Korina shrugged. “What’s the point of trying something if you don’t intend to do it well?”
“Indeed,” Izzy added. “I certainly made a mess of things by running off with Simon.” Shewinced. “I was never so delighted to find out it was all a sham so that I could marry the only man worthy of my affections.” She ended on a breathy sigh.
Korina rolled her eyes. “Oh, there she goes again.”
“I wouldn’t toss aside romance just yet, Rin,” Rowena pointed out. “We were all skeptical of love until it found us. I have faith that by Christmas some man will capture your fancy.”
“Heaven forbid,” the American grumbled. “Iconsiderfallingin lovethe sameas if I were catching the ague. In truth,thatwould be preferable.” She gave a mock shudder. “I just want to head back to New York and live out the rest of my days in peaceful solitude.”
“That sounds terribly lonely,” Tri pointed out.
Korina held up a hand in surrender. “I don’t have much choice now that I’m standing in a room full of married women—”She glanced at Alyssa. “—or soon to be so. While I’m perfectly happy for you all, trust me when I say I’ll be content back on friendly soil, for I’ve found that most ladies of the ton don’t appreciate an heiress traveling across the pond to snap up their chance to land a duke, especially during times of warfare.”
Since no one had a reply to that, for there was a measure of truth to her words, Triana broke the silence with a clap of her hands. “How about we all sit down and have some tea and place our bets on how many times Rin’s toes will be crushed this evening?”
They all laughed at that, including the lady herself. “While I wish I could say that would be a losing bet,” Korina returned. “I’m afraid someone might gain a rather hefty purse.”
Alyssa sat beside Triana, while the other three women sat across from them. She couldn’t remember a time she had laughed more, and she realized that this was exactly what she’d needed to drag her spirits up out of the mire. Since Aunt Pearl’s death she hadn’t had a chance to talk to her friends. Beingsurrounded byher fellow‘spinsters’again was like opening a window to let in fresh air.
And she had never felt more content.
Aftera time, oncethe other women had taken their leave, Tri turned to her with a grin. “Ihope that was a good surprise. I thought you might enjoy a bit of a smaller, intimate gathering before they arrive this evening and there isn’t much time to converse as freely.”
Alyssa smiled. “It was perfect. Thank you.”
The butler abruptly appeared in the doorway holding a box. “This just arrived, Your Grace.”
The duchess jumped to her feet enthusiastically. “Finally! I was worried it wouldn’t arrive in time.” She quickly ripped the lid off of the box and reached beyond the wrapping to withdraw a dress. “Voila!”
She held it up in front of her and Alyssa blinked. “It’s…orange.”
Some of Triana’s joviality slipped. “It’s just a few stripes.Most of it is a lovely shade of fawn. And look at the white lace bodice! It’s simply divine.”
Alyssa wasn’t so sure she shared her opinion, but since it was obvious she had put so much love and thought into the design, she couldn’t dash her hopes, even if it wasn’t a gown she might have chosen for herself.
Shegottoher feet and embraced Triana and the dressas one. “I love it, and I love you.”
When the duchess smiled, it was rather watery, although she said firmly, “We only have a few hours to get ready for this evening and you certainly don’t want to be late to your own ball.”
***
Travell drummed his fingers on his leg and looked out the window, willing the distance between Rosewood and Abernathy House to dissipate as quickly as possible, so that he might hold Alyssa in his arms yet again. The past seven days had been torture without her. He’d quickly come to the realization that he’d been a fool to wait as long as he had to marry her.
The night of her debut ball, when he’d caught her in the garden and kissed her should have beenthe moment he’d declared his love, but he’d been ignorant enough not to know a good thing when it was directly in front of him.
Thank God he’d come to his senses at last.
“Travell, really, you’re making my nerves scatter.”
He glanced up at his mother who was seated across from him.
“Leave him alone, Amelia,” Lord Trenton said from beside her, while Dr. Perimore relaxed next to Travell. “The boy is in over his head.”
Travell wouldn’t have quite put it quite that way, although he admitted he was rather besotted, enough so that he’d decided to resign from his work for the Home Office. While Liverpool had been reluctant to accept his termination at first, he’d had no choice but to agree, even if more than one of his best agents had fallen prey to the lure of matrimony in recent months.
“You’ve put me in a difficult position, Curdiff,” the Prime Minister had said when Travell had sat down in his officeearlier in theweek. “But who am I to deny affairs of the heart, especially when it means ensuring the Abernathy line continues?” He grinned. “Perhaps someday I will find to a way to coerce your son into service.”
As Travell walked away from Whitehall for the last time, he had to admit that it was rather bittersweet. He was ready to embark on a new adventure with Alyssa, one that wasn’t fraught with so much danger, and that included starting a family, but it would be a bit of a transition. He considered collapsing the secret tunnel at Abernathy House, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to go that far just yet. Besides, one never knew when a secret escape route would come in handy.
