“You are the worst kind of busybody.” Edward gestured Simmons, who left to get the letter in question.
William gave a low whistle, regarding his sister with awe. Clearly, Charlotte had inherited the worst traits of both brothers—Edward’s propensity to interfere and William’s lack of moral compass.
“What did it say?” Will asked, suddenly more animated.
“Mother has placed an announcement inThe Timesof Edward’s engagement. Mr. Barnes writes for Ned’s approval before he publishes it.” The look she shot her brother was a clear I-told-you-so.
“Damnation.” Edward thumped his fist on the table. “That devil woman.”
“Ned, did you just curse? You never curse,” Charlotte said.
Edward’s jaw tightened. “Apologies.”
William raised his chocolate mug in a half toast to his brother’s shift in language. “No apologies necessary. Welcome to the club.”
Simmons entered and held the salver for Edward, who snatched the note and ripped it open, his expression darkening as he read the contents.
“Well?” William asked. “Who is my future sister-to-be?”
Edward passed the note to William.
“Ha! Lady Luella Tarlington. Better you than me, brother.” He tossed the paper into the middle of the table.
Luella.Fiona pressed her nails into the thick tablecloth. Of course.
“Well, I guess we know who told Mother that Finley had come to stay,” Charlotte said, accepting a second mug of chocolate. “Interfering, grasping parasite. Now, how do we prevent this?” She looked at Edward, William, and Fiona in turn. Despite Fi’s ire, she felt a fuzziness at the way Charlotte included her as “just one of the family.” A fuzziness that vanished when William opened his mouth.
“Assuming you want to prevent it,” he said. He shrank back under Charlotte’s glare. “What is that look for?” he asked. “She fits all the requirements for a duchess. She’s beautiful, devilishly intelligent, and can surely plan a dinner party.”
Nausea rose in Fiona’s stomach at the thought of Edward married to that viper. The thought of him married to anyone made her feel ill. She bit down on that feeling. If she wasn’t going to marry him, then he would have to marry someone else.
Just please don’t let it be her.
“Oh, I believe we’ve moved on from those criteria,” Charlotte said. “A rather shortsighted set of requirements. No, there’s only one condition for the role now.”
“And what’s that?” Will asked.
“Just that Ned must love her.” Over the rim of her hot chocolate, she gave Fiona a conspiratorial wink.
Fi shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She might have made her position clear to Edward, but his sister obviously had expectations Fiona couldn’t meet.
Tears burned at the back of her eyes. When she left, she wouldn’t only be leaving Edward. She’d be leaving two people who had embraced her in a warm fold unlike any other she’d experienced. Edward had taught her how to love, but Char and William had shown her what it meant to be family.
“I believe Lady Luella suspects the truth about Fiona,” Charlotte said, unaware of Fiona’s misery. “I could be wrong, but in hindsight, some of her comments while she was painting were suspect. I do think she’s a liability.”
“You say that like you’re going to have her assassinated,” Will said. “Bloody hell, Charlie. You sound terrifying.”
Charlotte grinned, a sneaky, self-confident, wild grin that was so very like William. Fi’s heart sank. Whatever Charlotte had planned, it was shaping up to be reckless.
“I don’t want to assassinate her. I simply want to cut the legs out from whatever she has planned—and fool Mother in the process. I want FionaandFinley to go to Aunt Augustus’s ball tonight.”
“No,” Edward said. “Not an option. That’s not going to happen.”
Charlotte stood, holding her hands out to keep her brother from standing. “Hear me out. Fiona can’t live a double life for long. Mother will ferret it out in a second, if she hasn’t already, and the Lord knows we don’t want to give her that kind of weapon.”
“Agreed,” Edward said cautiously. Fiona was hesitant to agree with anything Char was saying. It felt awfully like a fly agreeing with a spider.
“And then you have Luella.”
