“Because all three of us used our talents to make them. Miss Charlotte makes the marzipan, and it is the creamiest, most delicate ever created.” She looked at her youngest sister whose cheeks turned a pretty shade of rose.
“And Miss Beatrice makes the treacle toffee, favored by everyone I know for its perfect texture and taste. Even Queen Victoria loves it.”
“Amity is too kind,” Beatrice added. “Without her chocolate holding it all together, that confection wouldn’t work at all.” They smiled at each other, and Amity felt perfect happiness for the first time in weeks.
“Agreed,” said the dowager. “Very well. I would like fifty of those — no, better make it two hundred.”
Amity gasped at the large order, but before she could say anything, the dowager added, “And two hundred of the coffee chocolates my son favors.”
“ThePelham,” Beatrice supplied helpfully, making Amity’s cheeks grow as pink as Charlotte’s.
The dowager exchanged a look with her daughter, and they both smiled. “Did you really name it after our family?” Henry’s mother asked.
“Actually, it was named for His Grace,” Charlotte said, and Amity wanted to wallop her for her frankness.
“The chocolate can honor theentirefamily,” Amity said diplomatically, “if you all enjoy coffee and chocolate.” Recalling Henry telling her he’d eaten them all himself, she offered, “Would you like to taste aPelham, Your Grace?”
The dowager shook her head. “At the party, I shall. Come along, Penelope.”
The two were nearly at the door when Amity remembered her professional duties.
“Your Grace, when is the party, do you want any special shapes for the chocolates, and will a servant come to pick them up?”
The woman blinked her sharp green eyes. “As to when, that is still a little up in the air.” She glanced at her daughter conspiratorially. “I hope within two weeks. No special shapes, thank you.” She looked at Amity again with her vivid green eyes. “As for the delivery, I hope you will do us the kindness of bringing them yourself. And with four hundred chocolates to carry, you might want to bring your sisters to help you. In fact, I insist.”
Leaving the three of them speechless, the dowager duchess and her well-behaved daughter left the shop to the pleasant sound of the tinkling bell.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Dowager Duchessof Pelham’s party order did two things in quick succession — it gave Amity a reason to get to work in earnest and stop daydreaming, and it also gave her the promise, in the not too distant future, of once more seeing the man who’d captured her heart.
She couldn’t wait to lay eyes upon him again, even if she was delivering chocolates. When her mother heard of the occasion, she decided all three girls should have new dresses, even if they were readymade and nothaute couture.
“But the gowns will cost more than the profit from the confectionery,” Amity protested.
Her mother barely batted an eyelid. “We have saved money by neither you nor Beatrice having even a single Season. This will be a celebratory night and you should be dressed appropriately.”
