Tags:
Romance,
Historical,
England,
British,
Love Story,
love,
Marriage,
Victorian,
happily ever after,
wedding,
kiss
it? It is a
very small guest list. Family only. I believe he ordered quail. A
very specific number!”
Mary seemed quite concerned about the menu.
Adelaide met Margarite’s concerned gaze and knew
at once that her older sister recognized a danger here, and
understood there was far more to this sticky situation than
maintaining a proper headcount for quail.
“He wants to meet me at the maze,” Adelaide
confessed. “At dusk.”
“But why?” Mary asked.
With growing unease, Adelaide cleared her throat
and tried to maintain her composure. “I am sure you must recall,
Mary, that he was always very protective of me. I suppose he wishes
to assure himself that I know what I am doing.”
“Well, of course you know what you are doing!”
Margarite replied incredulously. “You are about to become a
duchess, for pity’s sake.”
Adelaide spoke firmly. “He wants to satisfy
himself that I have no reservations about it.”
“ Do you?” Mary asked, sounding completely
shocked and bewildered.
Adelaide squared her shoulders and replied too
quickly. “Of course I have no reservations, but that is neither
here nor there. The point is...” She paused. “I have not seen
William in over a year. You both know he is a dear friend to me. I
must go to him, if only to say hello...and good-bye.”
Margarite gripped her arm. The pads of her
fingers dug painfully into Adelaide’s flesh. “You must not do that.
It will confuse you.”
“I will not become confused,” Adelaide argued.
“I know how fortunate I am to be marrying Theodore, and I will wed him in two days’ time. Nothing is going to change
that.”
Margarite’s grip on her arm tightened. “Are you
sure about that? You say William is only a friend, but—”
Adelaide had no intention of allowing her sister
to finish that thought. “I am not a fool.”
They stared at each other heatedly. “Then why
would you even consider going to meet another man—who so clearly
has designs upon your affections—mere days before your wedding? If
you were truly devoted to the duke, you would not risk your future
with him. You would be loyal. Do not go there, Adelaide. You can
say good-bye to William in a letter. After you are
married.”
Adelaide tugged her arm free and glanced up at
the white palace. It was impossible to imagine not seeing William
in person now that he was home. She could not simply leave him
waiting at the maze alone, without any explanation.
Margarite’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What
has happened between the two of you? I thought you were friends,
nothing more.”
“We are friends,” she insisted. “Nothing
has happened.”
“Has he ever kissed you?” Margarite asked. “Or
touched you?”
It was Mary’s turn to grab hold of her other
arm. “For that matter, has the duke kissed you?”
“That is completely irrelevant!” Margarite
scolded Mary. “They are engaged to be married! But if there had
been some past affair between Adelaide and Mr. Thomas, it could
become complicated. Are you a virgin, Adelaide?”
“Good heavens!” she replied, horrified that her
sister would ask such a thing. “Of course I am! And there was no
affair.” She backed away from them. “William and I are just...” She
paused. “We are very familiar with each other. That is all. He
cares for me. Like a brother.”
A brother ? Oh God. She was going to burn
in hell for uttering such a lie, for she had never thought of
William as a brother.
Therein lay the problem at the moment. The
deception of those words hit her like a wooden club across the
chest.
Margarite shook her head with a warning. “Do not
make this mistake, Adelaide. Not when we have come so far. The duke
will lift us up very high in Society. Think of your future
children. They will be heirs to a dukedom and will inherit a great
fortune one day.” She waved a finger. “Do not, under any
circumstances, meet Mr. Thomas at the maze. Be sensible and let him
go.”
Her advice cut Adelaide to