Chapter 15
London, England
Two months later
Virginia gripped Theodore’s hand and tried to pretend her stomach wasn’t overflowing with butterflies. Although they had arrived at his town house last month after their wedding, tonight would be Virginia’s first official public outing.
“It won’t be small,” Theodore warned as their carriage inched along the queue. “Not as crowded as Almack’s, but a respectable soirée all the same. We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.”
“It’s the last major gathering of the Season,” she reminded him. “I want you to dance with your cousin.”
The heat in his gaze could have melted chocolate. “I want to dance withyou.”
Virginia’s hands went clammy. Dancing in the privacy of their home was one thing. Here, hundreds of eyes would be upon her.
Their carriage came to a stop. A footman opened the door. They were here.
“Ready?” Theodore asked.
Virginia was not ready. She was terrified. But with Theodore at her side, she knew she could brave anything.
He handed her out of the carriage and led her to the front door.
When the butler greeted them, Theodore handed him a calling card Virginia had never seen.
“What isthat?” she asked, unable to stifle a giggle.
“Four colly birds,” he answered with a straight face. “And a cat. I didn’t want Duke to feel he wasn’t part of the family. You know how he likes to meet new people.”
“You didn’t bring him, did you?” she asked in mock horror.
“No onebringsDuke.” Theodore widened his eyes innocently. “If there’s an open window, Duke will find us.”
The butler beckoned. “This way, if you please.”
Limbs shaking, Virginia pressed her elbows into her sides and forced her stiff legs to follow.
When the butler announced them at the head of a small ballroom, all eyes swiveled their way, exactly as she had feared.
To her surprise, Virginia recognized several friendly faces. There was Noelle and her husband, the Duke of Silkridge. Penelope and her husband Nicholas. Even Gloria, and her husband Christopher. Virginia’s tight muscles relaxed.
A soirée no longer felt like enemy territory, but a haven stocked with friends.
“I see my cousin,” Theodore murmured. “She’s trying to blend with the wainscoting.”
“Go dance,” Virginia said without hesitation. Hester had dined with them several times and was a truly lovely young lady. She would be thrilled.
Theodore shook his head. “I don’t want to leave you without—”
“Virginia!” All three of her closest friends squealed as they surrounded her with smiles and excited hugs. “You made it!”
Virginia grinned. Shehadmade it. In every sense. She was happily married to a wonderful husband. She was back in London, and thriving despite her fears. She was even here at a Society soirée, reunited with her friends.
“Go,” she told Theodore with a smile. “Find me after your dance with Hester.”
She could not be prouder of him.
Theodore had made it, too, in all the ways that mattered. He’d survived war, then his homecoming. His peers were thrilled to have him home again. His brace and scars were seen as marks of bravery, not folly. The only gossip in the papers were the laments of eligible debutantes, vexed that the dashing viscount had fallen in love in his absence.
