“Mine will be easy. I shall simply kill him off and become his widow.”
“You are a virgin,” Celia snapped. “Or do you plan on dispensing with that so as not to have to explain it?”
“Sisters!” Sophie interrupted them with a sharp clap. “Turning on each other solves nothing.” She glared at them both. “Whatever we decide, we will band together and support one another. Agreed?”
Filled with immediate regret, Celia took hold of Frannie’s hands. “Forgive me, I beg you. I am as feral as a cornered animal.”
Frannie smiled and twitched a sheepish shrug. “Forgiveme, dear one. I should not have spoken so harshly about this troubling mess.”
Celia scooted off the bed, went to the wardrobe, and opened its double doors. “I suppose we should all dress and prepare ourselves for the day.”
“How do you manage without your maid?” Sophie hopped off the bed and shook the wrinkles out of her nightdress.
“Berta comes by after she finishes with Mama.” Celia selected her favorite morning dress, the white muslin with the tiny blue flowers and blue trim. “After all, it would seem quite unusual for the duchess’s companion to have her own lady’s maid.”
“Too true,” Frannie agreed. “We can help with your stays and buttons.” She cast a glance at the window. The new day was making itself known with a soft, pinkish light that gently eased into the room. “After all, it is quite early.”
“Early is best for privacy,” Celia said. “And if you wouldn’t mind helping, that would be lovely. I fear Berta gets little rest because she hovers over Mama so.” She bowed her head and hugged her clothes. “I don’t know what will happen to poor Berta after…” She couldn’t finish because the inevitable was so unbearable. A deep breath and a hard swallow helped her get back on track. She turned to them and managed a smile. “Your help would be much appreciated.”
It took no time at all to dress with Sophie and Frannie’s help, and Celia was grateful for their company. Her dear friends kept her from wallowing in self-pity.
With her hair pinned up in the simple braided bun she preferred, she descended to the garden while the others finished dressing and tended to their morning correspondence and selection of engagements for the day. It was much too early for breakfast, but a cup of the rich coffee she loved along with the rising sun filling the garden might help her sort her thoughts and forge an acceptable plan.
She prudently avoided the bench beside the water feature. Too many memories there. She would not only become overly warm, but the ability to entertain a logical thought would leave her. Instead, she seated herself at the small table on the opposite side of the garden, tucked away in a circle of hedges. As she sipped her drink, she tried to calm herself, concentrating on the vibrant song of a little wren flitting among the leafy branches in search of a place to nest or perhaps find its morning meal.
The sound of footsteps made her turn and discover Gransdon appearing extremely apologetic and out of sorts.
“Forgive me, Miss Bening, but Lord Raines is here.” The butler’s huffing snort clearly relayed his opinion regarding early-morning visitors. “I reminded his lordship of the hour and how irregular you might find his calling at this time, but he insists and refuses to leave the premises. What would you have me do?”
The calm instilled by the busy little wren immediately left her. Celia pulled in a deep breath and forced a smile she didn’t feel. “It is all right, Gransdon. He is welcome to join me here in the garden. You might ask if he would like a morning coffee or chocolate, since breakfast won’t be for a while yet.”
Gransdon nodded, then disappeared back inside.
Moments later, Elias strode into the garden and knelt at her side. “Celia.” He gently touched her cheek as if fearing she would disappear. “Is your health fully restored? I have been so worried.”
“I am quite improved.” Although the fluttering of her heart made it difficult to speak. She had longed to see him so much, even though their separation was no one’s fault but her own. “I have missed you,” she whispered.
Before she could think of anything else to say, he leaned up and treated her to a kiss filled with the same yearning she felt coursing through her veins.
“And I have missed you, my precious lioness.” He kissed her again with even more passionate wistfulness.
If he kept this up, she wouldn’t be able to think of anything but being in his arms. For the sake of her sanity, and the ability to convince him that she and her mother weren’t the worst sort of people, she gently pushed away while tugging upward on his arms.
“You will soil your clothes on the damp ground. Please—sit with me.” She lowered her voice and treated herself to a loving caress of his clean-shaven face. “There are far too many bustling about for us to end up in the grass again.”
He dragged a chair closer while still firmly holding her hand. “I suppose you are right.” He glanced back at the open doors of the dining room. “They did let you know I called twice before?”
“Of course.” She eased her hand free of him as a footman appeared with tea. “You do not enjoy coffee or chocolate?”
“Never developed a taste for either. I prefer tea to start my day.”
“So, you are aware of the hour,” she teased.
Mischief, mirth, and pride flashed in his eyes. “I see I have put Gransdon out of sorts again. Did he call me a doddering rake?”
“Gransdon would never stoop to name calling, and I am quite sure he will recover.” She treated herself to another sip of coffee, wishing it was closer to ten o’clock, so they might enjoy the distraction of breakfast with the rest of the household. As it was, it was barely a quarter to seven, and no one would be down for the morning meal before nine thirty. The maids and footmen bustled everywhere to prepare for the day, but Mama and everyone else spent the time before breakfast in their sitting rooms, attending to correspondence and other matters. “And what would you have done if no one had been down from their rooms yet and willing to receive you?”
“Sat on the front steps until Gransdon became so mortified that he allowed me to enter and wait in the library until someone came down.”
