Nieces?Drew swung her gaze to the duke.
“So you’re saying,” asked Lachlan, his voice sardonic and disbelieving, “this will actuallyhappen? This surprise... woman with whom I’m being—”
He sighed. “We’re all meant to simply go along?”
Prince Adolphus choked on a date and then cleared his throat, coughing into his fist. “Lachlan!” he barked.
“Right,” the duke sighed. He sounded exhausted.
“Do not test me, Lachlan,” Prince Adolphus warned, “I am doing you a favor—two favors—and your rudeness knows no bounds.”
The duke closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. He looked to Drew.
“How do you do?” the duke droned, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Drew glanced miserably at Cynde. She nodded encouragingly.Go on...
“I—” Drew cleared her throat. “Very well, thank you, Your Grace. You have twins you hope to launch in society?” Drew’s voice was as pretty as it was false. The two of them were unwilling actors in a play, forced to say their lines.
“Indeed,” confirmed Lachlan. He glared at the prince and then returned his icy stare to Drew. “I’d say the wordlaunchoverstates my goals for them.Society?Also a stretch. They are sixteen years old and I’ve brought them from Dorset to London to prepare for a modest Season.”
“Modest?” asked Drew.
“The girls are very green,” Lachlan went on. “And all of us—the girls, their mother, who is my sister, and myself—intend to return to Frampton, in Dorset, by summer. Until then, I should like to make some effort toward a Season, allow them to enjoy Town, kit them out. Make an appearance, if you will. I believe that’s how it’s done.”
“I see,” said Drew, although she did not see. Hosting a debutante Season—and not just one debutante, but two—was expensive and time-consuming and would have far-reaching impact for the rest of any girl’s life. If money was no object, it was not something to be embarked upon by halves.
“You are trying my nerves, Lachlan,” warned the prince. “We’ve summoned Miss Trelayne tohelpyou. She is in the business of styling and training girls for their Season. She can aid Eunice and Opal—”
“Imogene and Ivy,” gritted out the duke.
“...in a most gratifying debut. For all of you. She can be the difference between smashing success or lackluster tedium. But of course you’ve not mentioned the most important bit.”
“I’venot mentioned it?” asked Lachlan. “Me?I’m not the engineer of this coercion.”
“You’re fortunate that I’m so very fond of you,” said the prince. “It’s no surprise that you’re disliked in most circles.”
Drew nearly gasped at the insult. The prince popped another date into his mouth. Lachlan was slowly shaking his head.
“As we’ve said, Drewsmina,” continued the prince, “the task at hand is to train up the nieces of my old friend Lachlan here; prepare them for their debut. You know this bit. What has not been said is that the girls will be presentedatcourt to Queen Charlotte in the spring. It’s no piddling thing, being presented to the queen, and you’ll have your work cut out for you. However, it’s an arrangement that should benefit both you and the duke. And the girls, of course.”
To the duke he said, “Miss Trelayne is a future style maker and will soon be the most sought-after finisher of debutantes in all of London. You are lucky to have her before she is impossible to book, even by me.”
“Yes,” mumbled the duke on an exhale. “How lucky.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked the prince.
“Thank you, Highness,” said Lachlan.
“Drewsmina,” continued the prince, “Lachlan has plenty of money and no wife to siphon it away. Spare no expense in outfitting the girls nor billing him for your time.”
“Wait,” cut in the duke, “I’m topayher?”
The prince continued to Drew, ignoring him, “You will work with the duke, his sister Lady Tribble, and the girls to prepare them for their presentation at court and whatever else is necessary for a proper Season. I apologize in advance for his obstinacy. What can I say? He is notwell-likedby most people.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Lachlan grumbled.
“Any problems you may encounter, please apply directly to me,” finished the prince. He took a deep breath and beamed at Princess Cynde. “That’s sufficient, wouldn’t you say, Minnow?”
