Page 67

Yet she was.

“Your Grace!” Beatrice dropped into a low curtsy. “Lady Ashbury.”

“Apologies for such an early call,” Lady Ashbury said. “And, please, call me Sam. We were nearly family at one point, weren’t we?”

“Yes,” the duchess echoed. “Please, call me Evie.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Beatrice protested.

“Yes, you can, and we insist,” Sam said as they settled in the sitting area. The housekeeper brought some tea and pastries and Beatrice started pouring.

She handed Sam a cup of tea. “Your family has been incredibly supportive even though my betrothal with the viscount was quite short.”

“It is not just Gage and his mishap that bonds us. Your parents and our parents were friends. And although we didn’t spend much time together growing up, I am convinced we should make up for the time lost. And the entire family feels this way,” Sam explained.

“And family friends,” the duchess chimed in.

“Although I am happy that Gage is taking responsibility for the deplorable way he treated you,” Sam added. “Even if not directly, but through Adam.”

Beatrice choked on her tea. “Oh, pardon me.” She patted herself on her chest. The mention of Adam had an unexpected effect on her. “I assure you, I hold no ill will toward the viscount. He has done nothing wrong. He fell in love. And I was happy to release him from our betrothal.”

“Perhaps he hasn’t done anything wrong, but he has gone about it the wrong way. And I am glad that he is ready to rectify his mistake in whatever small way. Which brings me to why we are here.”

“Yes?” Beatrice brought the teacup to her lips.

“Adam asked me and Isabel to help you prepare a trousseau. Gage will be the one financing this endeavor since he feels guilty, deservedly so, but we shall act as though it is a gift from us to avoid more gossip. But I thought that the best person to help in this effort is certainly Evie.”

“I wonder why you would have thought that,” Evie said playfully.

It was obvious that Beatrice was missing some context to the banter between the two friends.

Sam finished a sip of her tea and clarified, “When Evie’s cousin was getting married against her will, Evie helped her protest the venture by creating the most hideous black mourning gown for the wedding.”

Beatrice gasped. “Your cousin wore a mourning gown to her wedding?”

“That’s correct.” The duchess looked quite proud of herself. “And we can protest your wedding just as well. Perhaps better. I already have some ideas.”

“Oh, no, no, please,” Beatrice hurried to interject. She didn’t need a hideous gown, quite on the contrary. “I do not want to protest the wedding. And I’d rather have a gown I could wear afterward. Unlike your cousin, I was the one to choose my groom.”

“Not that you had any choice!” Sam exclaimed.

“I did. I didn’t have a lot of choices, but I did have a choice,” Beatrice conceded. Because she did. Nobody had forced her to marry Lansdowne. She was pushed by their family’s circumstances. And if Gage hadn’t offered for her earlier, the result would have been the same. She still would have married Lansdowne. But she would never have met Adam…

However, she still had choices. She could have chosen to work instead. It would have forced her family below the line of poverty. She would have been ruined. And her sisters would have suffered as a result. But it still was a choice she’d had.

And, of course, there was one more choice.

The one she hoped she still could take advantage of. And for that, she needed a gown that could turn heads.

“However, since you’re willing to help me, perhaps instead of a modest wedding gown, you can help me order one that would be considered scandalous? One I would be able to wear to society functions after my wedding.”

“A scandalous gown?” Evie’s eyes glittered with a calculated gleam. “This is something we can arrange.”

“Wonderful!” Sam cried and took another piece of pastry. “I knew you would be a worthy partner in crime.”

They left for the modiste half an hour later. Evie and Sam kept chattering away in the carriage. It was obvious that the women had gone through years of friendship and a lot of hardships.

The duchess was quite visibly in a delicate condition. And Sam’s concern for her friend and the way she looked out for her was quite touching.