A half hour later, after the story had been thoroughly told and every question answered, Christian said, “So, as you can see, poor Lady Sarah here is in quite a bind. We need your scheming, Lucy, to get her out of it.”
“I don’t care for the wordscheming,” the duchess replied, but she had a smile on her face as she said it.
“It sounds like something Jane would say,” the countess said.
“It does, doesn’t it?” the duchess replied.
“Who is Jane, if I may ask, Your Grace?” Sarah ventured.
The duchess blinked at her. “Well, first of all, if we’re to be friends, you must call me Lucy, not Your Grace. And of course we’re to be friends, because any friend of Berkeley’s is a friend of mine.”
“The same goes for me,” the countess added. “Please call me Cass.”
Sarah nodded hesitantly. “And you must call me Sarah.”
“A pleasure,” both ladies said simultaneously, smiling at her widely.
Lucy and Cass were certainly friendly. Sarah immediately realized why Lord Berkeley was such good friends with them. They were easy to like.
“To answer your question,” Lucy continued, “Jane is our very dear friend who is usually in league with us in all our so-called schemes, though she’s a bit less enthusiastic about them than we are. You would know her as Mrs. Garrett Upton. Mr. Upton, of course, is my first cousin and the heir to my father’s earldom.”
“Ah, yes, I remember the name now,” Sarah said.
“Jane would be here,” Lucy said, “but she’s settled in Bath for the winter to read.”
“Who goes to Bath to read?” Christian asked.
“Precisely my point,” Lucy continued. “But she says she gets fewer callers there in the winter than in London and she prefers it that way.”
Christian laughed.
Sarah cleared her throat. “Lord Berkeley says you’re quite good at coming up with… plots.”
“She’s excellent at it,” Cass said, patting Lucy on the hand, a proud look on her face.
“I hope so, because since Mrs. Goatsocks is incapacitated, I have no chaperone. You mentioned gossip. Tell me the truth. I fear I am quite ruined. It’s true, isn’t it?”
“Nonsense,” Lucy replied. “Nothing is impossible. Even the most egregious gossip can be made to seem like stuff and nonsense with the correct plan in place.” She stood up and paced over to the fireplace, a twinkle in her eye. “You’re not ruined at all.”
Sarah expelled her breath, a rush of relief flooding through her. “I’m not.”
“No.” Lucy was clearly warming to her subject. “Of course not. Because you’ve had another chaperone this entire time.”
Sarah furrowed her brow. “I have?”
“She has?” Cass echoed.
“She has?” Lord Berkeley asked.
“Yes,” Lucy replied. “Until recently, this chaperone has been retired to the north. She’s exceedingly proper and would never allow a charge of hers to do anything untoward. She also comes with excellent references. She’s come out of retirement, and you’re her first charge since.”
“Her first…?” Sarah pursed her lips, completely baffled.
Lucy flourished a hand in the air and grinned at the three of them. “Her name is Mrs. Bunbury.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Brilliant!” Christian declared.
