She had spent the night tossing and turning. Now, she was pretending to listen as her mother spoke. Meanwhile, her mind raced with thoughts of Thomas. Where was he? What did he think? By now, he must have guessed she’d used the potion on him. What else could explain histhinking she was his friend one day, and declaring his love for her the next?
But every time she had that thought, the memory of their kiss on the stage flitted through her mind. At the time it had felt quite… real. Real enough to curl her toes. Real enough to make her knees weak. It had been the first moment she’d truly thought about Thomas as someone other than just her friend. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Thefirstmoment she had that thought had been when he’d kissed her in the Hillards’ gardens. Or actually,perhapsit had been when Rebecca had informed her that Thomas was the most eligible bachelor of the Season at the Penningtons’ ball.
“You’re fortunate that Clarence is willing to overlook the scandal your kiss with Huntley caused,” Mother said, jolting Delilah from her thoughts.
“Is there a scandal?” Delilah asked uninterestedly. Of course, Clarence was willing to overlook it. No one else would marry him.
“I’mcertainthere will be a scandal,” Mother continued. “You know as well as I do that a young, unmarried lady cannot go about kissing a young, unmarried gentleman in front of others without causing a scandal. Why, I’ve half a mind to ask Edgar to call out Huntley. He had no right to touch you.”
Delilah tentatively fingered her bruised cheek. “We wereacting, Mother.”
“Still, it’s completely inappropriate and—”
A knock on the salon door interrupted her mother’s diatribe. Goodfellow stepped into the room. “The Duke of Huntley is here to see you, my lady.”
Delilah’s heart thundered in her chest. Thomas was here? This was certain to be awkward with Mother present.
“I’ll bet he is,” Lady Vanessa said, arching a brow.“Show him in. I refuse to allow him to be alone with you,” she said to Delilah.
Delilah squelched her smile. At least Mother would allow her to see him.
Moments later, Thomas strolled through the door to the salon. He looked so handsome. Delilah wanted to rush into his arms.
He took in the scene with Delilah and her mother. “Good morning, Lady Vanessa,” he said in his most polite drawing-room voice. “You’re looking well.”
“Huntley,” Mother intoned. “I’m surprised you’d show your face here after what you’ve done.”
He blinked. “I’m not certain what you mean.”
“Must you both be liars?” Mother said, sighing. “Are you honestly going to pretend that you didn’t kiss Delilah in front of half thetonat the Duchess of Claringdon’s play the other night?”
The familiar grin spread across Thomas’s face. It made butterflies scatter in Delilah’s stomach. “Oh, yes, well, I did do that. But it was in front of only about fifty people, and have you not read today’s paper? Delilah and I were praised for our performances.”
Mother’s face drained of color. “My daughter is in the paper as an acknowledged actress?”
“No, nothing like that.” Thomas stuck his head outside the door and called to Goodfellow for a copy of theTimes. “The play was lauded as a lark for charity, which is precisely what it was. All of the players were applauded for their generosity.”
When Goodfellow returned with the paper, Thomas quickly opened it to the correct page and handed it to Mother. Mother, of course, never read anything. In their house, the paper was mostly used to wrap old food after Delilah finished reading it.
Mother’s eyes scanned the page. Thomas gazed at Delilah while her mother was momentarily distracted. “Why is your cheek red, Delilah?” Suspicion laced his words as he eyed her mother. Delilah shook her head and glanced away.
Mother was still studying the paper. “Well,” she said haughtily. “If that’s not the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Nothing ridiculous about it,” Thomas replied, an edge to his voice. “Lady Rothwell and the others at the Royal Society are quite pleased with the money we raised.”
Mother tossed the paper to the tabletop. Her nostrils flared. “Why exactly are you here, Your Grace?”
The look on Thomas’s face turned completely serious. He stood up straighter and cleared his throat. “I’m here, my lady, to ask you formally if I may court your daughter.”
Mother’s face went from white to mottled purple in a matter of seconds. She looked as if she was about to have an apoplectic fit. “Court my… Delilah?”
Thomas nodded. “Do you have any other daughters?”
Delilah winced. He shouldn’t have said that, but she admired him for it. If only she could say such things to Mother. Delilah held her breath.Mon Dieu. How would Mother react if Thomas blurted out that he thought he was madly in love with her? Delilah could only guess her mother would be nothing but pleased with a proposal from a duke. It was Delilah who didn’t want to marry a man she’d tricked into it.
It took the better part of a minute for Mother to regain control of her features and for her face to return to a normal color. When she did, she pressed her thin lips together tightly, turned to Thomas and said, “I’m afraid that’s impossible, Your Grace. I’ve already accepted an offer for Delilah’s hand from Lord Clarence Hilton.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
