“What is that?” Leo asked.

Christopher answered in a bleak syllable. “Me.”

Minutes ticked by as Christopher explained the rest of it . . . his inexplicable behavior since the war, the symptoms of a condition that seemed akin to madness. He probably shouldn’t have been surprised that they received the information without apparent alarm. But it made him wonder: what kind of family was this?

When Christopher finished, there was a moment of silence.

Leo looked at Cam expectantly. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Now is the time when you dredge up one of your blasted Romany sayings. Something about roosters laying eggs, or pigs dancing in the orchard. It’s what you always do. Let’s have it.”

Cam gave him a sardonic glance. “I can’t think of one right now.”

“By God, I’ve had to listen to hundreds of them. And Phelan doesn’t have to hear even one?”

Ignoring Leo, Cam turned his attention to Christopher. “I believe the problems you’ve described will lessen as time passes.” He paused. “Our brother Merripen would attest to that, if he were here.”

Christopher looked at him alertly.

“He never fought in a war,” Cam continued quietly, “but violence and damage are hardly limited to the battlefield. He had his own demons to fight, and he conquered them. I see no reason why you can’t do the same.”

“I think Phelan and Beatrix should wait,” Leo said. “Nothing will be lost by waiting.”

“I don’t know about that,” Cam said. “As the Rom say, ‘Take too much time, and time will take you.’ ”

Leo looked smug. “I knew there would be a saying.”

“With all due respect,” Christopher muttered, “this conversation is leading nowhere. At least one of you should point out that Beatrix deserves a better man.”

“That’s what I said about my wife,” Leo remarked. “Which is why I married her before she could find one.” He smiled slightly as he contemplated Christopher’s glowering face. “So far, I haven’t been all that impressed by your flaws. You drink more than you should, you have trouble controlling your impulses, and you have a temper. All of those are practically requirements in the Hathaway family. I suppose you think Beatrix should marry a quiet young gentleman whose idea of excitement is collecting snuffboxes or writing sonnets. Well, we’ve tried that, and it hasn’t worked. She doesn’t want that kind of man. Apparently what she wants is you.”

“She’s too young and idealistic to know better,” Christopher said. “I fault her judgment.”

“So do I,” Leo shot back. “But unfortunately none of my sisters let me pick their husbands for them.”

“Easy, the two of you,” Cam interceded calmly. “I have a question for you, Phelan . . . if you decide to wait indefinitely before proposing marriage to Beatrix . . . do you intend to continue seeing her in the meantime?”

“Yes,” Christopher said honestly. “I don’t think anything could keep me away from her. But we’ll be circumspect.”

“I doubt that,” Leo said. “The only thing Beatrix knows about being circumspect is how to spell it.”

“Before long there would be gossip,” Cam said, “and criticism, which would harm Beatrix’s reputation. With the result that you would have to marry her anyway. There’s not much point in delaying the inevitable.”

“Are you saying you want me to marry her?” Christopher asked incredulously.

“No,” Cam replied, looking rueful. “But I can’t say I’m all that fond of the alternative. Beatrix would be miserable. Besides, which one of us will volunteer to tell her that she’s going to have to wait?”

All three were silent.

Beatrix knew that she would get precious little rest that night, her mind too engaged with worries and questions to allow for sleep. Christopher had not stayed for dinner, but had left soon after his talk with Cam and Leo.

Amelia, who had come downstairs after having put Alex to bed, made no attempt to hide her pleasure in the news. “I like him,” she said, hugging Beatrix and drawing back to view her with a smile. “He seems to be a good and honorable man.”

“And brave,” Cam added.

“Yes,” Amelia replied soberly, “one can’t forget what he did in the war.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” Cam told her. “I was referring to the fact that he’s willing to marry a Hathaway sister.”

Amelia stuck her tongue out at him, and he grinned.

The relationship between the pair was so comfortable, and yet spiced with playfulness and flirtation. Beatrix wondered if she and Christopher could ever achieve anything similar, if he would relinquish enough of his defenses to allow her to be close to him.

Frowning, Beatrix sat next to Amelia. “I keep asking about the conversation Cam and Leo had with Christopher, and it seems nothing was decided or resolved. All they did was drink brandy.”

“We assured Phelan that we were more than happy to let him have you and your menagerie,” Leo retorted. “After that, he said he needed to think.”

“About what?” Beatrix demanded. “What is there to think about? Why is it taking him so long to make a decision?”

“He’s a man, dear,” Amelia explained kindly. “Sustained thinking is very difficult for them.”