by Cheryl Holt
“Yes, he’s with me.”
“Good. I have the greatest secret to share about him.”
“What is it?”
“He’s my nephew! My sister, Lydia, was his mother. Can you believe it?”
“You can’t have him. I won’t let you steal him from me.”
“It hadn’t occurred to me that I would.”
“Well, don’t think about it.”
She was acting so strangely. He’d figured she’d be curious about his announcement, that she’d be eager to discuss it, but she looked bored and ready to move onto a different topic.
He regrouped. “When you rushed to Oakley that day and begged to stay with me, you were in such an agitated state.”
“I certainly was.”
“I was in quite a state too. I’d just had a fight with my brother, so I was distracted, and I didn’t listen to you.”
“That seems to be a problem of yours. You never listen!”
“I admit it. You pleaded for my help, and I refused to provide it. I’ve been kicking myself ever since.”
“You poor, poor man.”
Her tone was so snotty, and he was taken aback by it. Rebecca was never snotty. Even if she was furious, which she had every right to be, she would never deliberately offend someone.
What had happened to her? Had his terrible conduct changed her into a harsh and unforgiving person? It wasn’t possible.
“I have interesting news from Carter Crossing,” he said.
“Why would I care about that? I never had a positive minute at that stupid place. My cousins were horrid to me. Why would I be dying for news?”
It was another odd comment that he didn’t understand, but he forged ahead, anxious to calm her sparking temper.
“I realize Beatrice and Clayton were awful to you, but I doubt Millicent was. She’s marrying Mr. Melville on Friday! They want me to bring you home for the wedding.” She stared blankly as if she’d never heard of Melville or Millicent, but other than that, she evinced no reaction. “I thought you liked Mr. Melville. I thought this would make you happy.”
She didn’t respond, but inquired instead, “Why are you here, Shawcross? You haven’t given me a single reason to suppose we should be glad you strolled in.”
“First off, I’m stunned to stumble on you. You’ve caught me off guard.”
“Why would you be stunned? Nathan is my brother. Why would it be peculiar for me to stop by?”
“I wasn’t aware he had a sister.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but he has two sisters.”
“Oh. I had no idea.”
“You’d be amazed by the details I could supply about him and me.”
“You never mentioned your connection to him. Nathan has always been my friend, and I would have been thrilled to learn you were related.”
“Why is that precisely?” she snidely asked. “Would you have treated me better? Would you have been more polite? If you’d known I had lofty kin, would you have ceased being such an unrepentant ass? Would you have behaved like a human being?”
He scowled at her, and his confusion escalated. He was looking at Rebecca, the woman he apparently couldn’t live without, but it seemed as if some other, more callous woman had swooped in and assumed control of her.
Yes, he’d been dreadful to her at Carter Crossing. Yes, he’d ignored her plea for help, but it was so unlike her to be dreadful in return. Even though she’d been constantly abused and maligned by Beatrice, she’d remained kind and unflappable, and everyone at Carter Crossing cherished her for it.
He sighed with regret. “I’m sorry you’re so angry. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry for everything.”
“Are you?”
She stepped in so they were toe to toe, and he was desperate to reach out and snuggle her to his chest, but he didn’t dare touch her. From how she was glowering, she reminded him of a rabid dog that might bite.
She studied him, and he was so disoriented. She had Rebecca’s eyes, but they weren’t her eyes too. He felt totally overwhelmed, as if he was gazing at Rebecca, but not gazing at her. They’d been apart for such a short interval. How could she have altered so completely?
“Tell me what I mean to you,” she said.
“What you mean to me?” he repeated like a dunce.
“You’ve chased after me, so obviously, you must possess some heightened affection. Describe your level of sentiment.”
When she’d still been at Carter Crossing, he’d told himself she was just another female in a long line of them who’d tickled his fancy. But after she’d left, it had dawned on him he had genuine feelings for her that couldn’t be tamped down.
He suspected he might…might…love her, yet he was the consummate bachelor who didn’t believe in love. He was so utterly besotted though. If it wasn’t love, what was it?
With her glaring as if he was a stranger, as if they’d never shared an intimate moment, he couldn’t imagine declaring himself. It would sound fake and forced, and she’d laugh him out of the room.
Suddenly, the door opened again, and he glanced over, yearning for it to be Nathan so he could save Raven from the wretched encounter. But the sight that greeted him was so bizarre that the Earth must have tipped off its axis.
Rebecca was standing directly in front of him, but a second Rebecca was standing over by the door. There were two of her, and he couldn’t process what he was witnessing.
Then the Rebecca by the door said, “Raven Shawcross! What are you doing at Selby? And Sarah Robertson Sinclair, leave him alone before you give him a heart seizure!”
Raven whipped his focus to the woman in front of him, and it was then that he noted the minutiae that should have revealed something very unusual was occurring.
“Sarah Robertson?” he asked, and he staggered back, his calves banging into the sofa. He plopped down, astonishment rendering him speechless.
“Yes, Shawcross, it is I, your nemesis, Sarah Robertson. I am staying with my brother, Nathan Blake. My sister, Rebecca, is staying with him too.”
Miss Robertson had been a thorn in his side for several weeks after she’d lost her home and Sebastian had permitted her to tarry in a cottage at his estate of Hero’s Haven. She was an obstinate harpy who barged through life as confidently as any man. She presumed it was perfectly appropriate for a female to exhibit male traits.
After Raven had quit the expedition team and headed to the coast to fuss with Beatrice and Clayton, one of the benefits had been that he wouldn’t have to spar with the annoying shrew ever again.
“You’re Rebecca’s sister? You’re twins?”
“Yes.”
“She called you Sarah Robertson Sinclair. Please tell me I’m wrong. Please tell me it doesn’t indicate what I think it indicates.”
“It you think it indicates I married Sebastian, then your worst fears have been confirmed.”
“Oh, no,” he breathed.
“Noah is with me too, and Sebastian is adopting him. We’re having a grand Blake family reunion, and I’m still hoping to discover why we should allow you to dawdle and be part of it.”
“Sarah!” Rebecca said again. “Stop tormenting him.”
“He deserves it,” Miss Robertson—no, Mrs. Sinclair—replied to her sister.
“Yes, he probably does,” Rebecca agreed, ‘but I will handle this.”
“You? Handle it? You are completely incapable of standing up to such a bully.”
“I’ll try my best.”
Miss Robertson/Mrs. Sinclair whirled away and sauntered over to Rebecca. “Don’t tolerate any nonsense,” she murmured, “and don’t listen to any of his drivel.”
“I won’t. Will you go?”
Miss Robertson shot a final, nasty glower at Raven where he remained collapsed on the sofa like an enfeebled halfwit, then she said to Rebecca, “I’ll be right outside. If he upsets you, just summon me. I’d be delighted to punch him in the nose for
you.”
“He won’t upset me.”
The two siblings stared fondly, and it was very odd, but he received the distinct impression that they were talking about him in their minds. Then Miss Robertson stomped out. Rebecca shut the door and spun to face him. They gaped forever, neither of them able to start.
“I thought she was you,” he eventually said. “She walked in, and I thought it was you, but at the same time, it wasn’t you. She was so angry, and you never are, so I couldn’t figure out what had happened to you.”
“She and I are the same, but we’re very different too.”
“I know her. Remember when I first met you on the promontory? I accused you of being her.”
“Until I arrived at Selby, I didn’t recall I had a sister. I used to ask Beatrice about her when I was little, but Beatrice constantly insisted I was imagining her.”
“I’m sorry to hear it.”
“She was here waiting for me—as if she realized I was coming. The shock of it nearly killed me.”
“She doesn’t like me,” he said.
“Who does?”
The question hung in the air between them, and there were a thousand ways he could have answered. He’d always been a lonely, solitary man. It was difficult for him to make friends, and he didn’t trust people.
But he was changing, wasn’t he? He was improving. He was being kinder. He was assisting others—servants, employees, and those such as Melville—who needed his assistance. If he mentioned any of it though, would she scoff at his positive actions?
He pushed himself to his feet and went over to her. She was still hovered across the room, as if she was afraid of him.
“Mr. Melville told me you were Nathan’s sister,” he said. “I wish you’d told me yourself.”
“I never discuss my parents.”
“I appreciate that, but Nathan and I have been close for ages, and he’s remarkable. I’m glad he’s your brother. I’m happy for you.”
“Beatrice filled my head with terrible lies about him, so I was scared to come to Selby, but I tossed the dice and knocked on his door. He welcomed me with open arms.”
Raven was anxious to begin fixing their problems. “The day Beatrice kicked you out, I treated you so badly. I’d been fighting with my brother, and I—”
“I can’t talk about it.”
“I think we should. I think we have to.”
“You’re wrong, Mr. Shawcross. We don’t have to talk about any topic.”
“The minute you left, I regretted it. I visited Carter Crossing later on to apologize, but you’d already departed.”
“I didn’t depart. I was thrown out, and if not for Nathan, I’d have been gravely imperiled.”
He nodded. “I understand that, and I was an ass to you. I didn’t listen, and I didn’t help you.”
“No, you didn’t, but then, that’s been the story of my life. Those I should have been able to count on were never on my side.”
“I’m on your side, Rebecca. I want to always be there.”
“We’re past that point.”
He clasped her hand and tried to link their fingers, but she yanked away and said, “I can’t have this conversation with you.”
His shoulders drooped with defeat. “It’s always been easy for us to communicate. It’s one of the best things about us.”
“There is no us. There never was. Would you go? And please don’t return. It’s extremely distressing for me to have you here, and I really can’t bear it.”
She pulled the door open, and he was incredibly irked. He hadn’t said what he’d intended, and he grabbed for the knob to shut it, but she glared at him with such disdain that he relented.
“Just like that?” he asked. “You’re through with me?”
“There’s no comment you could utter that would appeal to me in the slightest.” She gestured into the hall. “Go! Don’t make me beg.”
He stared at her, his mind working furiously to deduce how he could smooth over their impasse. He’d never been particularly verbose, and he’d certainly never suffered such a painful moment with a female.
He had absolutely no idea how to calm her down, how to coax her into caring about him again. They’d been separated for such a short period, and she’d previously been so fond of him. How could all that affection have vanished?
Obviously, he needed to devise a better plan of action. He’d assumed he could bluster in and, with his usual steely determination, force her to forgive him. Why had he thought it would be that simple?
He wasn’t typically so perplexed, and he blamed his befuddlement on his initial discussion with her twin—whom he couldn’t abide.
“Fine, I’ll leave you be,” he said, “but we’re not finished.”
“Yes, we are.”
“We’ll see about that.”
He stomped out, and she closed the door behind him with a firm click. He was so aggravated that he nearly pushed back inside to resume their quarrel, but he managed to refrain.
He was at Selby. He’d tell the footman to find Nathan, and he’d confer with her brother about the situation. He wouldn’t depart until he’d cleared up several subjects with the sane, rational man of the house. He had to locate Alex too and inform the boy of their connection.
He marched toward the foyer, and as he approached it, two very large, very irate men stepped in to block his way. It was Nathan and Sebastian, and they were dearer to him than anyone in the world—except for his wastrel brother. He was delighted to observe them, but wary too.
“Hello, Shawcross,” Nathan said. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Sebastian added, “Would it surprise you to learn that we were about to ride out to the coast to have a chat with you?”
“Yes, it would surprise me,” Raven replied.
“It shouldn’t,” Nathan said. “I’ve recently been apprised that my sister, Rebecca, has been seduced by a scoundrel, and it appears that scoundrel is you. I don’t take kindly to that sort of behavior.”
Raven’s cheeks flushed with chagrin. “No, I don’t suppose you would.”
Sebastian chimed in with, “Rebecca is my sister-in-law these days, so I don’t take kindly to it either.”
“I just saw Miss Robertson,” Raven said, “ah…I mean…Mrs. Sinclair. You married her?”
“Yes.”
“I imagine there’s a long and convoluted story behind your decision.”
“There is, but at the moment, we have other issues to address.”
Before Raven could stop himself, he mumbled, “You and Miss Robertson?”
“Careful, Raven,” Sebastian warned. “I let you complain about her in the past—when I admit she was driving me quite mad—but from now on, you can’t denigrate her.”
“You’re correct of course,” Raven hastily concurred. “I’m simply a tad astonished to discover that you’re married.” It was the understatement of the year! He was so stunned he could barely function. “I’m sorry I missed your wedding. I wish I’d known about it so I could have attended.”
“It happened quickly,” Sebastian said. “There wasn’t time to send invitations.”
Nathan asked, “Are you leaving?”
“I intended to track you down first,” Raven said.
“Have you spoken to Rebecca?” Nathan inquired. “Sarah left you alone with her, and it’s only been a few minutes, so it must have been the briefest conversation in history.”
“Yes, I’ve spoken to her,” Raven muttered with disgust.
“And…?”
“She told me to go away and never come back.”
“So you’ll just obey her? You’ll scurry away like a whipped dog merely because she insisted?”
“Well…ah…she’s so angry. I thought I should wait for her to calm down, and I’ll return later—like maybe in the next century.”
“Rebecca is ruined, and she isn’t permitted to have an opinion about how this
resolves.”
“It’s what Nathan and I want that matters,” Sebastian said.
“What is it you want?” Raven asked.
“We want a swift wedding,” Nathan answered, “and the instant I heard you’d arrived, I dispatched a rider to London to fetch a Special License. We’ll be holding the ceremony right away.”
“Oh.”
Sebastian smirked with what looked like glee. “Your bachelor days are at an end, Shawcross.”
“Head down the hall to Rebecca,” Nathan commanded. “Talk fast and talk plenty, and don’t show your face until she’s agreed to marry you.”
Raven sighed. “If she won’t?”
“That’s not an option. Get in there and convince her you’re worth having.”
Nathan and Sebastian stood like a pair of livid sentinels. Their feet were braced, their arms folded over their broad chests. Raven studied them, the two friends in his life who’d helped to carry him into adulthood, who’d helped him to become a man.
If he could persuade Rebecca to be his bride, they wouldn’t just be his friends. They’d be family too.
“I’ll definitely talk to her,” he told them, “but you might have the butler deliver food and drink. This could take weeks.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Nathan said.
The three of them smiled a conspiratorial smile, and Raven spun and marched back to the parlor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Rebecca stood, frozen in place, as Raven hovered on the other side of the door. She could practically feel his temper wafting through the wood.
He never let himself be bossed, and he behaved precisely as he liked, without regard to anyone else, so she’d assumed he would ignore her request that he depart.
She’d insisted it was too painful to confer with him, and he’d simply left without argument. Didn’t he care that she was inconsolable and forlorn? Didn’t he recognize how effortlessly he could have changed her mind and made her his own?
He was such a rude, domineering idiot! Why had she wasted a single second pining away over him?
Her sister and brother had been debating about him for days. Nathan and Sebastian had intended to ride to Carter Crossing to ascertain his opinion about having her as his bride. If he’d declared that he had no interest in matrimony, they’d planned to pummel him, then haul him to Selby and force him into it.