Daphne laughed, squeezing her hand to let her know that she did not mean to seriously chide her. “No worries, my dear. Perhaps I was just being impatient. Can you blame me? The thing that excites me most about this house party is the fact that I will get to spend more time with my two closest friends.”
“You have done an excellent job at it, too,” Isadora noted, smiling. “I have never seen such grandeur at Greymont Estate.”
“I agree,” Violet joined in, “In fact, my brothers and I were discussing the same thing—that you have done a spectacular job with the arrangements.”
“Ah, lovely to hear that the both of them could make it. Where are they now? I have not greeted them yet,” Daphne said, smiling genuinely.
Violet shrugged her shoulders, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “I do not know, and frankly, it would be better for me to avoid them for some time. They spend every possible moment in reminding me how I should be scavenging for a husband.”
Daphne tilted her head, a glint of amusement in her eyes as she observed Violet’s exasperated expression. “Well, they are your brothers. Teasing you is practically their favorite pastime. But surely even they must know that you don’t need to be ‘scavenging’ for a husband.”
Violet let out a dry laugh. “I try to ignore their pessimism as much as I can.”
Isadora chuckled, fanning herself lazily. “To be fair, Violet, if I had brothers, I imagine they’d be saying the same. We ladies are not exactly given much room to breathe without someone mentioning the prospect of marriage.”
Daphne smiled cryptically but said nothing. Violet and Isadora exchanged a look.
“Something wrong?” Violet asked.
Daphne bit down on her lip, “Oh, no, no. Quite the opposite.” The Duchess was acting coy and in a manner quite unlike herself. Violet knew then that she had something of substance to share—she knew her friend too well and could read her like the back of her hand.
“Out with it,Daph,” Violet nudged her, smiling now. “You clearly have something to say, and I did not come all the way from Nightingale Manor for you to keep mum like this.”
Daphne nodded, steeling herself. “I have known for some weeks now, but I thought I should wait for the right moment when I could tell the both of you in person. I thought it might mean more this way.” She paused for a moment, her hand coming to rest gently on her abdomen. “I’m expecting.”
There was a beat of silence, just long enough for Violet and Isadora to process the announcement, before they both erupted into a flurry of congratulations.
“Daphne!” Violet gasped, reaching out to clasp her friend’s hands. “That’s wonderful news! Oh, I’m so happy for you.”
Isadora mirrored the excitement. “This is marvelous! You’re going to be the most radiant mother, I just know it. Does Ambrose know? Of course he does. What am I saying? How is he taking the news?”
Daphne’s smile softened at the mention of her husband. “Ambrose is thrilled, of course. He’s already fussing over me as if I’m made of porcelain.”
“As he should!” Isadora grinned, enthused.
“We’ll be with you through this, too,” Violet assured her, her earlier irritation with her brothers completely forgotten. “Does this mean that Isadora and I are going to be aunts?”
“Yes,” Daphne beamed. “The baby is due to arrive by the beginning of next year, and we cannot wait.”
The three women fell into discussions of what they would do when the baby arrived and if it would be a girl or a boy. They had countless discussions like this before, of course, as many young girls did. But this time, one of them was actually going to become a mother. It felt like yet another steppingstone in their friendship and a true indicator that they had grown up.
“Daphne beat us all to the altar, and now she is the first of us to become a mother,” Isadora noted, smiling. “Quite the pioneer she is.”
Daphne blushed at the comment while Violet grinned. “That she is. She found her Prince Charming well before either of us.”
The two friends nodded at the mention. “Oh, we were quite the dramatic trio, weren’t we?” Isadora admitted, laughing.“Looking for Prince Charming when most ladies would be happy just to find a husband.”
“And what’s so wrong about that?” Violet asked. “I think it is a good thing that we had our expectations set high from the beginning.”
Isadora gave her a look. “But high expectations only mean more disappointment.”
“Theycouldmean that,” Daphne interjected. “But that does not mean that theymust.”
Daphne always made sure to interpret things positively, and it was something that Violet absolutely loved about her. It was rare to find someone who could focus onwhat could go rightinstead of the opposite.
“I think I want to be on Daphne’s side here.” Violet nodded. “She certainly was able to find her Prince Charming. Why is it that the two of us shouldn’t be able to?”
Isadora shrugged, “I suppose the first step, in your case Violet, would be totalkto some gentlemen.”
