Nathaniel paced impatiently by the door, his footsteps echoing against the marble floor as he waited. His youngest sister, Alexandra, watched in utter amusement from an uncomfortable chair in the house's foyer.
"You will wear a hole in our flooring if you continue to do that, you know." Alexandra quipped, smiling devilishly at her brother.
"Hush, Allie." Nate said, not meaning it in the least. "I'm surprised you aren't more excited."
"Of course I'm excited." Alexandra scoffed, as if anything other than that was preposterous. "I haven't seen her in a year. However, I think I'll save my excitement for when I actually see her."
Nate rolled his eyes, but did not respond as he could hear the loud sound of horses' hooves against gravel, indicating that the carriage had arrived. He threw open the door without waiting for a footman, but in the mean time Alexandra slipped out, hiking up her skirts to greet the occupants of the carriage.
"That's cheating, Allie!" Nate complained, as the carriage door opened and a familiar dark-haired man emerged. Alexandra all but ignored him as Cassandra got out of the carriage and threw her arms around her sister, practically leaping at her and attacking her.
Nate chuckled, and bounded down the steps leading to the door, just as his brother-in-law, Christopher, helped another woman out of the carriage.
For a moment, Nate ignored her presence as he hugged Christopher, the two men laughing at Alexandra's enthusiasm, which Cassandra reciprocated equally.
When Alexandra finally pulled away, she leapt at Christopher to embrace him quickly, while Nate stepped towards his sister, his face breaking out into a wide grin. He put his arms around Cassandra's waist and hugged her tightly, and she reciprocated just as hard by throwing her arms around his neck.
Nate held her close, revelling in the feeling of being around his sister for the first time in a year. First, Nate had been travelling in the Continent for a holiday with Allie for a period of three months. She was supposed to come for Christmas, but had fallen ill and she and Christopher could not make the trip. They'd then found out that, after a year of trying, she was with child.
Although the thought of his sister trying was enough to make him gag, he was happy for her and Kit.
Cassandra extricated herself from her brother's grasp, and the woman who had been with them finally stepped forward, holding a baby. At first, Nate assumed she was the nanny, but then remembered her face. Lady Emily Carter, Cassandra's dearest friend and the most unique lady he'd ever met. He could remember being infatuated with her two years before, when he'd first met her.
Emily was beautiful, with dark brown hair and grey eyes. She had a slim figure, with no curves to speak of, but everything about her was enticing to Nate.
"Lady Emily, it is nice to see you again." He said, and she responded with a greeting of the same kind. He hadn't known she was coming and would have asked about her appearance in another circumstance, but now he had eyes only for the baby in her arms, "Is this my niece?"
"Yes." Christopher said proudly, slipping his arm around his wife's waist. Nate fully ignored Alexandra's exclamations and squeals. He slapped Allie's hands away and took the baby from Emily's arms, his eyes lighting up in wonder at her small features.
"Hello, Juliette." He whispered to her, and she cooed happily, coming to him with a smile. She was three months old, and already a lovely child. Her hair was the same as Cassandra's golden locks, but she'd inherited her father's dark eyes. "You're a beautiful little girl, aren't you? I'm your Uncle Nate and I'm going to spoil you rotten."
Although she did not understand, Juliette giggled happily, one of her small hands reaching up and clasping a lock of his unkempt hair. She tugged at his hair and one of her chubby little legs kicked out. It hurt more than he had expected, but he did not mind. He'd known his niece for all of two seconds, but he already loved her. She could rip every last hair off his head and he'd still smile.
After speaking to her in soft murmurs a little longer as the footmen carried the trunks inside, he finally relinquished hold of Juliette to the excited Alexandra. Cassandra immediately rushed towards their sister as she grabbed the baby enthusiastically, not holding her right. Christopher followed his wife, as he always did. It never ceased to amaze Nate just how much those two loved each other. He was glad that they had finally gotten what they wanted mostâ a child.
He could feel Lady Emily's eyes on him, and so he turned to her, offering her his arm, which she took. She was not one for social norms, but he could sense she did not mind him all that much for he did not judge her as most others did.
"I apologise for my earlier rudeness." He said, and he could see her mouth open, but he finished his sentence first. "It's only that this is my first time seeing Juliette." He explained sheepishly. His confidence faded as he admitted this, and his cheeks coloured embarrassingly.
"Juliette is absolutely fascinating. When I first saw her only last week, I was enraptured and could not take my eyes off her for at least twenty minutes, so I understand exactly what you mean. There's just something about babies."
Nate found himself laughing as they ascended the stairs, a few feet behind the rest as Cassandra and Christopher continued to hover to make sure Alexandra didn't drop their daughter.
"Forgive me, but I did not know you were coming, Lady Emily?" Nate left it as a question, feeling his nervousness of two years ago return as it did when he was around her. They had not known each other well at all then, and he'd only met her a few times, but she'd fascinated him. She still did, he supposed.
"Oh, my ship pulled into port a week ago. The first place I went to was London to visit Cassandra and Christopher. They then told me they were leaving to come here the next day. Cassandra invited me to come with them and I accepted. If you do not want me here, then I will take my leave immediately." Emily's tone was guarded, as if she truly believed Nate would do that.
"Of course not!" He denied instantly, "I will not turn you out of the house. You are my sister's friend and, by extension, mine as well. You are welcome to stay as long as you'd like, Lady Emily."
"Well, if we are to be friends," She began, smiling coyly as they crossed into the parlour where everyone else was already seated, "You must call me Emily and nothing else. I cannot stand society's pointless formalities."
"Then, Emily," Nate stressed upon her name, drawing a smile from her, "You must call me Nathaniel or Nate."
"It is nice to meet you then, Nate." She said, pulling her arm away from him to offer him her hand to shake, which he did with playful vigour.
"Likewise, Emily."
Cassandra looked at them oddly, a glint in her eyes, before picking up the silver bell on the table beside her and ringing it. Ignoring all pretentiousness, even the two men present collapsed onto the sofas, with Christopher especially looking as if he needed to sleep.
While Cassandra asked for some tea and refreshments to be brought up, ignoring the look of disgust on her husband's face, Nate turned to Emily, "So what have you been seeing these last two years?"
At this, everyone present turned to give her their undivided attention, even Alexandra and Cassandra, who were discussing how difficult travelling with a baby was. Juliette had not made the journey easy for her parents.
"First, I journeyed to the New World." She said, and Nate's ears immediately perked. "America, the land everyone seems so enamoured by these days. The people were simply fascinating, but their treatment of the natives was abhorrent." Emily was indignant at that, and Nate knew what she meant for he had seen the same thing when he had visited India a few years before.
"Apart from that, their cities are something of a marvel. New York City, especially, appealed to me. The journey there took me three months and my travels another six. From there, I boarded another ship bound for Africa, to a place called Botswana, and then Kenya. I've never seen anything like it. It was truly magnificent. The animals, the people, the culture, the landscape, everything about it was beautiful. From there I returned to England, and now I am here."
"Was it awful hard, being a woman travelling alone?" Alexandra asked, her eyes widening simply at the thought. It was not safe nor was it proper, and Nate imagined Allie could not fathom doing something like that herself. Nor would he encourage her to, for he would be worrying after her safety the entire time. He'd take her if she wanted to go.
"While it was dangerous at times, I managed. The captain of the ship I boarded from England was a kind man, and he directed me to some relatives of his in America, who helped me greatly. In Africa it was more difficult as there was no one I knew, but I successfully befriended a local woman in Botswana who taught me the lay of the land and what I could do to protect myself from harm. I met quite a few Englishmen, too, some of whom are acquainted with my parents."
"I wouldn't ever be able to do that." Alexandra admitted with a sigh, adding, "It's very brave, isn't it, Nate?"
"Indeed." He agreed, meeting Emily's eyes with a smile that she returned. She had a very pretty smile, one that made her entire face brighten. "I think it is rather courageous of you to be able to do so. Most would have shied away."
"All you need is a backbone, and you can do whatever you put your mind to." Emily said, brushing it aside, even as her cheeks flushed at hearing praise.
"Tell us some stories, then." Christopher urged, grinning at his wife's best friend. He appeared half-dead from exhaustion and it only intensified as the maid arrived, bringing with her a tray that filled the room with the familiar scent of Darjeeling tea, a new kind that Cassie had recently sent from London.
"You can have my share, too." Christopher informed Cassandra who only giggled, and he lifted his daughter into his lap, allowing her to play with the buttons on his coat.
Emily did not hesitate to pick up a jam biscuit, moaning as she bit into it. She clearly did not care how unladylike she appeared, and Nate found that refreshing, especially as he was usually around only Alexandra, who was always worried about propriety.
He had eaten a large breakfast, so he was not hungry. He sipped at his tea, enjoying the warmth of the beverage more than the taste. He did not dislike it as Christopher did, he was only tired of it as this was his second cup of the day.
The conversation continued, with Emily finally relenting and agreeing to entertain them with tales from her trip. She told them not only of the places she'd seen, but also of some of the people she'd met. When she had learnt that all of them shared a common acquaintance in a certain very important baronet, she took it upon herself to tell them of how he'd been caught by his father-in-law with his trousers down with his new wife's motherâthe father-in-law in question's wife. That particular story had Nate in fits of laughter.
Finally, at about midday, the travellers agreed to rest awhile as they were tired and no one was in the mood for luncheon. Nate immediately offered to take Juliette from them as she seemed more interested in playing than in sleeping. Since her maid had not been brought, Cassandra and Christopher accepted this offer readily.
"Shall we go for a walk then, love?" He asked his niece, who only cooed. He smiled in goodbye at Emily, who looked thoughtfully at him with little Juliette in his arms before smiling.
There was something in her eyes that made him wonder if she thought of him as he, embarrassingly, thought of her. He shook that thought aside, however, shifted Juliette in his arms and began their walk about the manor and grounds.