Chapter Fourteen
Priscilla had neverchanged clothes as fast as she did at this moment. Her sisters and brother-in-law waited for her downstairs, and she didn’t want to keep them waiting any longer. They’d had a joyous moment of hugs after Gavin and Adrian brought Priscilla, the dowager duchess, and the housekeeper up the muddy hill and into Bridget’s husband’s coach. Although Priscilla was so very excited to see her sisters, she hadn’t wanted to get any dirt on their clothes, but they didn’t care and hugged her back.
A soft beige gauze was the overlay on Priscilla’s burgundy gown, tied with a burgundy sash around her waist. She loved how this color looked on her, and of course it was one of her better gowns. The maid who had been scampering around, helping with Priscilla’s toiletry, had insisted on fixing her hair as well. The maid pulled back the bulk of Priscilla’s hair into a loose coil, leaving a few tendrils around her ears and the back of her neck.
Once Priscilla was satisfied, she hurried down the stairs to the sitting room. When she entered, she stopped and held her breath, focusing on the sisters whom she had missed something terrible. Two pretty oval faces with bright blue eyes looked toward Priscilla. Bridget and Felicia were the sisters who shared the same dark brown hair.
An unexpected squeal broke free from Priscilla as she ran toward them. They, too, laughed with happiness. They hugged each other again, but longer this time, since Priscilla wasn’t worried about soiling their clothes.
“I cannot believe you are here,” she said in a tight voice.
“It was pure fate, I tell you.” Bridget grinned, making her blue eyes sparkle.
“So how did the duke meet up with Adrian?”
“The Duke of Englewood told Adrian that when he arrived home and found his grandmother had taken her companion and housekeeper into town to shop, he decided to ride out and join you. When he couldn’t see the coach, he became worried. He stopped our carriage to ask if we had passed you.” Bridget chuckled. “He took one look at me and Felicia and knew we were your sisters.”
It made Priscilla feel special that he would take off looking for them when he was probably exhausted from his own journey to Birmingham. Of course, she didn’t dare think the only reason he came looking for them was to seeher.
“Now tell me what you were doing coming this way,” she said.
“We missed you, silly.” Felicia wrapped an arm around Priscilla’s shoulders. “We wanted to see how you were getting along with the dowager duchess and if you were adjusting to your new role as her companion.”
“While the duke was visiting with us briefly, we couldn’t hold back from asking about you.” Bridget squeezed Priscilla’s hand.
Priscilla’s thoughts came to a halt. Had Gavin told her sisters about their soon-to-be wedding? She prayed he would have given that privilege to her. “And what did he say?”
Felicia giggled and elbowed her sister’s arm. “Prissy, I think you have an admirer in that one.” She waggled her eyebrows. “The duke couldn’t praise you enough.”
Warmth crawled up Priscilla’s neck to her cheeks. “Oh, I’m sure he was exaggerating.”
“We shall know when we ask the dowager duchess what her opinion is.”
Priscilla laughed and shook her head. “Hopefully, she will say nice things about me.” She squeezed her sisters’ hands. “Why didn’t Jannette come with you?”
“She is in Bath visiting her friend Charlene,” Felicia answered. “Charlene has been married one year now, and she invited Jannette to come and stay with her for a month.”
“How nice. I’m sure that meant the world to Jannette.”
Felicia snorted a laugh. “I’m sure it meant the world to Charlene, too. Have you seen her husband?” She shivered and made a disgusted face.
Laughing, Bridget bumped her arm against Felicia. “Would you be nice? Although he may not have a handsome face, he treats Charlene well, and that is what counts in a marriage.”
Priscilla arched an eyebrow. “Not everyone can be as fortunate as Bridget by getting such a handsome husbandandone who treats her like a queen.”
Bridget’s smile relaxed as her eyes beamed with love. “Indeed, I am most fortunate.”
“And who do we have here?” the duchess asked in a commanding voice as Mrs. Jones wheeled her into the room. “Gaggling geese? Upon my word, you certainly squawk just as loudly.”
Priscilla laughed as she pulled on her sisters’ hands and brought them toward the dowager. “Forgive us, please, Your Grace. These are my sisters, Bridget Worthington and Felicia Hartwell.”
Bridget and Felicia curtsied. “Your Grace,” they said together.
“What a delight to meet Miss Priscilla’s sisters,” the dowager cheered. “And you all resemble each other with your perfectly blue eyes.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Bridget nodded. “That was the one thing we all inherited from our mother.”
“And you are married to Adrian.” The dowager grinned. “I heard about the wedding, and I’m sorry I couldn’t come.”
