That made all the difference.
“All right,” she said.
His face lit up.
Diana found herself smiling back.
She would have gone anyway, of course. Until today, she hadn’t realized she had a say in the matter. Yes, Thaddeus had been trying to find her a husband. Not because he wished her gone, but because he wished her happy.
Guilt twisted in her stomach. She certainly hadn’t gone out of her way to return the favor.
“Maybe I’ll wear something distinguishable from the wallpaper tonight,” she said with a self-deprecating smile. “Maybe I’ll even join the conversation.”
He placed both hands to his chest as if in the throes of apoplexy. “Who are you? What have you done with my cousin? And how long can you stay in her place?”
She tossed a serviette at him. “Beast.”
He grinned at her unrepentantly. “They’re not all bad, you know. Believe it or not, the number of peacock feathers in a woman’s hair does not correlate inversely with her intelligence.”
Diana wrinkled her nose and sighed. “I have a feelingI’mthe awful one.”
Her cousin was right. Just because the ton was unashamed of its frivolous interests did not mean none of them cared about the plight of the people or the state of current laws.
That was what Cole had been trying to show her when he’d forced her to shop. Shelikedfashion. He knew it. She’d thought if she indulged such fancies, it made her less serious than she wished to seem. Less worthy of being listened to.
But blending with the background erased her voice altogether. Refusing to take an active part in customs she deemed stifling and silly meant turning her back on the very people in the best position to help.
Cole was not a lone swashbuckler, cutting swaths through fusty members of Parliament in a one-man mission to bring cohesive bushel descriptors to the people.
He was not responsible for the Weights and Measures Act of 1815. Neither was she. There was an entire committee, plus the House of Lords and the House of Commons. She and Cole were agents of change, but they could do little without the staunch support of others.
By thinking of the ton as adversaries, she had devoted her energy into “Diana versus Everyone” instead of “Diana and Everyone against Injustice.” Cole’s world was just as valid as hers.
They just couldn’t live in it together. Not if he wasn’t willing to bridge the gap with her.
Shaw strode into the room. “Duke of Colehaven to see Miss Middleton.”
Thaddeus arched his brows toward Diana. “Should I fetch my pistol or make myself scarce?”
“At ease, cousin,” she assured him. “I don’t hate Cole. I’m just not going to marry him.”
“I’m here to change your mind,” came a low voice from the corridor.
Diana and Thaddeus whirled to face Colehaven.
“I left this ‘gentleman’ in the entryway,” Shaw said with a sniff.
“The entryway is three paces from the parlor,” Colehaven put in. “I can hear you talking.”
“I’ll fetch the pistol,” Shaw said and strode from the room.
Colehaven crossed directly in front of Diana and dropped to one knee. “Every moment without you is like stars vanishing from the sky. You are the light in the darkness. My compass to—”
Thaddeus leaped to his feet.
“You know, Shaw really oughtn’t to be left in charge of a pistol,” he said as he edged out of the parlor. “Do carry on without me.”
Heart racing, Diana turned back to Colehaven.
