lady Wells to Rivenhall’s grandmother. She is a card; you will enjoy her as well.”