“Indeed,” Meg said with a wide grin. “It matches your eyes to perfection and I cannot wait to see it on you.”
Diana turned and let Helena begun to unfasten her current, plain gown. This was all a fantasy, a fairytale story where the commonplace girl became a princess thanks to friends. And while she might enjoy indulging in the idea for a while, she reminded herself not to get too wrapped up in it.
It would end. And sooner rather than later.
Chapter Twenty
Lucas shifted and glanced at his pocket watch for what must have been the tenth time in as many minutes. The Abernathe ball was in full swing, but Diana had yet to arrive with Simon and Meg. He jolted when Graham Everly, Duke of Northfield, slung an arm around him and laughed.
“You’re a bit obvious, mate, checking the door every thirty seconds. She’ll get here when she gets here. And I hear she’ll be worth the wait. When she arrived home, Adelaide could not stop waxing poetic about how lovely the mysterious Miss Oakford was in the dress the three of them picked out for her.”
Lucas pursed his lips and refocused on the small group of his friends. He’d come early to James’s house for the reunion and now was surrounded by Graham, Ewan, Baldwin, Matthew and Robert. Simon had not yet arrived, of course, and James was busy with Emma, welcoming their guests as each was announced. Only two of them were missing. Kit was in the countryside with his ailing father and young sister. Hugh had been invited, but then it had been determined that he was not in London, a fact that disturbed his friends, though they hadn’t gotten into the specifics. They’d been too busy shaking hands, swapping stories and asking him questions about his life as a spy.
A grand homecoming, indeed, and one that had warmed his heart.
Now Lucas stood with the men, with them acting as if he’d never been gone from their circle. In a way, it felt like he hadn’t. Like he’d come home after a long time away, but found his chair and his bed and his life just as comfortable as it had ever been.
“You’re being preposterous,” he said, forcing a benign look on his face. “You know my…situation…and why Diana is part of it. To pretend otherwise is…”
He trailed off in the sentence, because at that moment Simon and Meg were announced. They stepped into the room together, and behind them was Diana. She was wearing a beautiful green gown, one that matched her eyes to perfection. It was cut just a fraction too tight in the bosom, as it had not been made for Diana, but the smaller Meg. That only served to accentuate those beautiful curves of hers.
Her hair had been done by Meg’s maid, it seemed, and the woman had done magic, winding and twisting and curling until all those luscious locks were like a crown fit for the most beautiful queen in all the country. All the world.
“You were about to tell us how you are unmoved by the entirely fetching Miss Oakford,” Robert, Duke of Roseford, drawled with half a grin for him. “If that is true, perhapsI’llask her to dance. She is stunning.”
Lucas shot his friend—who also happened to be the most wild and inappropriate of the group—a glare. The very idea of the handsome, smirking, seductive duke putting his hands on Diana, even for just a dance, made Lucas’s blood boil.
“I think he might have an apoplexy if you keep teasing him, Roseford,” Matthew said with a laugh. “You are too cruel.”
“Shut up,” Lucas managed to mutter. “Diana is…well, she deserves better than any of us. Excuse me.”
He felt his friends’ eyes on his back as he departed their company and began what felt like an eternity of walking across the room toward her. She was talking to Meg and Emma now. Emma was clearly cooing over the gown that suited her so well. But Diana kept watching him from the corner of her eye, and when he reached them, she let out a breath like she’d been holding it.
“Good evening, ladies,” he said, and reached for Diana’s hand. It was shaking when she offered it, and he lifted it to his lips. “You look wonderful,” he said quietly.
“I-it is all Meg’s exquisite gown, I assure you,” she said.
Emma snorted out a laugh. “It is not.”
“Never deflect a compliment, my dear,” Meg said, and her gaze held firm on Lucas. “Especially one that is so sincerely meant.”
Simon and James stepped up then, taking their wives’ arms. James grinned. “The arrivals have slowed now, so I think we can call this ball official.”
“A great thanks to you, Your Grace, for making the arrangements so swiftly,” Lucas said, forcing himself to look at Emma and away from Diana. She was a lovely woman, with kindness aplenty. It was obvious that James was devoted to her and their young daughter, heart and body and soul. Something he’d never imagined was possible for his friend when they were younger. To see James so at ease gave him nothing but pleasure.
“I’m happy to be of assistance,” Emma said, reaching out to squeeze his arm. “Especially if it brings one of my husband’s oldest and dearest friends back to our circle.”
“They are beginning a waltz,” James said, drawing Emma a bit closer. “We always dance the opening waltz, my dear. Do not deny me now.”
Emma blushed and glanced up at him. “As if I could ever deny you. Enjoy yourselves tonight, you four. I hope we’ll talk often later.”
The two swept off then, and Lucas watched as James spun his wife into the dance, his hand just a bit too low in the small of her back, their eyes locked.
“They look very happy,” Diana observed, her tone a bit far away as the foursome watched them dance. “And she is lovely.”
“She is,” Meg agreed. “I could not have picked a better bride for my brother. To see him so happy is…it’s…”
She caught her breath and reached up to wipe a sudden tear. Simon tugged her closer. “Oh dear, this baby turns my wife into a water pot on more days than not. Happy tears, sad tears, tears over a torn hem…”
