“All right. I apologize for my insensitivity. Though you did not deny Damien’s claim of love.”
“I am most certainly not in love.”
“But he met a woman,” Damien said.
“Does this Bird of Paradise have a name?” Graham asked.
“Christ.” Alonzo suddenly felt like getting very drunk. “She is no woman of easy virtue, I assure you.” Though she appeared to traipse about Town unescorted. “Her name is Julia Castle.”
Graham spluttered his whiskey all over the table. “Did you say Julia Castle?”
Alonzo did not appreciate the way his friend said her name with such familiarity. “Indeed, I did.”
Damien laughed and shook his head. “When is the last time you scanned the books here?”
What did the betting books at White’s have to do with Miss Castle? “I haven’t.”
“I was afraid you would say that.” Graham stood. “Better come with me, old chap.”
Chapter Four
“Blue,” Julia insistedas she held up the perfect gown for her friend.
“Green,” Willa disagreed.
Julia rolled her eyes. “How long has it been since you graced a London ballroom?”
“As long as it has been for you, though for different reasons entirely.”
How she appreciated her friend’s wit, for she often found other women lacking in humor and sensibility. “Does the style or color really matter? We are both willingly throwing ourselves into the lion’s den.”
“If I am to offer myself up to the sharks, should I not be wearing something I adore?”
“Fine.” Julia bobbed her head like a spoiled debutante. “Green.”
“Oh.” Willa took a frustrated breath. “I’ll wear the blue for you.”
They both laughed and sat on the four-poster, mahogany bed that swallowed the expanse of Julia’s chamber.
“Father will be pleased we are going together, but will scold me for leading you astray by not having a proper chaperone.”
“I have never failed to make His Grace purr like an old tomcat.”
“Well, he does have a soft spot for you and your mother.”
“Do you ever wish…” Willa started.
“What?” Her friend looked suddenly stricken by a sad thought.
“It’s nothing.”
“Please, we have always shared our feelings.”
Willa looked away, wiping an unwanted tear off her cheek. “Do you ever wish things turned out differently for us? Your mother? My father?”
There wasn’t a day that passed where Julia didn’t mourn the loss of her mother. “Of course.” She reached for Willa’s hand. “But I know on authority, our parents would want us to be happy.”
Willa nodded. “Yes, your mama would wish us happy, but Papa would wish us grand adventures.”
