Jane gave her a withering stare. “That is hardly relevant.”
Lucy shook her head and rang for tea. Jane was not to be dissuaded once she’d set her sights on a teacake. “You and Garrett at another performance ofMuch Ado? That’s sure to be a disaster.”
Jane tossed a hand in the air. “Yes, exactly! Take it seriously. It truly is. Only for you would I do such a thing as agree to accompany Upton to the theater again. And only for you would I go seeMuch Ado About Nothingwith your infuriatingly wrongheaded cousin.”
“You may call him Garrett, you know. You two have known each other long enough.”
Jane rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.”
Lucy turned back to face her friend, a stern and resolute look on her face. “Janie, I appreciate your efforts, truly I do, but there’s absolutely no way in the entire world that I’m leaving this house tonight.”
***
Never let it be said that Miss Jane Lowndes was anything other than a bullheaded tyrant when she wanted to be. That was the thought that coursed through Lucy’s mind as she stood outside the Royal Theater Company’s production ofMuch Ado About Nothing. The play had been thoroughly enjoyed by all. Lucy couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so heartily. Very well, perhaps Jane had been right, forcing her out of her house. She’d asked Jane a variety of questions about Cass and Julian, carefully avoiding the subject of Derek. Jane had also carefully bypassed each of her inquiries, insisting that if Lucy wanted to know what was going on with Cass, she should stop acting like such a ninny and pay her friend a call to find out for herself.
Lucy, of course, had no intention of doing so, but regardless of the little bit of information she’d been able to wheedle out of Jane, she’d had a wonderful time this evening.
It was lovely to see Christian again. He was as handsome and solicitous as ever. So what if he didn’t make her stomach leap the way Derek did? Stomach leaping was quite overrated. It made one far too anxious. It was far too closely related to nausea. Yes, who wanted all that nonsense? Much better to have a sensibly well-settled stomach. Better for the digestion no doubt. And if the man was not the best conversationalist in the kingdom, so be it.
He did try. He smiled at her and asked her halting questions about her health, her parents, her time in Bath. And she only thought of Derek a little when answering them. Well, only when Christian asked about where she’d been, what she’d done, and whom she’d done it with. A bit distracting, to be sure. But then she’d asked him about his own time in Bath, his stay in London, and his plans to go back to Northumbria. It was all quite interesting, if not stomach-leap inducing.
“Amazing that those two couldn’t see they were meant for each other all along,” Christian said about the performance as they were all leaving the theater together.
“I think it’s an awful trick their friends played on them,” Jane added. “But it was a pleasure to watch, I must admit.”
“Bah. It’s preposterous,” Garrett said, throwing a hand in the air. “You cannot possibly convince me that a man as intelligent as Benedick wouldn’t have known he was being tricked.”
Jane tossed her own hand in the air. “Oh, and Beatrice would have?”
“Both of them ought to have figured it out, frankly,” Garrett replied, a look of disgust on his face.
“That is why it’s a romp play, Upton,” Jane shot back, speaking slowly as if she were addressing a child or an imbecile. “It’s not a history lesson. It’s just meant to be fun.”
“It makes no sense. It’s silly,” Garrett replied.
“And what is wrong with being silly?” Jane asked sweetly.
They’d made their way to the front of the theater and were standing in a long queue waiting for the carriages to come around.
Lucy batted her eyelashes at her friends. “I hate to be indelicate and point it out, but is this not the exact same argument you two had five years ago?”
Jane and Garrett exchanged cantankerous looks.
Garrett shrugged. “Perhaps.”
“Yes, and amazingly, he’s still wrong, five years later.” Jane crossed her arms over her chest and glanced away.
“I’m wrong?” Garrett began. “I think you couldn’t be more wrong. And another thing—”
“Oh, here comes the carriage,” Lucy interjected, pointing. She glanced over to another line of waiting theatergoers.
She sucked in her breath.
“Lucy? Are you all right? You just went completely pale.” Jane’s gaze followed hers to the other group. Cassandra and Derek were there, along with Cassandra’s mother. They were waiting for a carriage, too.
“Oh, Luce, look. It’s Cass and the duke. Let’s go greet them.” Jane tried to pull her toward the others, but Lucy snatched her hand away.
“No. No. I couldn’t.” She backed away, unable to drag her eyes from Derek but also hoping against hope that he would not turn and see her. She couldn’t breathe. Her heart felt as if it were in a vise. Derek had told her he didn’t want to marry Cass. He’d told her he couldn’t do it, wouldn’t do it. And Lucy had told him he must. Had even been willing to sacrifice her own friendship with Cass for the sake of seeing her happily settled. But the lack of the announcement in the paper had lulled Lucy into a false hope. Perhaps Derek had meant what he’d said after all, that he did not intend to marry Cass, that he wouldn’t and truly couldn’t.
