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“I am glad, Your Grace.” Lily smiled. “Oh, you two make a fine couple.”

She smiled sweetly, and for a moment, Eveline could see tears well up in her dear friend’s eyes before she quickly blinked them away.

“Thank you.”

“Why don’t you both join me?” Lily suggested. “I invited a few ladies to a picnic, but they seem to be running late. If you ask me, I would say they probably would not make it. What do you say we turn this into a picnic for us three instead?”

Eveline looked at her husband. She wanted to say yes, but it would be purely for selfish reasons, especially as she had not spoken to her friend in a rather long while. On the other hand, she was not quite sure if her husband would enjoy the experience.

“Lily, I am not so certain?—”

“Why, we would be happy to join you,” William said cheerily.

Eveline gaped at him in shock.

“You sure are full of surprises,” she whispered to him as they made their way to Lily’s picnic.

First, he had eagerly conversed with her sisters, and now he cheerily accepted Lily’s invitation.

“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine,” he simply whispered back.

“Evie, no other wedding has caused as much uproar as yours had since the Prince took a wife,” Lily said as she carefully put grapes on plates.

Eveline gasped dramatically as she clutched her pearls. “Is that so?”

William enjoyed this, seeing his wife interact with other people. He loved to see how she acted around her sister and her friends.

“It was in the newspaper,” Lily continued. “Would you believe that, Your Grace?”

William recognized her attempt to bring him into the conversation. Therefore, he knew he must react appropriately.

“I cannot believe it!” he responded dramatically.

“Have they run out of events to report?” Eveline asked.

“Now I am curious. What was the headline?” William asked.

“Rich Eligible Duke wed Spinster in her Third Season!”

“How could they?” Eveline gasped, looking at him.

William could not help but burst into laughter.

“The headline is rather dramatic, is it not?” he remarked. “It was a simple wedding, after all.”

“Why would they call me a Spinster in her Third Season?” Eveline asked.

“They would do anything to sell copies, would they not?” Lily scoffed.

“At least they called my husband rich.” Eveline shrugged.

“They must have access to my bank accounts to have made such a declaration,” William said

They all laughed.

“The headline could not have sounded worse if it had been written by Lady Sarah,” Lily snorted.

“Now that you mentioned Lady Sarah, I must tell you. I ran into her at the modiste’s,” Eveline said eagerly.