“I never knew that story.” Yvette tried to imagine Jeffrey as a young boy, away at school, being teased for reasons that were not his fault. She could almost picture him, a handsome little boy with black hair, those impudent blue eyes, and fair skin, sad but smiling to act as if he didn’t care. He acted cavalier, pretending those taunts didn’t hurt him. Just as he did now.
“But my becoming friends with Lucien, who has been like a brother to me,” Jeffrey continued, “had added benefits I didn’t foresee as a child. It’s through Lucien that I met all the Hamilton girls. You became the family I never had. The family I think I always wanted.”
Yvette thought back over the years. Yes, Jeffrey had been present at every one of their family gatherings and at the holidays. He’d won over all of them. Even Genevieve adored him. Indeed, he had become a member of their family, but she’d never given much thought to his family. Of course Yvette had met Jeffrey’s father, the Duke of Rathmore, on more than one occasion. He was just like Jeffrey, handsome and charming, which is why everyone accepted Jeffrey as his son. But no one ever mentioned his mother. Yvette had heard rumors, but she realized she had never heard Jeffrey talk of his mother.
“What about your mother, Jeffrey?”
“What about her?”
“Well, do you see her often? What is she like? Are you close to her?”
“She’s a wonderful person, and yes, I see her often. She lives just outside of London.” He paused before asking, “Would you like to meet her some day?”
Yvette was momentarily stunned. “Well, yes, of course, I would like to meet her.” And she realized she really did wish to meet the woman who had borne Jeffrey and created such a scandal.
“I’ve told her all about you,” he said.
“You have?”
“Oh, yes, she knows all about the Hamilton girls. And how much you mean to me.”
“Well, you mean a great deal to us as well, Jeffrey.” Yvette stressed the word us, but she really wished to tell him just how important he was to her in that moment. But she suddenly felt very shy about doing so. Instead she asked, “Jeffrey, I’ve been wondering about this.... What brought you by to see us this afternoon? We weren’t expecting you.”
He shrugged casually. “I hadn’t seen you in a few days, and I thought I’d stop in and say hello, see how you and your mother were doing. That’s all.”
Yvette had seen more of Jeffrey Eddington in the weeks that Lucien and Colette had been in America than she’d ever had. He seemed to be turning up everywhere she happened to be. Her suspicions finally bubbled over. “Did Lucien or Colette ask you to watch over me?”
He gave a noncommittal smile. “Perhaps.”
That was answer enough for her. In truth, it didn’t surprise her that he had been asked to keep an eye on her. “Well, they needn’t have bothered to ask you. But thank you for taking time out of your schedule to play nursemaid. I assure you that it isn’t necessary.”
His voice grew lower. “I don’t mind looking out for you, Yvette, and I would have done it even if Lucien hadn’t asked me to. I’ve rather enjoyed it. In fact, spending time with you has been my pleasure.”
“Truly?”
“Yes.” He looked deep into her eyes and Yvette felt an odd sensation rush through her.
This whole evening had an unreal quality to it. The hours ticked by with just the two of them, cozy and confiding in each other before the fire. She had never been so intimate with a man before.
It was near to midnight when the door to Genevieve’s bedroom opened and Dr. Carlisle walked into the sitting room at long last.
Yvette fairly flew off the sofa at the sight of him. “How is she?”
“Your mother is resting comfortably now, I believe, Miss Hamilton. I’ve given her some laudanum to help her sleep. It seems that she did have a mild attack of apoplexy. We won’t know the full effects until she awakens tomorrow. There may be partial paralysis on her right side and some impairment of her speech. It’s difficult to know for certain at this point. However, she will need plenty of rest for a while.”
“But she will be all right, won’t she?” Yvette asked in a small voice that squeaked. “She won’t . . . die?”
He shook his head in sympathy. “No, my dear, I doubt she will die from this. Now, there’s nothing more you can do until the morning when she wakes. Her lady’s maid is in there with her and I have left instructions with her. So I suggest you both get some sleep. Tomorrow could be a difficult day, I imagine. I’m going to take my leave now and I’ll be back by noon tomorrow to check in on Mrs. Hamilton.”
Yvette wrung her hands. “May I go see her now?”
“Yes, of course, but she’s heavily sedated and won’t even know you’re there.”
“I just need to see that she’s all right. Thank you, Dr. Carlisle,” Yvette said.
“I understand. Good night, Miss Hamilton. Lord Eddington.” The doctor tipped his hat to them and made his way out of the room.
With a backward glance at Jeffrey, who sat back down on the sofa and nodded at her to go, Yvette hurried in her stockinged feet to her mother’s bedroom. Except for a small lamp burning on the nightstand, the room was shrouded in darkness. Yvette stepped softly across the carpet to the large four-poster bed. Genevieve looked quite small and frail lying there, her gray hair spilling around her on the pillow, her complexion ghostly pale.
Gently, Yvette held her mother’s limp hand, whispering, “Oh Maman, I’m here. I’m here if you need me. Everything will be all right. The doctor said you shall be well again soon.” Not knowing if her mother could hear or understand her words, she said them anyway.
Fanny, her mother’s devoted servant, said to her, “Now, Miss Yvette, you get yourself to bed. It’s late. I’ll sleep on this little sofa here, in case anything happens, so don’t you worry. She’ll need you tomorrow when she wakes.”
“Yes, I know, Fanny. And thank you. It’s a comfort to know that you are here with her.”
“We’ll get Mrs. Hamilton as right as rain again. You’ll see.”
“Sleep well, Maman.” Yvette pressed a kiss to her mother’s cheek. She then turned to Fanny. “Good night. I hope you can get some rest too, Fanny.”
“Oh, I will. Don’t you worry your head about me. Good night, Miss Yvette.”
With a heavy heart and reluctant feet, Yvette returned to the sitting room, where Jeffrey waited for her expectantly. He met her at the door and walked her back to the sofa.
“How is she?” he asked.
“She’s sleeping now, but just as the doctor said, we won’t know how she really is until tomorrow. Dear Lord, I hope she’s not paralyzed.” Yvette slowly sank down on the sofa, her legs too weak to hold her any longer.
“You should get to bed,” Jeffrey suggested.
“No. I think I’d prefer to stay here a little longer, in case she wakes and calls for me.” Feeling guilty that she’d taken up Jeffrey’s entire evening, she looked up at him. “You don’t have to stay with me any longer, Jeffrey. You’ve been so wonderful to me, but I think I’ll be fine now. You can go home.”
“You are my home and I’m not leaving until you go to sleep.”
The utter sweetness of his words was her undoing, and Yvette couldn’t stop the tears that slowly rolled down her face.
In an instant Jeffrey was beside her, taking her in his strong arms once again. He whispered soothing words. “Shhh, Yvette, it’s all right.”
Weariness overwhelming her, Yvette placed her head on his shoulder and let him pull her close again. This time she sobbed like a baby. The myriad of emotions she had held in check all night spilled forth in the strength, warmth, and safety she found in the arms of Jeffrey Eddington.
13
The Coming Dawn
Jeffrey knew the minute Yvette fell asleep in his arms. Her whole body relaxed against his and her breathing slowed. Holding a sleeping Yvette gave him the most beautiful feeling of peace and a sense of home he’d never experienced be
fore. She had cried herself out, and then grown quiet, just snuggling against him, while he stroked her back in a soothing motion. Little by little, they had shifted themselves so he was reclining on the sofa with Yvette in his arms, her head resting on his chest. She fit him perfectly.
It was ridiculously improper and scandalous of them to be lying in such a position together. But he didn’t care. There was no one to see them anyway. The servants were all asleep by then and nobody would ever know.
He should wake her and send Yvette to her bedroom, to go to sleep properly in her own bed. But he was loath to rouse her. And he was too selfish. He wanted to stay here on the sofa in the little sitting room in front of the dying firelight, and hold her close to him a little longer, her heart beating slow and steady, close to his. She felt so good in his arms, cuddled warmly against him. It was as if he held the world’s most priceless treasure.
He had felt powerless to help her this evening. The stricken expression on her beautiful face when Genevieve Hamilton collapsed was too much for him to bear. Yvette looked so fragile and frightened and he wanted to protect her. Now she looked like a sleeping angel in his arms. Unable to stop himself, he pressed the softest of kisses to her smooth cheek and breathed in her floral scent. She smelled of gardenias, and he knew he would forever associate that heavenly scent with Yvette.
Never had Jeffrey felt so content and so utterly tortured at the same time.
Had they really spent the entire evening alone together, just talking to each other? To his great surprise, he discovered that he enjoyed being with her and listening to her soft voice. He had confided in her too. He’d never done that with a woman before. Actually spending time talking, confiding, sharing all night without it leading to bed sport. Yvette had the strangest effect on him and he didn’t know quite what to do about it.
What he did know was that there was no way in hell he was going to let her marry Lord Shelley.
When Jeffrey had inadvertently learned that Lord Shelley was visiting Yvette and her mother that afternoon, he’d rushed right over to Devon House. He’d had no real reason for being there. He’d just known that he could not let her marry a man she didn’t love.
It also had not escaped his notice that she had not mentioned Lord Shelley’s name once all night.
Wouldn’t a woman in love mention the man she was supposedly in love with? Wouldn’t it come up in a conversation naturally? Especially when they spoke of marriage and children? But Yvette had not even uttered his name.
To Jeffrey, it was further proof that he was doing the right thing in protecting her. Now he simply had to do something dramatic to sweep her off her feet. And very soon. Before the man proposed to her, which he seemed very intent on doing.
But what? What could he do to stop her? How could he get her to see that Lord Shelley was not the right man for her? The thoughts circled around and around in his head, exhausting him.
Later, Jeffrey didn’t recall falling asleep that night on the sofa with Yvette, but he recalled perfectly the minute he awoke. Something caused him to stir at the exact same moment Yvette did. The room was dim in the predawn light, the candles having burned out and the fire was just embers. In the surrounding cold and silence, they shared the warmth of their fully clothed bodies covered beneath a soft woolen blanket. Blinking, they stared into each other’s eyes, more than a little bewildered to find themselves in such a position.
“Hi,” she whispered softly, her blue eyes heavy lidded and sleepy. Her long blond hair was slightly tangled around her face.
His heart flipped over in his chest. The urge to kiss her mouth roared through him. She was achingly close, softly tousled and tempting in the dim light, and it would be so easy to kiss her lips, to taste the sweetness of her. She was so close.... With a gentle caress, he brushed a stray curl from her cheek with his finger. “Hi.”
“We slept here together all night?” she asked in wonder.
“It seems that way.” And strangely enough he’d slept like a baby, in spite of being in his clothes on an uncomfortable sofa. “I’m so sorry. I should have awakened you and sent you to bed.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Her voice was the faintest whisper. “It was lovely to be held like this. Thank you for staying with me when I was so worried and frightened.”
“I would never leave you if you needed me, Yvette.” Jeffrey hadn’t intended to say those words to her, but he meant them. Lately he would act less and less like his usual self when he was with Yvette.
“I knew you wouldn’t leave me.”
She gazed at him with large blue eyes, and for a moment he couldn’t breathe.
The length of her luscious body was pressed intimately against his. All he could think about was how close his mouth was to her lips. They were soft and inviting. He could lose himself forever in those lips. It would be so easy to kiss her and the urge to do just that overwhelmed him. How would she respond to his kiss? He wasn’t sure he was ready to learn the answer to that question just yet.
With great reluctance, he gently eased his arms from around her and inched his way to a sitting position, assisting her as he did so. The air chilled him immediately, as the warmth that had cocooned them all night melted away when they moved apart. They sat there in the silence, still for a few moments.
Finally Jeffrey said, “You should try to get some more sleep before your mother wakes. I shall go home and return later.”
“Yes, that would probably be best,” she agreed, rising slowly to her feet.
He glanced down at her stocking-clad toes, her feet so small and dainty. Had she really allowed him to take off her boots? It had been quite bold of him to remove them, let alone massage her feet as he had.
Jeffrey remained seated, but as she stepped away from the sofa, he reached for her hand.
She stopped and looked back at him. Her hand was warm and soft in his. He felt as if he should say something to her but didn’t know what to say. They had spent the night together and he had not even kissed her, yet it felt as if they had been incredibly intimate with each other and he should offer some words of comfort or . . . something. But no words would come. As he gazed up at her standing before him, he saw a look on her sweet face that he’d never seen before. An expression of longing, an intense yearning that surely mirrored his own. Jeffrey forgot to breathe.
“Yvette . . .”
“Jeffrey?” she whispered, her voice full of expectation.
Yvette squeezed his hand. He squeezed back. For the briefest instant, he imagined pulling her back down to the sofa and making love to her then and there. He feared that if he kissed her, he would never let her go. He wanted her so much it terrified him. Instead, with great reluctance, he released her hand.
Yvette turned and quietly left the room and Jeffrey was alone.
14
Comfort and Joy
Lisette Hamilton Roxbury, her auburn hair swept from her face in a careless bun, looked exhausted when she entered their mother’s bedroom later that same morning. Dark circles lined her blue eyes.
Yvette rushed to greet her sister at the doorway and they hugged tightly.
Lisette said in a frantic whisper, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. How is she?”
“We’re still not sure since she hasn’t woken up from the laudanum yet,” Yvette said in a hushed tone, thankful her sister had finally arrived. She’d been sitting by her mother’s bedside for the past hour. “How’s Elizabeth?”
“Better. Her fever broke last night and she’s sleeping peacefully now. It was terribly frightening to see her that way. I can only stay a little while, since I must get back to her.” She squeezed Yvette’s hand. “Now, please tell me what happened to Mother.”
“The doctor said she had some sort of attack. She had been acting strangely all yesterday, complaining of a headache, but you know Mother.” Still not quite sure if their mother could hear them or not, Yvette lowered her voice. “She is always saying she has a headache, so naturally I assum
ed it was nothing. But then her words were slurry and she was speaking in French and nothing made sense. Before we knew it she had collapsed on the floor in a dead faint.”
“How awful!” Lisette cried, grasping Yvette’s hand in hers. “Oh, poor Maman.”
“Jeffrey carried her upstairs and we sent for the doctor and you.”
Lisette’s brows rose in surprise. “Jeffrey was here with you?”
“Yes, he stayed with me all night.”
“Oh, thank goodness!” Lisette cried in relief. “I felt terrible thinking you were here all alone.”
No, Yvette had not been alone. Dare she tell Lisette how she spent last night? Sleeping in Jeffrey Eddington’s arms? Probably not. “I wasn’t alone. Jeffrey was with me until the doctor left and he was wonderful.”
Lisette nodded emphatically. “Yes, Jeffrey is very good in a crisis.”
He certainly was! Last night he had made Yvette feel safe and cared for, taking charge of the situation and comforting her at the same time. She didn’t know how she would have survived the night without him.
Talking with him had been a wonderful revelation as well. They’d spent hours alone on the sofa together, just the two of them. They had never passed that much time in each other’s company alone before, simply discussing their lives and memories. How she had fallen asleep in his arms, she had no idea! But it had been nothing short of heavenly to sleep beside him. Never had she felt so warm and safe, so cherished.
The whole evening with Jeffrey had been such an unexpected turn of events, even setting aside her mother’s condition. And it would be quite scandalous if she had spent the night with anyone other than Jeffrey. Then again, she couldn’t imagine doing something that intimate with anyone but Jeffrey.
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