“I’ll be ready at half-past seven.” With that, she picked up her bonnet and coat and sailed past him before he could sputter another word.
*
“Are you sureyou don’t want to come with me?” Joanna asked for the fifth time. “I am certain Kincaid could get another ticket.”
“And spoil your evening alone?” Evie teased. “I wouldn’t dare dream of it. Besides, Mrs. Benedict is going to teach me how to play whist and then we’re going for a stroll around Cremorne Gardens. She says it’stheplace to be if I want to meet a duke.”
“Because of all the trees?” Joanna asked innocently, then promptly ducked when Evie threw a pillow at her head.
“YouknowI was speaking metaphorically.” Carefully adjusting a shiny, black curl she’d laid just so over her shoulder, Evie put her hands on her hips and turned her head to the side. “How do I look?”
“Beautiful, as always. That color is stunning on you.”
“It’s nottooyellow, is it?” Evie fretted, glancing down at her voluminous skirt.
“If there’s a duke to be had, he’ll be eating out of your palm in no time at all,” Joanna said with the utmost confidence.
Evie smiled. “Thank you. I must say, you don’t looknearlyas dowdy as you usually do.”
“What a wonderful compliment,” Joanna said dryly. For her night out with Kincaid, she’d chosen a gown in emerald green silk with a square neckline, pointed waist, and a modest bustle that paled in comparison to the small mountain that currently resided on Evie’s rear end. She’d tamed her thick mass of red curls into a braid, and then twisted the braid into a bun on top of her head. A pair of simple pearl earrings and matching necklace completed the outfit.
“Come to think of it,” said Evie said thoughtfully, “I don’t know if you’ve ever been this dressed up. Are you wearing a corset?”
“Maybe,” Joanna said defensively. “What does it matter?”
“Youneverwear a corset.”
“Because they’re barbaric monstrosities created to suppress women.”
“And yet you’re wearing one.”
“The dress required it.”
“Ah, of course.” Evie’s smile grew. “Thedressrequired it.”
Joanna began to cross her arms, but was forced to drop them back to her sides when the edges of her corset dug into her ribs. They reallyweredevilish contraptions. “What does that mean?”
“It means I was right. Youaresweet on Kincaid.”
“I’m nothing of the kind,” she scoffed. “This is merely a—a business meeting between associates. Men have them all the time.”
“You aren’t a man,” said Evie. “And I’ve never heard of a meeting being conducted in the middle of a play.”
“It’s an operetta.”
“Whatever it is, I’m certain Kincaid did not invite you to discussbusiness.”
“I don’t know if he invited me so much as I invitedhim.” And for as long as she lived, Joanna would never forget the way the blood had drained from Kincaid’s face, as if she’d proposed they fling themselves off London Bridge instead of attend a play. Truth be told, she didn’t know whether to be insulted or amused by the obvious horror he’d experienced upon realizing she had tricked him into a night at the theater.
A bit of both, she decided as she picked up her beaded handbag and slipped it around her wrist.
Which was why she had decided to wear the corset.
“All right,” she confessed. “Maybe Idofind Kincaid somewhat…attractive.”
“I knew it!” Evie said triumphantly.
“But finding the ring is still my highest priority.” As she spoke, Joanna honestly didn’t know whether she was trying to convince Evie…or herself. “Any feelings I may or may not be developing for Kincaid must remain secondary.”
