“But that is so sudden! I thought that such meetings were planned well in advance.”
“They often are, and this one is no exception. I have only just found the invitation in my study; we are lucky that I did not miss it. Come, you must dress accordingly.”
Adelaide did not ask him how he had missed the invitation, for she did not have the time. She went to her room, where Lilly dressed her in a pale blue gown and tamed her hair into submission.
She tried to carry herself in the way that was expected of her, for she knew that the ton’s perception of her meant everything, but she could not see a duchess in herself.
She saw a young lady who had been pushed into a role she had never asked for, one that she had never expected.
“I cannot be an actress,” she sighed.
Lilly placed her hands on her shoulders. “You need not be one,” she said firmly. “You can do this, Your Grace. Do you think it comes easily to everyone else? No, they are all playing pretend. You are no different from them, even if you believe the contrary.”
Adelaide wanted to believe it. She wanted to know in her heart that she was just as good as the people she was to be surrounded by, but she knew the truth.
She liked her friends, but she was not like them. She was the very opposite of a noblewoman. She was simply Adelaide, a lady who had a narrow escape from a horrible gentleman.
A gentleman with alotof influence.
“Will Mr. Hargrave be there?” she asked in the carriage.
Cassian shook his head. “I do not believe so. To my knowledge, he does not own any land that would be affected, so he would not be invited.”
“Unless he is friendly with the organizers, which he likely is.”
“That is entirely possible, but even if he is there, there is no need for you to worry. I will be with you, and he would not dare say a word against you if I am standing there.”
“But what if he?—”
He took her gloved hand in his, looking at her so intently that she could not think about Mr. Hargrave—or anything else, for that matter. Her husband seemed to know her more than he claimed, for he always seemed to do and say exactly what she needed.
“I will be by your side,” he said firmly. “You and I will be the most respected people there, and everyone in attendance will act accordingly, as long as you prove yourself.”
Although Adelaide did not know what to do with herself, she knew that was what she wanted. She would do anything necessary if it meant earning the ton’s respect.
Whether she felt it or not, she was the wife of the Dragon Duke. She had to play into that—be fearsome rather than feared.
“Very well.” She smiled. “Now, what will we do there?”
“We will greet the assembly, and then I will go to have a discussion with the gentlemen. Meanwhile, you will remain with the ladies, and you will discuss whatever it is that ladies discuss.”
Her heart lurched with trepidation. If the other ladies in attendance had been married longer than her, there was a strong possibility that they had been married for a long time, and that they had children and love and all the things she did not. She could not even run her own household, so she was not going to fit in with them.
But, for her husband’s sake, she would try. It was the least she could do, especially when he had gone to the extent of convincing his mother to leave for a week.
They arrived, and Adelaide put her hand on her husband’s arm, and they made their way inside. She was prepared for battle, which was what she was convinced it would be.
The fact that all eyes swiveled to them the moment they entered did not help. Conversation died down, and silence reigned, such that one could hear a pin drop.
Adelaide could only look at her husband.
CHAPTER 15
Nobody had expected the Dragon Duke to make a public appearance with his new wife so soon.
Cassian was not sure whether to bring his wife along, even though she had been invited. He knew that they expected him to leave her at home, for it had not been long since their wedding, but he wanted to prove that they were happy.
Heneededto prove it.
