‘It’s about Alexis. I’ve never seen you behave like that, ever in my life. You were … startled by her … caught up in her. Actually, I think the best word I can use is mesmerized.’ Claudia sat back, watching him, hoping he wouldn’t close himself off, like he so easily could when he did not want to discuss something.
He sighed. ‘Mesmerized, eh? Is that how I seemed to you, Claudia?’
She merely nodded.
He was reflective for a moment. Finally he spoke. ‘I was stunned by the vividness of her colouring and her beauty. And then something strange happened I felt … I don’t quite know how to describe how I felt …’ His voice faltered.
‘Attracted to her? Happy? Joyful?’ Claudia suggested, aware he couldn’t find the right way to describe his reaction.
‘No, none of those. What I experienced was a sense of excitement. Yes, that is the best word to use. Excitement. And a rush of … need. No, not need. Something else. Something a man feels for a woman. Those are the emotions she evoked in me.’ He shrugged. ‘And naturally you are correct; I did have a strong reaction to her. You said I was mesmerized. Perhaps. I do know I was blinded for a moment or two and conscious only of her.’
‘Has that ever happened to you before, Papa?’
‘No, never. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.’ His smile flickered momentarily.
‘You never felt that about Mama?’
‘It was different. Your mother and I grew up together, Claudia, as you well know. Our families were very close. From the age of fourteen, our parents were quite certain we would marry. And we did. We loved and adored each other. Margot was the perfect woman for me, and we knew each other so well. Just imagine, we were both only twenty when you were born.’ A sigh trickled out and he blinked.
Acutely attuned to her father, after their unique closeness of the last few years, she spotted the sadness in his eyes, which had grown moist. He coughed behind his hand, and sat up straighter on the carriage seat.
Taking a deep breath, wanting to change his mood, Claudia plunged into the deep end. ‘You want to see her again, don’t you?’
He didn’t answer.
His daughter knew he was debating how to respond, always the discreet and careful man – sometimes over-cautious.
‘Yes.’
‘Then you must do so.’
Sebastian gave her a swift look. ‘I did tell her I wanted her to come to supper and that I would ask you to arrange something. I said soon.’
‘How did she reply?’
‘She said she would like that.’
Claudia gave him a huge smile. ‘I think Miss Malvern might well have had the same reaction to you as you had to her.’
‘Perhaps,’ he said, that caution now entering his voice.
Claudia said, ‘We are home, Papa.’
He glanced out of the window and saw that his carriage had already entered the square and was pulling up outside his grand townhouse.
Did this woman Alexis Malvern preoccupy him so much that he hadn’t noticed where they were?
When Sebastian and Claudia went into the house, they were immediately greeted by Lavinia, who was seventeen, and Marietta, fifteen. Both girls were excited to see their father and Claudia.
They rushed over to them, only slowing down when they reached Sebastian. Smiling with pleasure, he pulled them both into his arms and hugged them. Once he had released them, answered a few questions about Aunt Thea and how she was, he explained, ‘I’m afraid I’ve got to hurry. I must change my clothes. Uncle Reginald will be arriving imminently.’
‘Can we say hello to him?’ Marietta asked, who loved company and was quite socially inclined for a young girl. She was filled with charm, whilst Lavinia was more reserved, a bit aloof.
‘He’ll be delighted to see you, Marietta, and you too, Lavinia,’ Sebastian answered, edging away, conscious of the time.
‘And I think he will like to say hello to me, too,’ Claudia murmured, smiling at her sisters indulgently.
Leaving his daughters standing in the middle of the elegant entrance hall, Sebastian ran up the staircase, and headed down the corridor to his bedroom.
As he entered, Maxwell, his valet, emerged from the dressing room. ‘Good evening, sir,’ he said, and went to help Sebastian out of his black frock coat.
‘I’ll take the waistcoat off as well, Maxwell,’ Sebastian said, and did so. ‘I’ve no reason to change my tie, or my black trousers. However, I will put on one of my smoking jackets. I will be dining at home this evening.’
‘Much more comfortable, sir. Which one do you prefer? The burgundy, the blue or the dark green?’
‘The blue. Thank you. Please excuse me for a moment.’ Sebastian hurried into the adjoining bathroom, where he washed his hands, patted his face with a clean cotton towel, then picked up a silver-topped brush and smoothed his hair back. He glanced at himself, and couldn’t help thinking he looked tired, but he simply shrugged away the thought and returned to his bedroom.
Maxwell helped him on with his deep-blue velvet smoking jacket, which had a tie belt with fringe at each end. ‘Thank you,’ he said, with a nod, and left the room.
Claudia was waiting for him in the library, standing near the blazing fire. ‘So you will be having supper at home, Papa.’
‘Yes. I believe Reginald will prefer it, and frankly, so do I.’ He joined her at the fireplace, and stood with his back to it, warming himself. ‘It’s turned chilly, don’t you think?’ he said, glancing at Claudia.
‘It has. But perhaps you’re also hungry, Papa. I know we had a nice lunch together with the girls, but it’s now six o’clock. I can ask Mr Bloom to bring in caviar and toast. You always enjoy that, and I know Uncle Reginald does.’
He laughed. ‘What a grand idea. Tell Bloom not to mess it up with additions I don’t like, such as chopped onions and chopped boiled egg. Caviar must be eaten as it is, with just a squeeze of lemon and the toast.’
‘I know. You taught me that when I was about twelve. Shall I ask Mr Bloom to open a bottle of champagne? Dom Pérignon?’
‘I believe I taught you well, my Claudia,’ he answered with a nod.
She offered him a glowing smile. ‘Do you want me to plan a supper for next week? So you can invite Alexis?’ Before he could answer, she rushed on, ‘I was thinking of Thursday.’
‘Who would we invite?’
‘Not Aunt Thea, as much as I love her, and not Delia and Richard. I think Alexis has to be with people she doesn’t know, and certainly not any family.’
‘You must be there!’ he exclaimed. ‘I absolutely insist.’
‘I intend to be, Papa. I thought we could invite Uncle Reginald and Aunt Jane, and Mark Brewster and his nice sister Evangilina.’
‘Good thinking on your part,’ Sebastian responded, suddenly feeling rather proud of his intelligent and clever daughter. ‘With the two of us we will be six, and with Alexis we’ll be seven. Should we make it eight by inviting someone else?’
‘No. We don’t need too many guests, Papa. You want to talk to Alexis, get to know her, don’t you?’
He began to chuckle, and before he could answer her, the butler tapped on the door and entered. ‘Lord Reginald has arrived, sir.’
‘Thank