“To be happy?” Maddie asked, aghast.
Charlene snorted. “No, I hope not!” she teased.
“Well…” Ashley laughed when Maddie sent her a glare. “I was also afraid you’d be afraid your mother found out, and you wouldn’t be allowed to come. And I can’t tell Char and Sera without telling you.”
“Very well, I accept that,” Maddie said. She’d suspected the reason, too. “But throughout your adventures, I have kept my own, you know.”
Her friends nodded.
“And strictly speaking,” Charlene said. “You told us before Sera now. Just when is she arriving, by the by?”
“Oh, should be in a day or so. I haven’t heard anything to the contrary,” Ashley said. “So, am I forgiven?”
“Always,” Charlene said.
Maddie nodded. “I can defy my mother, you know. I’ve done it plenty. I might worry and be startled, but I do come around. So don’t ever hold back on my account.” She sighed. “You both have love, and I… urgh! I haven’t even been kissed!”
Ashley’s lips parted, but no sound came.
“I mean it,” Maddie added at their shocked faces. “Not once. Not even a tiny stolen peck. I’ve read everything in this book,” she retrievedThe Handbook on Seduction and Matters of the Heartfrom her reticule and flung it on the bed, “even your notes, and according to it, if you recall, a lady must never initiate a kiss. So then tell me, how am I to show a man he has permission?”
Charlene laughed. “That book is utter nonsense.”
“I know,” Ashley said. “But it works. I remember it said something about how a lady must always maintain mystery. ‘Only in the stillness of her virtue will a gentleman approach.’ What does that even mean?”
Maddie let out a short laugh. “Exactly. I don’t know how to be mysterious and still somehow make it clear I want him to kiss me.”
Charlene grinned and nudged her shoulder. “It’s not about being mysterious. It’s about… openness. You let your guard down, linger a little longer, give him reason to hope. No man wants to get slapped for leaning in.”
Ashley grinned. “You have more power than you think, Maddie. You don’t need to speak it. It’s all in the eyes. In the way you look at him.”
“Or in the way you smile at his terrible jokes,” Charlene added.
Ashley wrinkled her nose. “Or when you nurse him through a miserable cold and dab chamomilesalve on his cheeks.”
Maddie groaned. “How did you find out?”
“I knew when I saw him and smelled it. You’d been in his chambers before I arrived, hadn’t you? You weren’t there by chance; you had just come out.”
The three of them burst into laughter, and some of the tightness in Maddie’s chest eased.
Ashley set the dress aside and took Maddie’s hand. “You’re not alone, Maddie. You never have been. And for what it’s worth… I have always been in awe of you.”
“And I you,” Maddie whispered. “Always.”
Ashley blinked down at her stomach and grimaced. “Do you happen to have one of your elixirs? For nausea? Because I feel I might faint before I even make it to the vows.”
Maddie laughed and opened her satchel. “Peppermint, lemon balm, and just a touch of ginger. Sit down, dear bride. I have a solution for every ailment.”
And somehow, she hoped this would hold true for matters of the heart, too.
Chapter Nine
Sebastian leaned backagainst the cool stone wall in the hall beneath Thomas’s grandfather’s portrait, arms folded, jaw tight. If the man were alive, he wouldn’t allow the kind like Paisley to cause problems. Therefore, Sebastian decided he had to find a way to protect his friend from any trouble that may arise before his wedding. He was getting married soon, and if Sebastian was a good friend, he’d make sure there were no hitches.
He didn’t understand how Paisley could speak of women as if they were prizes to be seized. As if affection could be won with a few compliments and handed over like spoils. Sebastian didn’t want spoils. He wanted a woman who would look at him and see him. Who wanted him because of who he was—not what he had. Not a conquest, but a connection. A meeting of equals, not a victory lap.
And for some reason, his mind wandered straight to Miss Madeleine Hunt.
