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“ D o we really get new gowns?” Prudence asked, dancing along the path as they strolled through town. “All of us? Not just you, Arabella?”

“William said I was to see to it that you all had something new to wear—including you, Mother,” Arabella replied.

Given her choice, she would not have included her mother in the shopping expedition, but William had been firm about it—there were to be new things for all three of them.

She could hardly refuse him since he was the one paying for it all.

“But we must take care in our choices today. We cannot take advantage of his generosity toward us.”

“Oh, Arabella, don’t be so silly,” her mother said firmly. “The Duke can afford any number of ball gowns, and he can surely afford to have us in the finest garments available. Remember, this might be your sisters’ only chance to have something new. Of course, we ought to make the most of it.”

“I don’t need anything too elaborate,” said Caroline. She was bouncing up and down on her toes. “I’m just so happy to have something new! Do you think—could it be blue, Arabella? Do you think that would be all right? With lace?”

These were such simple requests that Arabella couldn’t help smiling. “I think that sounds lovely,” she told her sister. “I’m sure we can find something for you that fits that description. And what would you like, Prudence?”

“Oh, I’d love a rose-colored gown,” Prudence said dreamily. “Something with a very full skirt so that when I twirl, it fans out and makes me look beautiful.”

“You always look beautiful.” Arabella smiled at her. “We’ll look for something like that, though.”

“Gloves first, I think,” their mother suggested, leading them toward the shop. “None of us have had any new gloves in years.”

Arabella frowned. “William didn’t say anything about gloves.

” She found herself thinking about the ledgers she had seen, about the irresponsible spending.

This was how that sort of thing must happen.

People who had too much money would naturally find themselves throwing it around, buying things they didn’t really need.

She would never have allowed the purchase of four pairs of gloves before she had married when they had been getting by on her father’s meager income.

It would have been mad to even consider such a thing.

She knew this was a purchase that wouldn’t make a dent in the amount of money the Duke had to offer of course. He wouldn’t ever miss it. But even so… how was she supposed to simply accept that everything was different now and that money did not mean what it always had?

Her family had moved ahead. They were opening the door, going into the shop.

Arabella hurried to catch up, knowing that there was nothing to be gained by letting them go in without her.

They were doing their shopping today, not with any coin, but with the Duke’s name—he would be sent the bills for whatever purchases they made.

That meant that her mother and her sisters would have every freedom to simply give that name and lay claim to anything they wanted.

They could each come out of that shop with ten pairs of gloves unless Arabella was there to put a stop to it.

She hurried into the store after them and saw that they had already begun to peruse the available gloves. Prudence was staring at a pure white pair that were so impractical Arabella would never have allowed her to even look in their direction before her marriage to the Duke.

Now, she felt torn. It was impossible to watch her sister gazing covetously at those gloves and not want to give them to her. Prudence had never had anything so fine in her life. And they did have the money.

Arabella sighed and went over. “You’d like to have these?”

“Oh—but they’re the best ones in the shop,” Prudence said. “I know I can’t have these ones. I was just… just looking.”

She forced herself to turn away. Arabella could see what an effort it was for her.

“You can have them,” she said.

Prudence looked at her, eyes wide. “Truly? You’ll let me have them?”

“This will be your only pair, though,” Arabella said firmly. “You’re not to go asking me for every pair of gloves in the shop. And they’re only for very fine events, do you understand? Not for every day. You must do what you can to keep them nice and make them last.”

“Oh, I will!” Prudence agreed. “The Duke is so generous! I just can’t believe it!”

The idea of credit for this being given to William chafed at Arabella since she was the one who had made the choice to allow her sister the gloves.

Surely, she was the one who was being generous here?

All right, it was William’s money that was paying for everything, but William was such a free spender that this hardly counted as generosity as far as Arabella was concerned.

How could it? He hadn’t put any thought into what her family needed.

He had just sent them into town with the very loose instructions to buy whatever they wanted.

It wasn’t generous to spend money when money meant nothing at all to him.

There was a part of Arabella that would have liked to spend far too much today, to shower her family with expensive things, and to let her husband be shocked by the bills when he received them.

But how much would it take to shock him?

She wasn’t sure anything could do it, and there was no point in throwing money away in service of a futile aim.

Caroline had selected a more practical pair of gloves, one that would be appropriate for everyday wear. “You ought to have these ones,” she said, pointing Arabella toward a lacy pair in pale pink. “They look like they belong on the hands of a duchess.”

“I don’t need new gloves,” Arabella replied.

“Don’t be silly,” her mother told her, approaching from behind.

“Of course, you should have new gloves, Arabella, just like the rest of us. What do you think your husband would say if you came home without anything new after he so kindly sent us all out to buy things together?” She put a hand on Arabella’s shoulder.

“You should get these ones. Your sister is right. They’re beautiful and suitable for a duchess—which is what you are! ”

From the other side of the shop, Arabella heard the sound of giggling.

She turned toward it. Miss Alexandra, daughter of the Viscount Cunningham, had just walked in the door.

Arabella had never liked Miss Alexandra.

It went back to their youth, before her father had gained his title.

She had seen Miss Alexandra around town in those days, always walking with her nose in the air, ignoring everyone she considered to be beneath her.

Most members of the ton could at least find a smile for common folk, but Miss Alexandra had never lowered herself to look in their direction.

After Arabella’s family had joined society, there had been a number of reactions.

While some people had been welcoming, it was true that they had been widely disdained because of their financial difficulties.

But Miss Alexandra had been among the worst, never hesitating to laugh directly in their faces at society events, mocking the things they wore, gathering groups of friends to gossip about them and laugh at them.

Just the sight of her made Arabella’s skin crawl.

She wanted nothing to do with Miss Alexandra, but she could see that the feeling wasn’t mutual.

Miss Alexandra’s eyes kept darting to her and then away, as if she felt she wasn’t supposed to be looking in this direction but had decided to do so anyway.

“What is she looking at?” Caroline asked.

Caroline and Miss Alexandra were the same age, making them rivals in the marriage mart this season.

It occurred to Arabella that Miss Alexandra would never have considered Caroline a serious rival until now.

Perhaps she sought to undermine her. That knowledge lent her some strength, because of course Miss Alexandra should be worried about Caroline as competition for the most eligible gentlemen.

That had always been true. Caroline was so beautiful and so kind that it was foolish to ignore her.

And now that she would be dressed her best, in the latest fashions, she would catch the eye of many gentlemen.

So what difference did it make if Miss Alexandra wanted to snicker at them?

Arabella lifted her chin and allowed her voice to carry.

“I think perhaps she’s admiring your hairstyle, Caroline,” she observed.

“You look particularly lovely today. You look like the sister of a duchess.” She touched Caroline’s cheek.

It felt odd to boast about her new title, but truly, if there was any good reason to do so, this was it.

Smiling in an unpleasant way that didn’t reach her eyes, Miss Alexandra detached herself from the group around her and walked over to Arabella.

“Miss Arabella,” she said, pursing her lips. “How good to see you.”

“The correct form of address is Your Grace now,” Arabella said, with a smile that she hoped appeared to be genuine. Although she did want to put a stop to the way Miss Alexandra was standing in the corner, snickering, she didn’t want an argument.

“Ah, yes,” Miss Alexandra said. “You are married to the Duke of Redmayne.”

“That’s right.”

“He hasn’t tired of you yet?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Well, it’s just that everyone knows he only married you because he felt trapped,” Miss Alexandra pointed out.

“Personally, I’d be far too ashamed to entrap a good gentleman like you did.

But then, I have prospects. I’ll be able to find a husband on my own without resorting to such uncouth measures.

I suppose you felt desperate, and that’s why you needed to stoop so low.

I would be humiliated. I wouldn’t want to show my face in public if I had done what you did.

But then, I suppose you’re used to a bit of humiliation, given the gowns you’ve been going out in public wearing for years now.

This is probably just the next rung on that ladder, right? ”

Arabella felt her cheeks flush which was maddening. She didn’t want Miss Alexandra to know that her words had hit their mark, but they had of course. She wasn’t humiliated by her marriage to the Duke, but it mortified her to know that these were the things that were being said.

Still, she kept her chin up. “It’s not as upsetting as you might think, being a duchess,” she said pointedly. “In fact, it’s rather rewarding.”

“Yes, you’ve been rewarded for your bad behavior,” Miss Alexandra agreed.

“We all know that. Personally, I pity the Duke. He could have had anyone he wanted, but you saw to it that that opportunity was ripped from him. You must be very proud of yourself. As I said, I would feel shame, not pride. But you and I are different, I suppose. Then again, we always have been.”

With a last malicious smile, she turned and walked away, leaving Arabella’s stomach churning.

This was what people thought about her? This was what they were going to say? That she had trapped the Duke in a marriage he didn’t want? That wasn’t the truth. He hadn’t had to propose to her. He was the one who had made the choice.

She wondered if he had heard these rumors. If he had, he clearly wasn’t doing anything to discourage them.

She turned to her sisters. “Why don’t we each get two pairs of gloves?

” she decided. “One for parties, and one for every day. And then we’ll move on to gowns.

” Her hesitation to purchase anything had vanished, and now all she felt was the urge to lavish the benefits of her new position in society upon her family.

She would not allow Miss Alexandra to outshine Caroline this season.