Delilah sighed, sinking onto the settee. “I know, but Mother remains the most difficult person in the world to please. If she’s not rebuking me for my lack of patience and decorum, she’s displeased that I’ve got through the last five Seasons with nary an offer.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Who cares? You don’t wantanyoffer. You want a good one. Besides, I didn’t have any offers my first several Seasons, and I ended up marrying a duke.”
“I’ve tried to tell her that,” Delilah replied. “She’s not convinced.”
Lucy plucked at her green cap sleeve. “Not to mention you’ve spent the last few Seasons helping your friends find good matches because you are loving and caring and excellent at matchmaking. You’ve been trained by the best.”
“Wasn’t she trained by you, Lucy?” Thomas asked, grinning. He toyed with the donkey ears as they spoke.
Lucy settled onto the settee next to Delilah. “Precisely my point.”
Delilah poked at her coiffure with the tip of the quill. “Yes, but Mother insists I stop trying to matchmake others this Season and focus on myself.”
“Really?” Thomas dropped the donkey ears he was fooling with.
A wide smile spread across Lucy’s face, and she clasped her hands together. “Are you quite serious?”
Delilah nodded, uneasiness roiling through her middle. “Yes. And I agreed. I blame it on the crystal bowl.”
“The crystal bowl?” Thomas echoed, frowning.
Delilah winced. “I was trying to collect a squirrel from the foyer and ended up breaking Mother’s crystal bowl. Afterward, I was so flustered I believe I would have agreed to anything she asked of me.”
Lucy hugged her friend with glee as she exclaimed, “Oh, Delilah, I’ve been waiting for years for you to tell me you’re ready to find a husband. I could not be more thrilled. Now, who are the prospects?”
“Yes,” Thomas said, his tone droll. He threw himself into the chair next to Delilah, stretched out his long legs, and batted his eyelashes at her in an overly dramatic fashion. “I’m on tenterhooks. Whoarethe prospects?”
Delilah shoved at Thomas’s shoulder. “Do not make fun of me.Youmay not believe in marriage, but I have always been a proponent of it, andImust marry.”
“I never said I didn’t believe in it,” Thomas replied, tugging at his cuff and still smiling. “I merely said I wasn’t interested in rushing into it. And that’s almost always after the two of you have begged me to allow you to matchmake for me.”
Delilah rolled her eyes at him. “You’re a duke, for heaven’s sake, and you won’t allow us to find you a duchess! It’s positively maddening.”
Lucy dismissed Thomas with another wave of her hand. “Don’t let him dissuade you, dear. We’ll find you an excellent match. In fact, I intend to make it my first priority for the remainder of the Season.”
The look of pure joy on Lucy’s face made Delilah laugh. “Had I known you’d be this delighted, I might have searched for a husband three Seasons ago.”
“Nonsense.” Lucy took the cast list and quill from Delilah’s hands and set them back on the desk. “Three Seasons ago, we were hard at work bringing Lady Eleanor Rothschild together with the Marquess of Hinsdale.”
“That was an excellent match,” Delilah replied, nodding. “Those two are ever so happy together, and now they have baby Theodora and—”
“Ahem.” Thomas cleared his throat. “I believe Her Grace asked you a question. Who are the prospects foryourmatch, Delilah?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Delilah wandered over to the pile of costumes Danielle had created and picked up a glittery gold fairy wing. She turned to look at her two friends, a catlike smile on her face. “I’ve been such a disappointment to Mother. There’s only one prospect.”
Lucy furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
Thomas leaned heavily over the arm of his chair. “Yes, what exactly do you mean?”
Delilah twirled the wing in a circle. “I’ve decided to set my sights on the suitor who’ll duly impress Mother. The most eligible bachelor in thetonthis Season.”
She didn’t miss the skeptical glances Lucy and Thomas exchanged. Neither of them thought much of her mother. Or Mother’s opinions.
“The most eligible bachelor of the Season?” Lucy echoed. “Who is that?”
Delilah stopped spinning the wing and allowed a small smile to pop to her lips. “The Duke of Branville,bien sûr.”
“Branville!” Lucy exclaimed with a little gasp.
