“Excuse me, my lord, Mr. Windham.” The men glanced up at the servant who had stepped into their space, a tray balanced in his hand. “You have a message, Mr. Windham.”
Silas shot Ramsbury a glance of confusion but took the message and thanked the servant. When the man had stepped away, he gave his friend a look of confusion. “It’s not a secret I’m here, but I’ve no idea who would send a message to me.”
He thought briefly of one of his brothers and flinched. Neither of them held a membership at Fitzhugh’s, but it seemed to fit the form of their strained bonds.
He turned the missive over and found that the wax seal was a flourishedC. He looked again at his name on the front of the envelope. It was written in a feminine hand.
Arabella.
He opened it and read:
Silas,
I find myself wanting a partner at Flynn’s tonight for some gaming. Are you available?
Arabella
He found himself reading the message again. Well, it wasn’t an invitation for a big bath and an intimate supper. He shouldn’t have been disappointed, but found himself exactly that.
“From that look on your face I’d say it’s not an unpleasant message,” Ramsbury said with a chuckle. “Perhaps that veryinterestinglady is calling for you, and you are off to dance to her tune, it seems.”
“As long as she’ll play it,” Silas said and laughed along with him. “You couldn’t deny a woman like that even if you wished to do so. I hope we can see each other soon, Ramsbury.”
“Perhaps you can join Marianne and me for supper one night.” Ramsbury rose and shook his hand. “It is good to have you back.”
Silas slapped his friend’s arm and then hustled from the club. He had a good deal to do to prepare for his next night with Arabella. And a good deal to conceal about just how excited he was to do just that.
* * *
Arabella was putting the final touches to her hair, winding a few bright red flowers into the wonderful work her maid had done for her. She’d grown up with maids, of course, and was accustomed to having a great deal done for her, and yet there was an independent part of her that didn’t want to depend too much on anyone. Or give anyone too much power, even just over her toilette.
There was a light knock on her door and she called out, “Come in.”
Julia stepped into the room and Arabella faced her briefly. Her sister was in a plain gown, nothing meant for the hunt, and her hair was done simply. She looked young and fresh, just as she always had.
“Oh, look at you,” Julia said, and rushed over to stand beside her at the dressing table. “I love those flowers. Would you like me to put a few in the back?”
“Thank you, yes,” Arabella said, and turned toward her mirror as she handed over some of the pins. Julia leaned in to take a flower and Arabella watched her in the reflection. “You’re not going out tonight?”
Julia glanced up at her, their eyes locking in the glass. “I wasn’t planning to. I’m knee deep in the most remarkable romance and I cannot wait to see what fantastically gothic thing will happen to the heroine next.”
She fussed with Arabella’s hair a minute longer before Arabella said, “You know, you don’t have to follow the path Evelina and I have taken. You can just stop. I have the means to continue to protect you and you could decide to do something else.”
“Like what?” Julia asked with a laugh that sounded like it was filled with little humor. “I’ve been a courtesan for over two years now, and thanks to the success of my sisters, I’m not an anonymous one. I couldn’t just go back to being a lady.”
Arabella shifted. “Did I…do the wrong thing by taking you away from Father’s house? By rushing in to break up the wedding he arranged?”
Certainly her father thought so. His wretched letters, including the one she’d received that very morning, always followed the same pattern where he accused her of ruining him, ruining Evelina and Julia. Ruiningeverything. Arabella tried not to be affected by those heated, cruel, even violent screeds, but occasionally they hit a nerve.
Julia’s hands faltered. “God, no. He was trying to marry me off to a man in his seventies, a man who used to…to paw me and smelled of sick half the time. It was awful. You and Evelina arriving at my window and sweeping me away was the best thing you could have done. I’m afraid I sounded ungrateful and I’m sorry.”
Arabella turned to face her head on. “You have never been ungrateful in your entire sweet life. ButIchose this life with my full heart. And Evelina ran away of her own volition. That you wanted to escape from Father’s grasp doesn’t follow that you wanted to be a courtesan like your sisters. If your heart isn’t in it…”
Julia shook her head. “It is. It’s in it. I just want to find my Harry, like Evelina has. A man who is dedicated and wants to keep me. Someone who cares.”
Arabella bit her tongue. Julia was only twenty and she idealized Evelina’s arrangement with her duke almost as much as Evelina did, herself. But Arabella sometimes wondered if it was the best option. And if her sister, perhaps both her sisters, would end up heartbroken by expecting these kinds of things to last.
That made her think of Silas and she frowned as she turned back to the mirror to allow Julia to finish pinning the flowers in her hair. She had to keep reminding herself to not get too close to the man who had been her fantasy for years. She couldn’t fall into the same trap she worried about for her sisters.
