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“And what if I were?” Hugo asked, pulling her even closer than before. “Would you accept my proposal?”

Seraphina blushed deeply, but did not push him away. The warmth, the softness of her body pressed to his sent shots of rare-felt desire from his own, and he was damned if his heart didn’t falter a beat when her hand squeezed his arm almost fondly.

“If only, Your Grace,” she whispered. “But alas, we cannot play pretend forever.”

“Seraphina!” The voice whispered more loudly. Hugo ignored it, knowing the dance was about to end.

“Well then I will say this. You deserve a man that speaks to you kindly and treats you as such,” he told her as the song ended.

He bowed deeply, and brushed a kiss along her knuckles as he whispered, “I pray that you find him.”

“Seraphina, a word,please,”Theo whispered hurriedly, appearing at her side as The Duke walked away.

She watched him for a moment, touched by his words, then became distracted by the looks of approval being given by her peers. Her confidence radiating within her, she gripped her friend’s hand and pulled her toward the empty hallway.

“Did you see that?” She whispered excitedly to Theo. “It worked! Your plan actually worked!”

“Seraphina,” Theo repeated, her voice strained as she looked on at her with worry, “Who was that man?”

Seraphina’s brows dipped in confusion.

“What do you mean?” She asked, “That was your actor friend, Rowley. Or, the Duke of Merrivale, if we are keeping up with the ruse.”

Worry spiked through Seraphina as her friend rigorously shook her head.

“Seraphina, I am not sure who that man was, but he was certainly not Rowley. Did you not get my message earlier in the day? He will not be able to make it into town until the Carter’s garden party next Tuesday.”

“No,” Seraphina said slowly, shaking her head, “No, you must know him. He was sitting right across from you!”

“My brother only said he was a friend,” Theo replied quickly. “He did not mention a name and he did not seem apt to talk, so I did not ask!”

“So then,” Seraphina wondered aloud, walking a few steps back toward the open room. She peered around, looking for the man who had helped make her plan such a success. He was nowhere to be found. Neither was the young woman he had been with.

She peered back at Theo, more confused than ever.

“Who was the man that I danced with?”

CHAPTER THREE

“For me? Lord Carrigan, you are too kind,” Seraphina gushed, accepting the bouquet of gorgeous blooms from the young viscount.

“It is long overdue,” Lord Carrigan replied, his tone regretful as he bowed yet again toward her. “Please, may we sit?”

“Of course you can,” Mary answered before Seraphina could agree. “Seraphina, darling, why don’t you give those to me? I shall have them placed in some water for you.”

Ever since suitors had started to arrive, Seraphina noted a vast change in her mother. She had gone from aggressively overbearing to loving and supportive- if not still very involved. With the arrival of every new suitor, the monster she feared her mother to be faded a little more. She couldn’t believe it- Rose’s plan had worked!

“Thank you, Mama,” Seraphina replied, giving the flowers to her.

“May I ask what you mean, Lord Carrigan?” She asked, turning her attention to her new suitor.

The handsome young Viscount gave her an apologetic look.

“We nobles sometimes get bored, I think, with the humdrum of London’s society. Rumors fuel our interest and give us something to talk about other than ourselves. I am ashamed to say that we made you a target.”

Seraphina’s brows rose up in surprise. Several eligible gentleman of thetonhad visited her ever since Tristan’s dinner a couple of days ago, and while a few had also offered some sort of apology, none had been so eloquent or honest.

“Well…I certainly thank you for your candor, Lord Carrigan,” she replied, reaching for a stray curl to twirl nervously on her finger. “What, pray tell, changed your mind about me?”