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“Oh, that is awful.”

“It got even worse when I danced with a bachelor she was interested in,” she continued.

“She was, most certainly, jealous of you,” William declared.

“Is that so?” Eveline had never imagined that Lady Sarah, as lovely as she was, could possibly be jealous of her. “After mydance with Lord Salsbury, she took it a step further by pointing out the… the flaws in my body.”

“Flaws?” William seemed to be genuinely confused. “What flaws could anyone possibly see in one as perfect as you?”

“You really do not see it?” Eveline asked, surprised. “I have a voluptuous figure.”

“And that is one of the most endearing and tempting things about you,” William declared. “Therefore, how could that be a flaw?”

“You really mean that?” she asked.

“How could you doubt that, when you know just how much I have to restrain myself around you,” William said, his eyes raking over her body above her flimsy nightgown, which did nothing to hide her figure.

Eveline swallowed hard as her body heated up under his scrutiny. He did not even have to touch her to have such an effect on her.

“You are the only one who has made me believe that my body is beautiful. Therefore, it was easy for me to believe Lady Sarah’s words when no one else seemed to find me attractive and my body was constantly the object of ridicule. Shall I even mention the fact that the girls who are considered pretty and the Diamonds of the Seasons look nothing like me?”

“I suppose everybody else is blind, then,” William declared. “After all, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever known. When you are in the room, other ladies pale in comparison to you.”

Eveline could not help but blush. “I know that now because you have said it in words, and you have shown me with your actions.”

“You have yet to tell me what occurred at the modiste’s,” William reminded her.

“You are right.” She had momentarily forgotten. “Now, Miss Fran had gotten me into her cabin when Lady Sarah entered the shop and began to cause a ruckus.”

“I suppose they were not there to further bully you?” William asked. “Because if that is the case, then I shall…”

Eveline was amused by how strongly he felt about the whole situation.

“I assure you,” she replied, “it had nothing to do with me. Her victim this time was Miss Fran. She wanted Miss Fran to attend to herat that very moment.She did not listen even when Miss Fran’s apprentices told her that she was busy with another client. Instead, Lady Sarah was shouting the roof down about how the other client could not possibly be more important than her.”

“She’s an arrogant one, isn’t she?”

The further Eveline relayed what happened, the more incensed William seemed to get.

“Then she took it a step further by threatening to spread a rumor that would ruin Miss Fran’s business so that no one would want to buy dresses from her.”

William’s mouth fell open. “This Lady Sarah is the foulest human who has ever walked the earth.”

“It was then that I finally stepped out of the cabin to stop her. After all, I could not let someone so cruel ruin the business that sweet Miss Fran had been running foryears.”

“I certainly hope you put her in her place.”

“Oh, dear husband, I sure did. I let her know that threatening to spread lies about an innocent person was defamation, and as an esteemed member of the ton, I am expected to report crimes when I see them happen. I further reminded her that if she as much as breathed those lies about Miss Fran, she would have the Duchess of Mayfield to contend with.”

“I am certain that silenced her for good,” William said triumphantly.

“It sure did. She was far too shocked to say a word, and I must say that being able to flaunt my wedding band in her face when she had none was quite fulfilling.”

“She must have been shocked.”

“Oh, trust me, she was. She stumbled over her words and could not even meet my eyes. She was thoroughly ashamed of her actions.”

A yawn escaped Eveline’s mouth at that moment, and she realized just how tired she was.