Much to Felicity’s chagrin, she overslept. The first she knew, Sukie was throwing back the curtains, and the delicious aroma of chocolate tickled her nose. She was in the process of stretching when she realized that the sunlight was far too bright.
“Oh, no.” Throwing back the covers, she scrambled out of bed. “What time is it, Sukie?”
“Going on ten, ma’am. You didn’t ask me to wake you at a specific time, and you seemed to be sleepin’ so sound.”
Quickly finishing her ablutions, Felicity picked up the dress Sukie had laid out for her. “Is Lord Flint up and about?”
Sukie rolled her eyes. “Oh, laws, yes, Miss. He be closeted in with the duke hisself, what came down first thing.”
Felicity stopped, her dress still up around her ears. “The duke?”
“Oh, yes, Miss. I believe they’re havin’ words about the girls come through here.”
Felicity went back into motion. “I imagine they are.”
For just a moment she contemplated the thought that today might be the day she formally accepted Flint. Not because her feelings for him had changed. Because her feelings for herself had. Until this moment, she could have named nothing of value she would be bringing to her marriage. Oh, she could organize a household, but Flint didn’t seem all that consumed by a domestic agenda. She could play and teach music, but so could any girl in his circle.
But now she could bring a skill those girls did not possess—well, unless they went to boarding school with the Ferguson twins, anyway. She could break codes. Surely that would be an aid to a man helping the government uncover plots. After all, she already had information for him. Information he couldn’t have obtained without her.
By the time Sukie had pinned her mistress’s hair into a simple knot, Felicity was humming. She actually felt a bit breathless, skittery.
Excitement. She couldn’t remember ever flirting with such an emotion. Anticipation. Just a wee bit of fear. After all, this could change everything.
Oh, lord, she thought, pressing a hand to her suddenly unsettled stomach. I’m to be married. Who would ever have thought?
“There you go, Miss. You look a right treat, you ask me.”
Felicity bounded to her feet and gave her maid a hug. “Thank you, Sukie. You’re a wonder.”
The girl blushed. “Aw, now, don’t go bein’ silly.”
Felicity laughed and trotted over to retrieve her annotated sheet music and notes from beneath the pillow. A bit crinkled now, but still perfectly clear. Still a list of prominent British families who might just possibly be traitors, including poor Bucky.
All right, perhaps she felt a bit more fear. After all, whoever ‘they’ were, they knew she had this. They had to know she would share it if she realized what she had. Thank heavens she was about to marry into a very prominent family.
“Miss,” Sukie interrupted her, hand out. “You might want this. There’s a chill in the air.”
Felicity caught hold of her brown knitted shawl and swept out the door.
Felicity saw Higgins closing the door of the Green Salon as she reached the bottom of the staircase. When he caught sight of her he approached, his posture so stiff she thought he might crack, his attire flawless, his sparse hair slicked down without a strand displaced. Higgins was usually quite tidy. This was excessive.
“The duke is here, is he?” she asked with a smile.
He did not smile back. “He is indeed, Miss. Lord Flint is speaking with him in the library.”
“About our house guests?”
He cast a quick look around, as if afraid the duke would sneak up on him. “One would assume. Would you like some breakfast? I can have Cook send something up.”
“Thank you no, Higgins. I am far too restless. I shall be quite well.”
Oddly enough, this seemed to stiffen the butler even more. He cast a look over his shoulder and took a breath, as if coming to some decision. “In that case, Miss, may I suggest you wait in the Green Parlor next door to the library. I will let Lord Flint know you wait.”
If she hadn’t thought Higgins would perish of mortification, Felicity would have kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I shall do exactly that. We haven’t heard from Mr. Reed, I presume?”
Higgins frowned. “You’re certain about that, Miss? I cannot imagine Mr. Reed causing harm. Why he was just here last week.”
Felicity nodded. “I’m afraid so. The warning was quite clear.”
