“Tell me: Did I once mend your mother’s dresses, and lay her fire, and take my meals in the cellar with her staff?”
“Yes.”
“Was I, in fact, herunpaid servant? And yet, now do I dine at Kew Palace with the king and queen of England?”
Drew swallowed. It didn’t feel the same. Itwasn’tthe same.
“Anything can happen,” carried on Cynde, her sugary voice singing with conviction. “I’ll say it again: You are lovely. And distinctive. And striking. Unforgettable, really.”
A tear slid down Drew’s cheek. She didn’t deserve a friend such as Cynde.
“You have a very great challenge with these girls,” Cynde continued, “that much is clear. Even if I hadn’t noticed the way the duke looked at you in the throne room—which I did—he should be happy to marry you solely for the purpose of shepherding them. Is their mother... unfit or unwell?”
“She is...” Drew began, her mind racing with a number of cutting descriptions that her old self, more desperate and less authentic (according to Cynde), would have pinned to Lady Tribble.
Instead she said, “She is... an ally.”
Cynde cocked a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Indeed. Lovely. Well. If the mother is an ally and the twins need your wise counsel, and the duke, obviously, cannot keep his hands off you—”
“I would not say—”
“You must stop,” moaned Cynde. “I must go, actually. Adolphus wishes to meet at the milliners to look at hats. I have but a quarter hour. How can I be of the most help before I go?”
“Help?” asked Drew. “You’ve done so much, simply by looking in on me. I—”
“You’ve explained the wedding to the girls, the sister is an ally, but what of the servants? I noticed a sort of wild-eyed, excitable look about them when I arrived.”
“They are not accustomed to royal callers.”
“It was more than that. They look as if they’ve found a diamond necklace in the street and cannot decide whether to turn it over to the authorities or sell it.”
“They are scandalized, to be sure. We intend to speak to them next. Announce the wedding.”
“Very good. I shall accompany you. They may hear it from three of us and see my very great approval.”
“I couldn’t ask you to—”
“I insist. Which way to the servants’ stairs?”
“Oh no, Cynde. Lachlan will convene them in the front hall, you needn’t—”
“Oh yes...” She turned to walk up the path, her heeled slippers clicking on paving stones. “I’m no stranger to belowstairs, Drewsmina. Speaking of Lady Blicken, I hope you’ve braced yourself for some intrigue or meddling.”
“Mother and I rarely speak, honestly. I’d never told herI’d taken this job. She is appalled by the idea of gainful employment for me. I sent a note about the wedding only to pave the way for Lachlan’s lawyers.”
“She will horn in. Depend upon it.”
Drew made a miserable sound of foreboding and trailed behind Cynde.
“I cannot believe any of this will happen,” Drew whispered.
“Trust me,” called Cynde, signaling for a dazzled footman to open the garden door, “anythingcan happen.”
Chapter Seventeen
The wedding was scheduled for Saturday, after the twins’ riding lesson and before their standing appointment with the dancing instructor.
If Ian thought his rapport with Drew would change simply because they’d had an incinerating encounter in the gallery, he was mistaken.
