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“You’re assuming it’s a man.” Eleanor said.

“I bet it is. Only men are this stupid and this… covetous.”

“Nice word,” said Eleanor. “And if only it were so simple. Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens in business all the time. Elizabeth says that the letter stops short of actual bribery, it was written by a solicitor, after all. There’s really nothing we can do.”

Danni scoffed. “Business is stupid.”

Eleanor let out a short laugh, surprising herself. “Agreed. I’ll drink to that.” She looked around the kitchen, spotting a bottle of wine on the shelf by the stove. “Shall we have a glass?”

“It’s probably vinegar,” Danni said. “Hector gave it to me when I bought the farm.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Eleanor said, getting up and getting the bottle. “Corkscrew?”

Danni was one step ahead of her, opening a drawer and pulling out a corkscrew. “You let me know if this guy shows upin person at the house. I’ll come and throw him into the nearest cow pat.”

“Chivalrous,” Eleanor said, screwing the metal spring into the wine cork.

“I try,” said Danni.

Eleanor attempted to pull the cork out of the bottle and failed. Danni took a step toward her, reaching for the bottle so that their hands touched and Eleanor’s pulse raced. For a second, they stood there, then Danni slipped the bottle from Eleanor’s grasp.

“Chivalrous, remember?” she said, sliding the cork from the bottle with a satisfying pop.

“Right,” said Eleanor, mouth suddenly dry. She felt warmth creeping up her neck. She needed a change of subject, immediately.

Danni poured the wine into two coffee mugs before Eleanor could stop her, and passed one to Eleanor. “Here’s to wankers with money,” she said.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry,” Danni said. “I forgot that you probably know plenty of people like that. I meant more the wankers with money that want to steal our land.”

“I can drink to that,” Eleanor said, tapping her mug against Danni’s. She took a mouthful of the wine, which proved to be tart and good, better than she’d expected even.

“Eugh, it always tastes like bad grape juice, doesn’t it?” Danni complained, sticking her tongue out.

But Eleanor was rescued from having to start a lecture about wine tasting by her phone ringing. She’d found it that afternoon under a pile of papers on the kitchen table at the house. Now she answered it.

“You are coming to the Hunt Ball, aren’t you?” Isabella’s voice was crisp and clear over the line.

“Good evening, grandmama,” Eleanor said.

“You’re coming, yes? Only you forgot to RSVP.”

“The invitation is probably somewhere at the house,” Eleanorsaid. Her stomach was dropping. She’d forgotten about the damn thing.

“Oh, good, well then I’ll RSVP in your stead,” Isabella said airily. “You won’t want to miss it. And you’ll be bringing your wife, of course.”

Eleanor’s stomach dropped even further. Not only had she forgotten about the ball, she hadn’t even considered the fact that she might be expected to show up with her new wife in tow. “About that..” she began.

“Perfect,” purred Isabella. “I’ll RSVP for the both of you, then. This will be an excellent opportunity to show Danni off.”

Eleanor barely had time to process all of this before Isabella was bidding her goodnight and hanging up. She sighed and rubbed her temples before turning back to Danni.

“What was all that about?” Danni asked, her lips looked red and sticky from the wine. Inviting, was the first word that popped into Eleanor’s head.

“The Hunt Ball,” Eleanor said flatly. “It’s this weekend.” She cleared her throat. “We’re invited.”

Danni perked up. “A ball? Like in Bridgerton? Nice.”