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I settled into a chair in Kendrick’s study and scanned the short message, which gave no clue as to why I’d been summoned. I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment. It seemed she was just like the others after all.

“Do you think she’s going to want me to marry her? Perhaps she wants money to continue with our pretense.”

Kendrick leaned back against his desk. “I haven’t even met the woman, so I couldn’t say.”

There was a knock on the study door, and a footman entered to tell us that Caroline’s guest had arrived. I rose.

“Let’s get this over with. Hopefully, I haven’t landed myself in an even worse mess.”

Kendrick clapped me on the shoulder. “It can’t be worse than what you’ve been going through.”

I narrowed my eyes on him. “This is partially your fault.”

He grinned. “I refused to apologize for being happy.”

I had no snappy retort as I followed him down the hall to the drawing room.

Caroline and Claire were on the settee, their heads close together as they chatted, giving the appearance of lifelong friends. Caroline spotted us first and stood.

“Here they are,” she said, smiling widely. “Claire, let me introduce you to my husband, Viscount Kendrick. And you already know Lord Greyson. Kendrick, this is Miss Claire Sullivan.”

Kendrick bowed. Claire rose and dipped into a curtsy.

She looked much the same today as she did yesterday. Her morning dress was white with small blue flowers throughout the material. The color did suit her complexion, and her hair was worn in much the same fashion as when she visited the school. It framed her face nicely enough, but I would have imagined that if she were here to convince me to marry her, she would have gone to a little more effort. Perhaps I’d mistaken her purpose for reaching out.

I inclined my head. “Miss Sullivan.”

She smiled warmly. “Thank you for agreeing to see me. I know it is an imposition.”

“Not at all,” I said. “You have done me a kindness. What is it that you needed?”

Caroline placed her hand on her husband’s arm. “Perhaps we should leave.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Claire said. “I don’t have anything to say to Lord Greyson that I can’t say in front of the two of you.”

From the tense set of her shoulders, I could tell she was upset. And for the first time, it occurred to me to worry about what her stepmother might have done to her after our outing yesterday.

She perched onto the edge of the settee, and I waited for Caroline to sit next to her again before I lowered myself into one of the two armchairs. Kendrick was the last to sit.

“I hope everything isn’t too uncomfortable at home,” I said. “Given what your family attempted to do, I’m sure they were less than pleased.”

Her smile was tight. “That is a vast understatement.”

Caroline placed a hand over Claire’s, where she was twisting them in her lap. “They weren’t too cruel, I hope.”

She shook her head. “Oh no, nothing like that. For the most part, my stepmother has been ignoring me. But I’ve had quite enough of Georgiana’s sulking and snide comments about how she’s certain if Greyson called again, it would be to take her for a carriage ride instead of me.”

I couldn’t help barking out a laugh at that. “Right, because I want to saddle myself with a petulant, spoiled debutante.”

“So why did you need to see us again so soon?” Caroline asked.

Kendrick was taking all of this in, and I knew that if Claire was lying, my friend would be able to pick it up. He’d always had a knack for knowing when people weren’t telling the truth.

“After being grilled by half the unmarried women of the ton yesterday, my stepmother informed me that she’s grown bored of London and that we’ll be leaving in a week’s time. We don’t normally stay this long, but given everything that’s been happening with the king and queen and the fact that everyone who has a seat in the House of Lords is still in town, I didn’t imagine she’d want to miss out on any of the events that are still taking place.”

“So you’re here to tell me that you’re leaving.”

I shouldn’t have been disappointed, but I was. I had found the only woman in town who hadn’t tried to convince me to marry her, and now she would be gone.