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“Oh, well, I must visit the modiste and stop by Alice’s to inform her I am returned to town. At some point, I shall need to go through the invitations and see what events I would like to add to my schedule.”

“I will have Riggs bring those to you.” Except for the one he was holding. “Will you be making a stop by Clarence House?”

“Clarence House? I had not planned to. Did your sister ask for me?” There was such innocence in her voice that one could be convinced she’d completely forgotten that she must apologize to Tiffany and Gregory. That it was one of the conditions of her being in London.

“No, but⁠—”

“I am sure your sister and I will see each other eventually, darling.” Another airy wave of her hand dismissed any contradiction he might try to bring up. “There is no need for me to bother her when she is busy arranging an event. It is her first house party on her own, after all.”

Sebastian’s mouth shut with a click of his teeth. The argument was difficult to gainsay, as it was true that this was his sister’s first house party. Even with Lady Astrid’s and Gregory’s mother’s assistance, she would be the hostess. Demanding that their mother go apologize to her immediately could actually be more stressful than helpful.

“Very well,” he said, feeling his stomach clench unhappily as he forced the next words out of his mouth. “You will apologize to her after the house party, though.”

“Of course. I have said as much, have I not?” His mother’s annoyance made him feel about ten years old, and he had to bite back an apology for inferring that she would not keep her word. Tilting her head back, she swept from the foyer to the smaller dining room, chin in the air, displeasure dripping from her like a spectacular set of jewels.

His stomach tightened at knowing he’d upset her but released once she was out of sight. It had to be done. Though he was very much looking forward to getting away to this house party and no longer having to share the house with his mother. After he returned, he would give her some time to make the apology of her own accord in hopes she would do so, and he would not have to prod her again.

Mei

Standing off to the side of the Hartford ballroom, Mei watched the whirling figures on the dance floor. Despite her serene exterior, inside, she was working through the steps in her head, whirling around with them. Something that would never happen.

A matchmaker attending a ball was acceptable, necessary even. But dancing? Pshaw. That was for the real members of the ton. Them and the extremely wealthy merchants and their children who were sometimes admitted to the larger events by dint of the size of their purse rather than their lineage. Still, there was plenty of the aristocracy who turned up their noses at them, and seeing Mei gliding across the ballroom floor would probably cause a rash of fainting from the haut ton ladies.

Well, excepting her friends. Duchesses were automatically among the highest of the high, and they would not faint, but Mei was not entirely certain how they would react if she stepped so far out of reach of her social station. She certainly did not intend to put them in a position where they would have to defend her behavior to their peers.

Mei sensed the approach of someone to her side and turned her head. She smiled when she met the familiar gaze of Miss Rose Belle, cousin to Johanna, Duchess of St. Albans. Though Rose did her best to fade into the background, Johanna’s recent leap in fortune and social status meant that Rose’s wardrobe was nearly as expensive and fashionable as the duchess’.

Tonight she was wearing a splendid deep ruby-red dress, overlaid with gold netting and edged with ivory lace. The combination of colors suited her brown skin admirably, making her shine like a jewel—something she was very conspicuously not wearing. Even Mei had a necklace and earrings made of jade, her best pieces, which she regularly wore to formal evening events. Rose’s lack of jewelry seemed a point of defiance, but Mei wondered if she realized how it also made her stand out among the crowd of be-gemmed ladies.

Then again, in aristocratic company such as this, Mei and Rose tended to stand out anyway, regardless of what they were wearing.

“I hear I have you to thank for the upcoming escape to the countryside,” Rose said, as she and Mei exchanged cheek kisses in greeting. There was real warmth in Rose’s dark eyes, indicating her pleasure in the idea.

“Tiffany is the one throwing the house party,” Mei demurred.

“But it was your idea.” Reaching up to pat her hair, Rose looked around the ballroom with more than a touch of skepticism. “I will certainly be glad to receive a break from all this.”

Mei laughed softly. She always enjoyed the dichotomy of their views. Both a step outside Society, yet able to stand on the sidelines of it, Mei rather enjoyed watching the dramatics of the ton, while Rose was exasperated by it. Of course, that might be because Rose was not entirely a bystander. She had her own little coterie of suitors, despite her best efforts.

By-blow or not, she was an acknowledged member of the Earl of Ashmore’s family and now cousin to a duchess. Mei did not have to put up with the importunings of suitors, and so far, her position seemed to protect her from less respectable advances. The gentlemen who wanted Mei’s grandmother’s help in finding a match needed to retain her good graces.

“Are you saying that Tiffany will not be able to put on a house party that rises to the splendor of this?” Mei asked, teasing.

“I am saying I would rather there were room to dance… if I were going to dance. Look, those two couples just bumped into each other.” She nodded at the dancers in question, who were apologizing and untangling themselves, while nearly running into even more dancers who were trying to maneuver around them.

Mei pressed her lips together. It would never do to be seen smiling in amusement at someone’s misfortune, though she could see a group of nobles watching and outright laughing.

They were all ranked highly enough to be able to do so without any repercussions.

“It is very crowded,” Mei acknowledged once she was sure she had control over her expression. “Does avoiding your erstwhile suitors have anything to do with your eagerness for some time in the country?”

“There is that as well.” Rose made a face. “I have no desire to marry a man whose main interest in me is my relationship with my cousin. No matter what Lady Stark says.” Lady Stark was Johanna’s grandmother-in-law. Not a duchess herself, but the grandmother of the Duke of St. Albans, and a formidable woman in her own right.

“I do think she has encouraged some of them, but I also believe that some are genuinely interested in your person, not your connections,” Mei offered. “They would be utter blockheads not to be.”

“We shall see.” Rose waved her hand at Mei, dismissing the idea that she might want to look more closely at the men courting her. “I have more than enough to do keeping Johanna company and watching after the hellions. Did you hear what Charlotte did last week?”

“No, do tell.” Mei always enjoyed Charlotte stories. The ‘hellions’ were Johanna’s two younger sisters, Bridget and Charlotte. Mei had met both of them and was very much looking forward to when those two made their debut onto the social scene.