Derrick pacedhis bedchamber nervously as he held the small gift for Arianna in his hands. Perhaps the diamond necklace was a bad idea; it was a gift more befitting a mistress than the little sister of his friend.
“My lord, if you please,” his valet urged politely, and Derrick faced the valet, standing still enough to allow Boyle to assist him with his coat. He had chosen a dark-green coat accented by a dark-gold waistcoat, feeling it a more festive look. His valet had approved as well.
“Will I do, Boyle?” he asked his somber, serious valet.
The valet used a soft-bristled brush to dust off Derrick’s coat sleeves and then nodded. “You will do very well, my lord.”
“Right.” Derrick squared his shoulders as he left his bedchamber.
He joined everyone for dinner once he had tucked the diamond necklace against the stack of other gifts near the grand fireplace in the main salon. As they ate dinner, he found he could not focus on the conversations around him, only Arianna across the table.
He saw her laugh, making her face glow and her eyes sparkle. A vise gripped his heart, squeezing it painfully, but he welcomed the sensation. He had never felt more wonderfully alive as he had in the last few days. Arianna had reminded him how to be the version of himself he feared had been lost when Augusta had driven him and Lucas apart.
“A smart man knows when his waistcoat matches his trousers,” Freddie said casually, sitting next to him.
“I beg your pardon?” He blinked.
Freddie reached for his wineglass. “Do I need to spell it out for you, old boy?”
“I...”
Freddie lowered his voice so only Derrick could hear him. “What do youfeelwhen you look at Arianna?”
“I suppose...” Derrick hesitated.
“Be honest, man.”
Derrick shot his gaze back to Arianna, and there it was, that feeling of...
“Home. She feels like home.” Home had always been the people in his life, not a place. Right then, she felt more like home to him than anyone or anything else.
“Thatis love,” Freddie said casually. “So you had better not make a mess of it.”
Love... home. Funny how he had never put the two words together before, but now that he had, he could not disagree. Love and home. Together. Inseparable.
“But she is in love with someone else,” he said, his sudden excitement withering.
“No, she is not,” Freddie chuckled.
“She said that she was.”
“She has never loved anyone but you, old boy. She waited an entire ball for you to show up when she debuted. She rejected several offers to dance, mine included, and you still never came. She asked after you, wondered where you were. No one had the heart to tell her you were often in some opera singer’s bed,” Freddie said. “She ruined her chances of a good match that first night by refusing offers to dance. We all know that refusing to dance when one has an empty dance card is the height of rudeness. She risked everything, all because she waited for a man who never came.”
A pit formed in his stomach, and he swallowed at the pain constricting his throat.
“She waited... for me?”
“Don’t you see? It has always beenyoufor her. Now what are you going to do about it?”
His friend had thrown down a challenge, and Derrick accepted it.
“What I should have done two years ago. Ask her to dance.”
“About bloody time.”
The moment dinner was over, everyone gathered in the salon to exchange gifts. Given the large number of guests, it allowed people to pair off for more personal exchanges. He captured Arianna’s hand and led her to the frosted windows along one side of the room.
“I have something for you,” she exclaimed, her face beaming.
