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From the quiet of the house, the majority of the guests were still at the village. Drake and Sebastian walked in with no fanfare, much to his relief. After the shocking revelation that Harleen was dead rather than ill and that Heywood was in London, not here in the countryside, Sebastian did not particularly want to be thrust back into the social scene. While he would not have minded being able to update their friends, the rest of the party was of no interest to him.

Although he did wonder where Mei had gotten up to.

If she was still in the house and had not left to join the others in the village.

“I am going to go write some letters,” Drake said, brushing the dust off his coat as they walked through the foyer. Sebastian nodded, distractedly. He was uncertain as to what he wanted to do.

Other than search for Mei.

“Sebastian! Drake. You are home earlier than anticipated.” The Dowager Duchess of Clarence was easy to spot, coming down the hallway.

Sebastian smiled, relaxing at the sight of her. It was refreshing to see her happy in this house. That had not been the case when he and Gregory had first met.

“We are. Excuse me, I have some business to attend to,” Drake said with a short bow.

“What of you, Sebastian?” Nearly a foot shorter than him, she tilted her head back, beaming up at him. “Are you looking for something to do?”

“Is there something you need done?” he asked in return.

“No, no, I am just ensuring Tiffany’s guests have all they need,” she replied in turn. “I left Miss Hu in my old sitting room not long ago, and I believe Miss Belle has moved from the stillroom to the conservatory. Lord Alexander has retired to his room for a respite before the ladies’ return.”

“Ah. Well.” If memory served, the dowager’s old sitting room was at the very back of the house, where very few people went. He would be surprised if it was featured at all in Tiffany’s plans for the weekend.

As a place for privacy, even at a house party, it was particularly prime.

There was even a lock on the door, if he remembered correctly. And a daybed.

“I must change, then I am sure I can find something to entertain myself with.” He brushed some of the dust of the road off his coat. It would certainly not do to keep wandering about in his riding clothes.

“I am sure you can, too.” The dowager smiled and hummed under her breath as she sashayed away in the direction of the conservatory.

Grinning, Sebastian went to the stairs, taking them two at a time up to his room. He would change into something clean and then reacquaint himself with the way to the dowager’s old sitting room. If he was lucky, Mei would still be there.

Mei

The duchess’ recommended book made for very interesting reading. Mei liked Elizabeth Bennett immediately. As she suspected she was meant to. The whole Bennett family was rather entertaining, especially for someone who had always wondered what it would be like to have siblings. It was all rather dramatic.

A sound in the hallway made her raise her gaze from the book. There had been a few passersby throughout the day, maids and footmen, though none had even stopped to look into the sitting room. It truly was very private, just as the dowager had claimed.

Something about the heaviness of the step made her pause, though, and a moment later, her eyes widened when the Duke of Bolton stepped into the doorway. He’d changed out of his riding clothes into a fitted jacket of dark grey over an emerald-green and silver waistcoat. The snowy white cravat had been tied in a trone d’amour knot with an emerald and silver pin winking from just beneath his chin, holding it in place.

“Your Grace!” She started to get to her feet automatically, trying to untangle her limbs from where they’d been positioned on the day bed.

“No, no, do not get up.” The duke waved his hand at her, turning slightly to close the door behind him. There was a solid clicking sound as he turned the lock. Then he turned back to her and prowled forward.

Heat rose in Mei’s cheeks as she became acutely aware of the privacy the room offered. Now locked in. No one nearby. No one looking for it. No one had even walked past in ages. The dowager knew Mei was in here, but no one else…

“What are you doing in here?” she asked suddenly, wondering what had prompted him to come to such an out-of-the-way room. Surely not…

“Gregory’s mother pointed me in this direction.” The duke smiled as he sat down on the daybed next to where Mei’s stockinged feet were planted. If she inched her toes forward just a bit, she’d be touching the side of his thigh with them. Every part of her body lit up at his nearness, making it difficult to draw breath. “In case you needed entertaining.”

Mei narrowed her eyes, making note of the page she was on before closing the book with a thump.

The dowager fancied herself a matchmaker indeed.

How had she known?

“Did your visit to your estate go well?” Mei asked, floundering as she groped for an appropriate topic. Something to say that was not ‘kiss me please’. Finding each other here had clearly been arranged, but that did not mean that Mei knew how to proceed from there.