"Good," he said, nodding his approval. "Is it safe to assume there will be at least one earl and countess present at your first breakfast?"
Images of Lord and Lady Sinclair flashed into her mind. "Of course."
"Excellent." He stood. "I don't mean to keep you. I'm sure you have plenty of baroness duties to attend to."
Regina watched his retreating back. Even married to a lord as he'd always told her was to be her duty, he still held her in little regard.
She sighed. Perhaps if she planned out the perfect breakfast, she could prove herself to him. She rang for a quill, inkpot, and paper then sat down at the game table to write out her plans.
"Penning a letter to the king to make an exception and allow you to file for a parliamentary annulment?" John asked, taking a seat on the stool opposite her.
"However did you know?" she teased.
He grinned. "I know my brother best. He has this fascinating ability to entertain with his quick wit and naughty jests one minute and bore a body into a comatose state the next."
Despite herself, Regina laughed. "You do know him well, indeed."
"I told you I did." He shrugged out of his royal blue coat and dropped it on the floor beside him. "Are you acquainted with his friend Lord Sinclair?"
"Yes. And his wife."
John curled his top lip. "I hope my wife is nothing like her."
Regina shook her head. "I'm sure she won't be. Ladies like her are rare."
"I'd say. Lord Sinclair offered her marriage after only meeting her twice. I once overheard him tell Edward that a lady like her was too good to pass by and had to marry her before he lost his chance." His blue eyes were wide in sheer bewilderment. "I have no idea why."
"It's because she's a proper lady," Regina explained. "She might have a tart tongue and a fashion sense that leans toward eccentric, but she still knows her duty." She hated the way that sounded, but it was true. Lady Sinclair might be unpleasant to be around in a private setting, but the respect she garnered among the ton by coming from a good family made her a very desirable catch.
"Either way, I want a tame, mild wife who won't embarrass me."
"For a bo-" cough, cough, "young man of fourteen, you seem to have given this a lot of thought."
He shrugged then pursed his lips. "I have. My mother and father-" He waved his hand through the air. "Never mind that. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."
Perhaps not, but now she found herself vastly curious about his mother and father and how their marriage had made him decide he wanted to marry someone who'd fade into the shadows. She tucked a fallen tendril of hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. "And what did you wish to say?"
He shifted in his seat. "It's about Edward."
"Oh?"
"He doesn't do it on purpose."
"What's that?"
"Send you into a state of tedium," John said as casual as you like.
Regina sputtered with laughter. Edward occasionally made remarks that made her laugh, but not like his brother was doing. Perhaps it was because John didn't know he was doing it. "He doesn't."
John's eyes widened. "Please, do not tell me you have fallen into his trap and enjoy his endless science prattle."
"It's not so bad," she said in her defense.
"Not so bad?" he repeated in a low tone. When he spoke again, his voice was devoid of the light humor he'd spoken with earlier. "You should know that Edward doesn't care what others think of him. Other than his unmatched ability to bore a soul senseless, he has the thickest skin of anyone I've ever met. If he does something, and you don't like it, he just shrugs and continues on." He grinned again. "That's why I like to tease him so much. But it's also why I respect him so much. Edward has taken a lot of criticism for his unusual pursuits and strange fascination with science. But never once did he care about someone else's opinions enough to give up what he loved."
He cocked his head to the side. "I guess that's another thing about him that I admire. He has never been one to easily let go of something he loves."
Regina's heart cracked. What was he holding onto that kept him from loving her? She shoved away the traitorous thought that had no business taking root in her mind. She might have loved him since the moment they'd met, but hoping he'd feel the same for her was yet another of her foolish dreams that'd have to go unrealized.
She turned her attention back to the parchment in front of her, praying John would get the hint.
But because he was only fourteen and not yet learned in the ways of ladies, he didn't.
"What is it you're writing? My philosophy paper, I hope."
She offered him a watery smile. "No. I'm writing plans for a breakfast I'm hosting."
"Gads. Does my brother know?"
"No, not yet."
A slow smile spread his lips. "I think he will soon."
Regina did, too, and judging by the look on John's face, she knew exactly who meant to inform him.
~Chapter Twelve~
Edward was perplexed. He'd been staring at the same equation for the past hour and was still no closer to solving it than he had been a week ago.
Something wasn't right where Regina was concerned. But he'd be damned if he knew what it was. She'd assured him everything was fine multiple times since finding their betrothal contract last week. She hadn't evaporated into vapors when she found it, or in the days that followed, like Mother would have done. She even allowed him entry into her bedchamber three nights in a row. But each time it always ended the same: feelings of guilt that he was forcing her to perform her marital duties overcame him to the point he felt like a brute in her presence. Unable to tolerate another night of her rigid responses and begging his forgiveness, he'd stopped seeking entry. He wanted a willing bed partner, not one who shared her bed out of fear or duty.
"Have you finally found a problem you can't solve?"
Edward snapped his head up to meet the cool blue eyes of his friend Joseph "No."
Joseph gestured to the unfinished equation in front of him. "I just thought..."
"Right." Edward cleared his throat. He was talking about that. "I'm just pondering it a bit. I don't want to have to restart if I make a mistake." He lifted his pen and shook it to emphasize his meaning.
Joseph nodded slowly. "I've known you since Eton, and I've never known you to make a mistake."
"That's because I think before I just jot something down," he countered with a frown. Since when had Joseph grown so annoying? "What brings you by this time of day?"
"I had business to tend to in a less-favorable part of London this morning," he said evasively.
Edward swallowed. "Tending to business" or some variant was often how Joseph referred to dealing with his sister's new husband, Rupert Griffin. A sorrier excuse for a man, Edward had never met. "I'm sorry, Joseph, I should have been watching her better."
"Don't," Joseph said, his voice rough. "It's my fault. Had I not left her to settle a trivial matter with Mr. Carson, it wouldn't have happened at all. I'm her brother; it was my responsibility to protect her and I didn't."
Edward couldn't argue that. Joseph's responsibility was to protect his sister, Sophie Sinclair, and in the few minutes he'd dropped his guard, her life had forever changed. Actually, taken away from her was a more accurate description. Some details he still lacked, but having seen the poor girl wearing a dirty, shredded gown huddled in the grass followed by a hasty marriage less than two months later, he knew enough.
"It would seem you're falling down on your own responsibility," Joseph teased, lightening the mood.
Edward scoffed. "I have no idea what has taken hold of him. Attempting to ride livestock wearing only his smalls?" And that was the lesser of John's "crimes". He refused to even acknowledge the others. He shook his head. "I always thought he wanted to be a vicar. If he keeps this up, he'll be a prisoner."
"Just think," Joseph began, an amused gleam in his eye, "then he can preach to the really lost souls of England."
"I'd rather he do his preaching on this side of the prison bars, thank you."
Joseph waved him off and made himself comfortable in the only other chair in the room. "While I find his rebellious behavior careless and unbecoming, I do believe he'll settle down in time."
"He'd better or I might find myself behind those same prison bars after I strangle him."
"Strangle who?" asked a new voice to the room.
"You," Edward said to his annoying younger brother who'd just sauntered into the room as if he didn't have a care in the world.