“Very well, I understand,” Philip conceded. “If your intentions are pure, then all I can say is that I am grateful for your efforts. Now, shall we join the others?”
“I shall have to decline the offer. I do not wish to say or do the wrong thing again, and have you be angry with me when I am only trying to be polite. I shall see you sometime soon.”
“Lucien, I apologize if you have taken offense—”
“If? You bring me here and accuse me of trying to steal a lady away from you, and you are unsure as to whether or not you have offended me? I do not have time for this, Philip. I will come and see you again when you have a better head on your shoulders.”
He left without another word, and Philip finished his glass before joining the others in the drawing room.
“Hello again,” Jackie smiled when he arrived. “Where has your friend gone?”
“He had to leave,” Philip explained, trying not to lie to her outright.
“Oh, I see. That is a shame; he is a good friend to you.”
Philip winced, knowing it was true.
Chapter 22
Jackie had thought the men’s argument to be quite strange, but then she had hardly ever been around gentlemen. It was not as though she had a good grasp on their behavior.
Even if she had wanted to think on it, it was not as though she had the time. There were preparations to make, pressing matters to tend to, and in spite of her pessimism around the matter of the duke that she once had, she was enjoying playing the part of duchess-in-training.
“It is remarkable how far the two of you have come,” the dowager smiled as Jackie poured tea. “I, of course, knew that it would happen, but it is nice to see it all the same.”
“I never would have seen it coming,” she confessed. “But I am glad that you were able to see something that I could not.”
“And I am glad that my sister shall marry before me,” Elizabeth chimed in, her smile wide. “As I would have felt terrible being the youngest and the first married. I believe it is more prudent that we take turns.”
“The duke has not proposed as yet,” Jackie reminded her. “So there is no way of knowing who shall marry first.”
“He will do so eventually, though. I am certain of it.”
“So, should the duke propose, would you be happy for the two of us to enjoy a very long engagement? Would three years be enough? Five?”
She giggled at how the color drained from her sister’s face.
“Well, a few months would be enough, do you not think?”
“I do not know. It has been such a quick few months, and I would appreciate taking some time before becoming a duchess.”
“In that case,” the dowager joined in, a glint in her eye. “Why not have both weddings at once? That way, you can both be married at the same time, or we could officiate Jackie’s first so that you are in order.”
Elizabeth seemed to hate that idea even more.
“Certainly not,” she huffed, her cheeks turning pink, “I have not waited all this time- I mean, my sister has not waited all this time to marry only to have to share her wedding!”
“I am not opposed to it,” Jackie teased.
“Well, I am.”
Fortunately, Elizabeth seemed to realize that it was all in jest, and she smiled at the two of them.
“As for this ball,” she continued, “will it be the last one we attend?”
“Perhaps, though when you have marriedLord Greene I do not see why you cannot host a ball of your own.”
“That will take some time. I must wait for him to receive his title, first. Not that I am wishing any morbidity on his father, even after his attitude toward us.
