The tension that had been stirring in Johanna’s stomach as her desire to be as honest with them as they had been with her versus knowing that Lady Stark would be displeased—and likely the duke as well—settled under that one sentence.She was not sure what the right thing to do had been, but Mei’s quiet acknowledgment that sharing the truth had been a difficult decision somehow helped.
“Yes.”Lady Astrid nodded.“The truth.It is very important that we are able to share things with each other.Finding true friends can be very difficult, especially in the viper’s nest that is theton.But we are going to be married to the tragic dukes—and Mei is possibly going to help with matching them, and Delilah… well, Zachary is a wooden spoon, but I still have hope he’ll come around.”
“You may hope all you want, but it does not mean I would take him,” Delilah said with an indelicate snort.“Did you not see the announcement in the Gazette this morning?His engagement is official.There’s no way out of that short of death or dishonor.And that’s if I would even accept him after all of this, which I would not.I amdonewith that man.”
“He certainly does not deserve you, but the heart wants what the heart wants,” Lady Astrid sighed, a very resigned sound.“But my point is?—”
Whatever her point was, she never got to say it because they were interrupted by the sudden arrival of her butler and Johanna’s fiancé.
“The Duke of St.Albans,” the butler announced, with Matthew looming beside him.His normal grin was absent from his face, and his gaze immediately sought her out.
Johanna’s stomach flipped over as their eyes met, her heart beating a little faster as her chest tightened.When he looked at her like that, it felt strangely difficult to breathe.
When she blinked, the spell was broken.
“My apologies for interrupting, ladies,” he said with a rakish grin that managed to be charming, self-deprecating, yet not at all apologetic.“But I must collect Lady Johanna from you earlier than expected.”He looked directly at her again, but this time without the sizzle in the air between them.“Your family has arrived in London.”
Johanna was on her feet before she even realized what she was doing.
“Oh, dear…” she said, hesitating, looking down at the teacup she was still holding.Thankfully, most of the tea was already gone, and not a drop was spilled.
“Go!No need to stand on ceremony,” Lady Astrid said.“We can speak more later.You need to see to your family.”
Yes, of course, that was the right thing to do.Johanna was relieved to hear it, even though leaving so abruptly felt very rude.At least the others were all encouraging and completely sincere about it.She felt as though she must be mucking things up left and right, but thankfully, everyone was very forgiving of any missteps she was making.
At least, among this crowd.She had the feeling it would have been very different at Hyde Park.
“Thank you so much for… well, for everything,” she said, setting her cup and saucer down on the table.They clattered a little as she set them down, her fingers feeling nerveless.Her family was here!
Far sooner than she’d thought they would be, to be honest, even with Rose’s efficiency.The need to see them, to hold them, to hug them, and see for herself that everyone was hale and hearty made her want to run.But duchesses did not flee tea parties just because their family was nearby.Even if she had not seen them in days and had no idea how everyone was doing.
“We will see you again, soon,” Lady Astrid promised sweetly, getting to her feet to embrace Johanna and give her a kiss on the cheek.“Go, tend to your family.There is time enough for our discussion later.”
Breathlessly, Johanna walked as quickly as she could over to the duke, who held out his arm for her to take.Although she was looking forward to spending more time with the other ladies, right now, all she wanted to do was go to his home and see her people.
Matthew
Being sent to fetch his fiancée was a responsibility Matthew had been happy to handle, especially when compared with the hustle and bustle of getting the Falmouth household settled intohishousehold.They did not have much in the way of possessions—which was why Christian said it had been rather easy to get it all packed up—but Matthew was not used to being around children.
They were loud.
And full of questions.
Letting Grandmama take charge of assigning rooms and sorting out who needed what, while Matthew fetched Johanna, was a relief in comparison.Christian had also fled the scene almost moments after arriving, although that might have had something to do with the glares Miss Belle kept sending him.
The two had not gotten on at the house party, either.Unlike the vast majority of ladies, young and old, Miss Belle had proven to be ruthlessly immune to theton’sacknowledged Adonis.Neither his looks nor his charm had affected her, much to the rest of the dukes’ amusement.
“How was everyone?How did they look?”Johanna asked anxiously once they were in the carriage.
Fortunately, those were questions Matthew knew how to answer.
“They looked well,” he reassured her.“Grandmama was sending for a doctor to see to your mother when I left.She appeared weak, but not ill, but Grandmama is thorough.”
“As long as he does not want to bleed her.”Johanna shook her head.“My mother acted as a kind of medicine woman for our local community, and Rose studied with her, and she is adamant that Mother not be bled.”
Something that cost Johanna to ensure, Matthew thought, from the tension in her voice and the way she held herself as she said the words.Someone had certainly wanted to use leeches, but Johanna had held the line, probably wondering all the while if she was making the right decision or dooming her mother.And she did not even have a coin to help her make the choice.
“Dr.Syme is considered rather… eccentric by some of his peers,” Matthew reassured her.“He does not use leeches or purges of any kind.But Grandmama has found him to be extremely knowledgeable, and whatever diagnosis and recommendation he makes, you and Miss Belle will be consulted before anything is enacted.”
