She gnawed on her lip again. “I know that you and Theodore generally don’t attend high profile events together, but it would mean the world to me if you’d come.”
“But—”
“We can make it a masquerade.” She cut off Lady Blackwell’s interruption. “Or we can style you so differently that no one will ever notice your likeness. Anything, if you’ll come. You’re part of this family. You should be there.”
Nicholas rubbed his chest and blinked rapidly against a swelling of emotion. “Thank you,” he said hoarsely. “That you would invite me, given the circumstances, is very brave of you.”
Not necessarily because of the possible scandal, but because of his mother’s reaction. Even now, her face was growing redder by the second.
He reached across the table and put his hand on Kate’s. “You’ve brought this family together in a way nothing else has, so, truly, thank you.”
To his surprise, Theo didn’t swat his hand away or complain about him flirting with her again. Instead, he leaned slightly closer to Nicholas in a silent show of support.
“No!” Lady Blackwell cried, rising to her full height. “This cannot happen.”
“If you’ll hear me out,” Kate began, but she snapped her mouth shut when Lady Blackwell glared at her.
“The reason our secret has remained so for this many years is due to the precautions we take.” Her voice rose with every word until it was so shrill that Nicholas feared who else might hear her.
Kate stood and moved hesitantly toward her. “We can be careful. If we—”
“It’s like youwantto see me scorned by theton.” Lady Blackwell yanked her arm away and stalked across the room. She stopped in the center and paced back and forth. “I will be a laughingstock. A pariah. None of my friends will speak with me.”
“Then perhaps you need new friends,” Nicholas muttered wryly.
She didn’t seem to hear.
“We have made it over three decades with no one the wiser.” She spun to face them, her hands on her hips. “I will not tolerate this disobedience. Cease your plans at once.”
With that, she rushed from the ballroom.
Nicholas stayed seated as Theo got up and pulled Kate into his arms, comforting her quietly. He released a long sigh and waited until Kate had composed herself before addressing her. “I would love to attend, but I’d best not. I fear there would not be any way to mend the rift if I did.”
Kate raised her chin, her eyes blazing. “I will not drop this matter. You deserve to be there.”
Nicholas’s heart tightened. He knew he did, but he couldn’t remember the last time someone had tried to put him first.
Honestly, he didn’t know what to do about it.
CHAPTER 5
“Lady Blackwell is hereto see you, my lady,” the butler said from the doorway of the drawing room. “Shall I show her in?”
Sophie nodded. “Yes, please, Samuels.”
Nerves tangled in her gut as she rose from the chaise and poured tea from the pot into two cups, preparing Kate’s as she knew she preferred it and adding a little sugar to her own.
She angled the chaise slightly away from the window as the sun was streaming in, and, with the relatively pale decor, the glare was harsh to her eyes.
Samuels returned with Kate, bowed, and closed the door behind himself as he left.
Sophie gestured to the teacup she’d prepared for her friend. “Thank you for coming. Please help yourself to tea and biscuits.”
Sophie didn’t drink from her own cup. If she did, her hand would likely shake, and she’d spill tea all over herself. She was miserable enough without adding to the situation.
“Why did you ask me to call on you today?” Kate asked,lowering herself onto the chaise and picking up the delicate teacup with the kind of grace that Sophie could only dream of possessing. “Your letter made it sound urgent.”
“I’m afraid it is.” Sophie sighed and reached for a biscuit as she mulled over how to articulate her predicament. “Upon arriving home from the ball last night, my parents took me aside and issued me with an ultimatum.”
