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Her face went from ghostly white with shock, to red with embarrassment, to an almost purple with rage.

She was magnificent.

She could do nothing but stutter half-sentences as he ushered her out into the night. She was still muttering unintelligible words when he closed the door.

This was going to be fun.

CHAPTER 5

“Jenny, would you like more tea?”

Nora’s maid stood beside where Jenny sat, holding the teapot expectantly.

Jenny shook her head. “No, thank you, Nora. I’ve had enough.”

“So, as I was saying, I heard that Lord Gloushire asked Anna Dennison to marry him.” Nora stirred her tea after adding a healthy amount of milk.

Sarah scrunched up her face. “Anna Dennison? The girl that never quite grew into her feet and is always tripping over them?”

Jenny chuckled at the image. Sarah was right, a baby deer walked better than Anna Dennison did at the age of three-and-twenty.

Nora nodded. “The very one.”

“Could you imagine if Lord Banefieled asked for her hand? The two of them wouldn’t make it anywhere—they’d be too busy tripping each other on their way out the door.”

Sarah and Nora burst into giggles.

“I heard you had the honor of dancing with him the other night.” Sarah eyed Jenny’s feet. “You seem to have recovered well.”

Jenny snickered. “Yes, it was touch and go for a while.”

“Wait.” Sarah sat up. “Wasn’t Lord Gloushire the one who asked for Frannie’s hand but she turned him down?”

Jenny nodded. “Yes, she turned him down to give my brother a chance to get his head on straight. And lucky for him, he did.”

The women all tittered at her response.

“And how is Frannie doing?” Sarah asked. “I miss seeing her during our weekly teas.”

Jenny chose her next words carefully. She didn’t want to come across as insensitive or selfish. “She is very busy with Simon—they both are. They dote on him hand over foot. It’s quite endearing, actually.”

The truth was that she missed the camaraderie she had with Frances from when they first moved here. Frances and Nora were the first ones who truly accepted her into Society. Now that Simon was here and Frannie was settling into the role of Duchess and motherhood, Jenny barely saw her.

“Still, it’s not like she’s the first one to give birth. I’m sure she could spare an afternoon for her friends,” Sarah huffed with a roll of her eyes.

Jenny cackled, while Nora, always the voice of reason, chastised her. “Sarah Hornsby! That was not a very nice thing to say. I shall remember that when it’s your time to juggle a family and a title.”

Sarah didn’t look one bit remorseful. “You do that. Frances was supposed to be the old spinster in the group. Since she’s off and married, I’ll take up the post. Feel free to chastise me about the amount of time I will spend with my cats.”

Nora narrowed her eyes at her friend. Sarah stuck her tongue out.

This is what Jenny missed with Frannie. She couldn’t help but laugh at the two grown women making faces at each other.

“I understand what you mean, Sarah,” Jenny said wistfully. “I miss her and I live with her.”

“What you two need is to find good matches, and then you’ll both be too occupied to be worried about what your friend is doing,” Nora chastised.

Sarah and Jenny looked at Nora and stuck their tongues out at her.