“Of course I did.”
“Jane.” Della piled heaps of disappointment onto her name. “I can’t believe you. He’s so handsome, and he’s always staring at you. Don’t you at least want to hear his explanation?”
“I’ve heard it. I ran into him again later on.”
“And?” It was apparent that Della was infected with the fever for news of Eli that had gripped the ton overnight. It was bad enough that he’d captivated everyone else. Did he have to ensnare her friend, as well?
“You’ll have seen the article in the post this morning?”
“Yes.”
“It was much the same thing. Abducted by pirates, etc., etc.”
“So it’s true.” Della placed a hand over her breast. “The poor man. A prisoner for two years.”
Yes, she’d definitely caught Eli fever. A more irksome affliction, Jane had not yet seen.
“That seems a bit of a leap. Something isn’t true simply because the papers print it.”
“But why would he lie? And if he wasn’t really abducted, then where was he all this time?”
Good questions.
“I don’t know, but something isn’t right.” He’d been curiously vague about his captivity. And everyone knew that pirates ransomed their prisoners, or else why take them in the first place? She and Eli might not be on intimate terms anymore, but she could still tell when he was hiding something.
“Well, if you truly believe he’s lying, I suppose you’ll have four days together to sniff it out.”
Jane cast her friend a murderous look, though it did little to quell her grin.
“It isn’t funny,” she insisted. Cecily was going to be insufferable, fawning over Eli the entire time, even with her husband there. She didn’t want to watch their flirtation. Particularly when her own sentiments weren’t nearly as controlled as she would like. “Could you ask your parents if I may stay with you?”
Just think how much progress they might make on their plans for the club if they had four days together! It would be perfect.
But Della dashed her hopes immediately. “We’re full up. We’ve only rented two rooms—I’m sharing with Annabelle, and my parents are sharing the other with Peter. Everything goes so quickly during the races, there wasn’t much choice. You’re going to be far more comfortable as guests in a proper house.”
“I assure you, I will not.”
Della laughed, then clapped up her jaw at Jane’s look. “Sorry.”
Enough of this. It was bad enough that Eli would intrude upon her privacy for four days, she didn’t have to let him intrude any further on her thoughts.
“We’re almost there. Let’s focus, please,” Jane said briskly. “Have all our guests confirmed for Monday?”
This was what really mattered.
“Everyone except Lady Baldwin. She sends her regrets and hopes to return next time.”
“Oh no.” Lady Baldwin was their biggest draw. The only titled guest amongst their number, and liberal with her coin, she served to lend respectability to the club and encourage the other ladies to spend freely. It had taken weeks of careful effort to secure her patronage. “Do we still have twelve?”
“I’ll find someone, don’t worry. Did you say you’d started on Lady Eleanor? My mother calls on hers often. Maybe I can finish the job.”
“If you can manage it, I’ll give you my firstborn child,” Jane promised. “Weneedanother aristocrat.”
Why did it have to be Lady Baldwin who’d canceled?
“I was thinking…” Della slowed her step as they approached the Davis house. They were both rosy-cheeked from the cold, but she made no move to mount the steps and lift the knocker.
“Yes?”
