Jane frowned. “I didn’t add that kiss. I thought you all did that on your own.”
Lucy winked at them just before she raised her glass for a toast. “Another match well made, and I might as well finally admit that this was a match I had been planning for quite some time.”
Derek nearly spit his drink. “Pardon, my love?”
“Delilah and Thomas,” she continued. “I’d hoped for years they would fall in love. Only I couldn’t let on. Delilah can be quite stubborn when she wants to be. I had to ensure it seemed like it was her idea.”
Delilah smiled and tipped her glass of champagne to her lips. She and Lucy had already had this discussion, and she’d properly thanked the duchess for the role she’d played in helping her find true love.
“Are you quite serious?” Derek replied to his wife. “You thinkyouplanned this?”
Lucy blinked and pressed a hand to her chest. “Didn’t I?”
“On the contrary,weplanned it all along.” He rolled his finger in a circle, indicating the group of his male friends who stood nearby.
“Who?” Lucy blinked at him, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“The gentlemen.” Derek inclined his head, gave his wife a smug smile, and took a drink from his champagne flute.
Lucy, Cass, and Jane glanced around at the men, who all wore the same self-satisfied grins. They clinked their champagne glasses together as if in salute to one another.
“Unbelievable,” Jane Upton breathed.
“Yes, well, you should believe it,” Garrett Upton replied. “It’s true.”
“It is true,” Julian Swift added.
Delilah laughed. “They did give me a much-needed talk, and they conspired with Thomas to ensure the elixir was administered to the right man. Meanwhile, I think my matchmaking days are behind me now.”
Lucy gasped. “What? Delilah, why would you say such a thing?”
Delilah laughed again. “I’m a matchmaker who was completely oblivious to my own match. I daresay that is a reason enough to retire.”
Lucy shook her head. “Nonsense. It’s like a maid who has a messy room. It’s often difficult to see your own circumstances correctly.”
“Yes, well, there is one more match I’m intent upon making before I completely abandon the profession altogether,” Delilah said.
“Ooh, who?” Cass asked, leaning forward to better hear.
“Amandine and Will seem to have an affinity for one another.”
“That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” Cass said with a sigh.
“It is, isn’t it?” Delilah replied, a dreamy look on her face.
“Yes, and it’s a helpful alliance as well,” Thomas added. “Amandine has already taught Will how to properly tie a cravat.”
Alex and Owen Monroe, along with Christian Forester, Viscount Berkeley, and his wife, Sarah, joined the group.
“Delilah,” Alex said. “I’m so happy you’re finally my sister. And the wedding was gorgeous. I daresay the Duke of Branville’s wedding to Lady Rebecca Abernathy last autumn wasn’t half as grand.”
Delilah smiled. “Yes, well, Rebecca told me she didn’t want a large wedding. But it was lovely just the same.”
“Lavinia’s wedding last Christmastide was certainly grand,” Thomas said.
“Yes, and we even managed to plan it quickly,” Delilah replied to her new husband. “I hadn’t forgotten how you told me she threatened to make your married life miserable.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Never with you, darling. She adores you. You helped her find Lord Stanley, after all.”
