Free Her Sudden Groom by Rose Gordon

hint of emotion in his voice.
    “ I have four children, Caroline.” Lady Watson ran her fingers up and down the stem of her glass. “Alex is my oldest at nine-and-twenty, then he has two brothers, Elijah and Henry. They’re both two-and-twenty, twins of course. Then there’s Edwina.”
    “ Where are your other sons?” Caroline asked. Why had she never heard of their existence before?
    “ In America,” the baroness said sadly, developing a sudden interest in the portrait landscape on the far end of the room.
    Alex leaned down by Caroline’s ear. “My Uncle John went to America as part of his Grand Tour and didn’t come back for more than twenty-five years.”
    “ Why not?” Caroline asked, curious as to why someone would prefer America to England.
    “ He fell in love.” Alex brushed a hank of Caroline’s dark hair away from her eyes. “That’s where he met the charade-loving Carolina. She was an American. He decided to stay. Mother’s afraid Elijah and Henry will do the same.”
    “ How long have they been gone?”
    “ Six months,” he said. “Before that, they traveled the continent for a while and even made their way all the way to India. Since they’re twins, they’ve always liked doing things together.”
    “ Are you close to them?”
    “ Yes and no. We have a lot of things in common, but I’m not a twin. It’s difficult to explain. See, I’ll always be their brother and share a close bond because of that, but I’ll never be as close to either of them as they are to each other. Does that make sense?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ Do you have any siblings, Caroline?” Lady Watson asked, a wobbly smile returning to her lips and the tears gone from her eyes.
    “ No.” Caroline didn’t meet the baroness’ eyes. “Not unless you want to count Marcus and Olivia. But they’re not really my siblings.” Was it just her, or did Lady Watson’s teeth clamp together at the mention of Olivia’s name? She blinked away the thought.
    “ I’m sorry to hear that,” Lady Watson said, reaching across and placing her hand on top of Caroline’s.
    “ Thank you,” she said softly, meeting her eyes again.
    “ Alex, dear, could you do me a favor before your game?”
    “ Of course, Mother.”
    “ Could you make sure they’ve put a lounge chair outside for me?”
    He stood up. “Of course, I’ll be right back.”
    After Alex had departed, Lady Watson touched Caroline’s hand again. Caroline looked up and met her eyes. “Caroline, I want to apologize to you. I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable today. I didn’t realize who your mother was, and when I did, I should have left it alone.”
    “ It’s all right,” she said quickly, swallowing convulsively.
    “ As I said, I knew her,” the baroness continued, “not well, of course. But well enough to be able to distinguish what’s true and what’s not. I’ve never thought less of her, nor do I think any less of you, either.”
    Caroline stared at her, confused.
    Lady Watson sighed. “Caroline, I don’t know what will or won’t happen between you and my son, but I want you to know that you’re welcome in my home anytime you wish to come.”
    Caroline blinked back the tears that pricked the back of her eyes. Marcus had always been accepting of her. Her uncle had, too. But not Olivia, nor her aunt. To have a stranger who seemed to know everything about her mother’s past accept her was astonishing. “Thank you,” she croaked.
    “ There’s nothing to thank me for.” She gave Caroline’s hand a quick squeeze. “Let’s go play chess.”
    Caroline stood up and walked with the baroness to the door. “I hope he’s not too good.”
    “ You’ll just have to see for yourself.” She lightly tugged on Caroline’s sleeve. “Let’s go this way. It’s closer to where we want to be.”
    Caroline nodded and followed the baroness down the hall to where a servant was waiting to open the side door for them. Stepping outside, Caroline was pleased to