“Who’s the man with him?” Marjory ventured, frowning, and then Ameliahadto turn around.
Sure enough, there was Stephen, stepping around the blunt corner of the house, with a tall, square-shouldered man at his side. The fellow was dressed like a gentleman and carried himself with the easy confidence of someone with plenty of money and the power to back it up.
Like Stephen, he was no thin, elegant dandy, but a stocky man, power carried in half-flexed hands. Behind him ambled a smaller woman in a voluminous gown and a mane of fair hair.
“Grandmother, there you are,” Stephen called, quickening his pace.
The man at his side kept up easily, but the woman fell behind, pausing to peer down at a half-bloomed purple flower. She wore spectacles, Amelia noticed with surprise. She had thought that ladies of the toneschewed spectacles wherever they could.
“Well, Tristan, what a surprise,” Letitia remarked, rising to her feet.
Amelia leaped up after her, missing a beat, and warily eyed the guests.
“I hope you don’t mind our unannounced arrival,” Tristan answered, offering a wry smile. “When I heard that Stephen returned home, I had to see for myself. I consider myself pleasantly surprised. I understand there’s to be a house party?”
“Yes, and you, of course, are invited,” Letitia assured him. “Preparations are underway, but we’re counting on you and your wife to join us. Will she manage it in her condition?”
“I doubt that I can keep her away.” Tristan laughed. His gaze danced over Marjory and Nancy, before landing on Amelia. “Idon’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to your companions.”
“Ah, forgive me,” Letitia sighed. “I am getting old, and my manners are remiss. This is Miss Amelia Holt, Miss Marjory Holt, and Miss Nancy Holt. Girls, this is His Grace, the Duke of Tolford. And of course, Her Grace will join us in a moment, when she’s finished inspecting the flowerbeds.”
A duke.Anotherduke.
Amelia flinched, barely remembering in time to dip into a deep curtsy. One advantage of working for Emmeline was that she knew how to address just about anyone who might enter the shop. Lords and ladies of all descriptions might wander into a modiste’s, and tended to take great offence if they were not greeted in a way that they felt was appropriate.
Marjory awkwardly followed her example.
Nancy, of course, saw no reason to curtsy and only stared thoughtfully up at the towering Duke. “I am not very good at curtsying,” she announced.
Tristan’s eyebrow rose. “Nor am I. And since I arrived unannounced, I am sure I have renounced any right to a proper greeting. And what are you about down there, Miss Nancy?”
“I am teaching Dust to sit,” Nancy explained. “On command, like Tiny does.”
“Can I assume that Tiny is this monstrous creature here?”
“Yes, of course,” Nancy answered seriously.
At the sound of his name, Tiny’s tail began to thump the ground. He hauled himself up and went skittering across the patio, nosing his way into Tristan’s half-curled fist. A smile broke out across his face, and he gently stroked the dog’s silky ears.
“Tristan and Stephen are very good friends,” Letitia explained to Amelia.
Stephen’s head snapped up, and he tutted. “We are hardlyfriends, Grandmother. Colleagues, perhaps. Boxing partners. May I remind you that we are members of rival clubs?”
Letitia rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes. Tristan is aTon’s Devil,and my grandson here is anOrion. Nevertheless, I would describe their relationship asfriendship, if it were up to me.”
“A mere camaraderie,” Tristan murmured, crouching down to better scratch behind Tiny’s ears. He was rewarded with a slurping lick to the face.
The blonde woman—the Duchess—abandoned the flowers and slowly made her way toward them. For the first time, Amelia noticed that she was pregnant, heavily so. She waddled rather than walked, a hand pressed to the side of her belly. Beaming, she looked around at them.
“Forgive me, I simply had to stop and look at those delightful flowers. What are they, Letitia?”
“I could not tell you,” Letitia sighed. “You had better ask the gardener. Sit down, my dear, please. Did you hear the introductions?”
“I certainly did,” the Duchess answered, smiling at each of the Holt sisters in turn. “Amelia, Marjory, and, of course, Nancy, who seeks to teach tricks to a cat. I’m pleased to meet you all.”
“Likewise, Your Grace,” Amelia murmured, wondering whether it would be impolite for her to sit.
She felt eyes on her like an itch, and glanced up to find Stephen looking at her. He averted his gaze at once.
