Page 56 of The Wedding-Crashing Duchess

“Tell him you cannot attend without him, and then look sad until he agrees.”

“I will do nothing of the kind,” Augusta replied. “And I am perfectly capable of attending without my husband.”

“Will you ask him?” Charity said.

Augusta hesitated only briefly.

“Yes,” she replied. “I will ask, although I suspect he will refuse before I have finished explaining.”

Charity smiled as she refilled Augusta’s cup.

“Then perhaps you should make it a game,” she said. “You already know he cannot resist arguing with the rules.”

Augusta tried not to smile, although the image of Ronan’s suspicious expression appeared in her mind at once.

“I will ask him plainly,” she said. “And if he refuses, I shall attend alone.”

Matilda looked between her sisters, then shook her head with exaggerated disappointment.

“You are both being very dull,” she said. “He will come.”

“What makes you so certain?” Augusta asked.

Matilda reached for a biscuit from the tray.

“You said he remembers the things you tell him, he listens even when he disagrees, and he asked whether you had ever loved anyone,” she replied. “A man who does all that will not let you attend a ball without him, although he may spend several hours pretending that he intends to.”

Augusta stared at her, while Charity lowered her face to hide another smile.

For once, Augusta had no answer at all.

CHAPTER 12

“Do you think he will come?” Sarah asked as Augusta adjusted the ribbon at the waist of her pink dress for the third time. “Father said he had work after dinner, and when he says he has work, he usually stays in his study until everyone has gone to bed.”

“He said he would join us, and I intend to believe him until he gives me a reason not to,” Augusta replied as she smoothed the child’s skirt and then stepped back to inspect the result. “Although I admit that your father has a talent for making even a promise sound uncertain, so I understand why you are worried. Still, we have prepared lemon cakes, sugared almonds, chocolate biscuits, and enough stories to occupy us until morning, and no sensible man would choose papers over such an evening.”

Sarah glanced towards the door.

“Father does not like sweets very much,” she said.

“Then he may sit beside us and watch while we enjoy them,” Augusta replied, lifting the plate of sugared almonds from the small table and placing it beside the cushions arranged before the fire. “He need not approve of everything in order to participate, and perhaps he will discover that life continues even after one eats something covered in sugar.”

They had chosen the smaller family sitting room rather than the formal drawing room, since Augusta wanted the evening to feel private, and she had asked the servants to bring extra cushions so that they could sit near the fire. Sarah’s favourite books had been placed in a small pile on the carpet, while the sweet dishes occupied a low table within easy reach.

Sarah had insisted upon wearing her favourite dress, although Augusta had pointed out that no one usually dressed for an evening spent on the floor. The child had answered that her father rarely saw the dress, and Augusta had abandoned the argument immediately.

“Do you think he will like my dress?” Sarah asked as she touched the pink ribbon.

“I think he will notice that you look lovely, although whether he manages to say so before you ask is another matter,” Augusta replied, and then she crouched until they were at the same height. “Your father sometimes needs help finding the words that everyone else considers obvious, so you must not assume silence means he has failed to notice.”

Sarah nodded, although she did not look entirely convinced.

A knock sounded before Augusta could offer further reassurance, and Sarah turned towards the door so quickly that the curls around her face moved with her.

“Come in,” Augusta called.

The door opened, and Ronan stepped into the room.