Iris had grave concerns about Lord Huntington’s frigid propriety, but his face was beautiful, and it was nothing short of heresy to remain silent while her sister maligned that lovely dimple. “I’ve always been rather enamored of it. How is it a flaw, Violet?”
Violet gave them a triumphant look. “Because, any lady who dreams of kissing him—and that’s every lady in London, by my reckoning—must decide whether to start with his delicious lips, or that distracting little dimple.”
There was a brief silence, then Iris and Violet burst into laughter.
Even Lady Honora couldn’t resist a smile. “How did you come to be so wicked, Violet?”
“We’re discussing Iris’s wickedness, if you please, Honora. Though I don’t know if it’s soverywicked for her to want an innocent kiss from her betrothed. It’s not as if she expects him to drag her off into the bushes and ravage her.”
“No, but when I try to lure him into a kiss, I do expect him to cooperate.” Iris glanced at Honora. “I only want to see if I find it acceptable. Is that so shocking?”
If she could judge by the tingle of anticipation in her belly every time she looked at his lips, she’d find it quite acceptable, indeed, but what use were his handsome lips if he kept them to himself?
Iris hesitated, then swallowed down the last bitter remnants of her pride. “Do you suppose he doesn’twantto kiss me?”
The humiliating truth was, she’d suspected for some time he didn’t have any true affection for her. His courtship had been utterly correct, but Iris had nevertheless been surprised when he came up to scratch. He could have whoever he wanted, after all. Every young lady in London had spent the entire season sighing over him.
Once he did take his suit to her grandmother, he’d been given approval readily enough. Indeed, no one would think to refuse Lord Huntington anything, including Iris, who’d accepted him as a matter of course, and perhaps just the tiniest flash of guilty triumph at having secured the one gentleman every lady in London yearned for.
But it wasn’t long before a distressing voice in her head began whispering Lord Huntington wasn’t all that enamored of her, and no matter what she did, it wouldn’t be silenced. She didn’t expect him to make some elaborate declaration, or attempt a seduction. He wasn’t a demonstrative sort of gentleman. But an innocent kiss would go a long way to relieve her doubts about his affections.
But the kiss was not forthcoming, and Iris couldn’t quite hide her unhappiness as she looked at Violet and Honora. “Perhaps he regrets making an offer, and wishes he were betrothed to another lady.”
Honora rushed to wrap an arm around Iris’s shoulder. “Oh no, Iris. I’m sure that’s not it. No one is lovelier than you.”
Violet, who refused to hear a disparaging word about any of her four sisters, looked offended at the very suggestion. “Every eligible gentleman this season has been angling for your hand, Iris. Lord Huntington is fortunate to get you, and I daresay he knows it. You’re everything the belle of her season should be.”
Lady Honora squeezed Iris’s arm. “Violet’s right, Iris. Social custom, habit, propriety—all conspire to keep you from becoming familiar with each other before you’re wed. Lord Huntington’s behavior is utterly correct. As a gentleman, he can’t breach decorum, even if he wishes to.”
Iris drew in a shaky breath. Perhaps they were right, and she was fretting over nothing. “I hadn’t thought of it quite like that. It’s just…I thought courtship would be different. More romantic, somehow. It’s foolish of me, I suppose.”
“I don’t think it’s foolish at all. It’s a simple kiss, for goodness’ sake, and little enough to ask. Surely between the three of us we can come up with a way for Iris to tempt Lord Huntington into a kiss. Now let’s see—she’s tried moonlit walks, a touch to the hand, gazing into his eyes, and she’ll try the glistening lips.” Violet was ticking points off on her fingers. “It’s a good start, I daresay, but there must be more she can do. Help me think, Honora.”
A long silence ensued as they each considered the possibilities, and it continued to stretch until at last Violet made a disgusted noise in her throat. “For pity’s sake. I can’t think of another thing. You’re quite right, Iris. Once a lady is betrothed, what good does it do her to know how to flirt a fan? The accomplishments expected of a young lady on the marriage mart are utterly useless once she sets foot outside Almack’s.”
Lady Honora shook her head at this. “Well, Iris’s accomplishments worked well enough to secure her an enviable suitor. Sheisbetrothed to the Marquess of Huntington, after all.”
“Yes, but what am I meant do once I’m married to him? No one says a word about that, do they? Indeed, no one seems to care much what happens to a lady after she’s secured a proper husband, unless she does something scandalous.”
“My goodness, Iris. What a depressing thought.” Violet took her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “You’ll give yourself the vapors. Come now, I know just what you need to cheer you up.”
“You do?” Iris gave her sister a hopeful look. “What is it?”
“A kiss from Lord Huntington, of course.”
Iris deflated again. “I’ve tried everything I can think of, Violet—”
“No, you haven’t. You haven’t tried to kiss him.” Violet seized her arm with one hand, and pointed toward a pathway that led to the back of the garden, her face flushed with sudden excitement. “He just went down that pathway. Quickly. Go after him, and kiss him!”
Lady Honora grabbed Iris’s other arm. “No! She can’t go chasing Lord Huntington all over the garden. It isn’t proper. What will my mother say if she finds out?”
“She won’t find out unless you tell her, Honora. There’s no one about in this part of the garden. Go on, Iris. It’s a scavenger hunt, after all.” Violet’s lips turned up in a grin. “Surely a kiss from Lord Huntington wins you the game.”
Iris took a hesitant step forward, but then stopped. What if she should look into those cool hazel eyes of his and see nothing but indifference? “What if he…what if he rebuffs me?”
To her surprise, Lady Honora released her arm and gave her a gentle push in the direction Lord Huntington had gone. “He won’t, Iris. He never would have made you an offer if he didn’t care for you, but if a kiss will ease your doubts, then it’s worth the lapse in propriety.”
Iris took a few stumbling steps forward, then a few more. Her heart rushed into her throat at the idea of kissing Lord Huntington, but when she looked back, Violet and Honora both smiled reassuringly at her.
