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“ W ho is it that’s hosting this garden party?” Caroline fretted.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” William told her. “The hosts are my friends Lavinia and Seth—the Duke and Duchess of Loxburgh. Lavinia is the younger sister of my very good friend Matthew.”

“And Matthew is married to Victoria’s sister?” Arabella checked. William had given her all the details of the familial connections they would encounter today over dinner last night, but it was such an intricate web that she was having trouble keeping it straight.

“That’s right,” William said. “And the other guests in attendance will be the Duke and Duchess of Harbeck—that’s Matthew’s other sister, Edwina, and her husband, Allan. It won’t be a large party, and everyone there will be friends.”

“But we’re the only ones not related,” Caroline pointed out. “We won’t fit in at all.”

“We’ll be fine,” William assured her. “I’ve attended this party every year since Lavinia and Seth began hosting it. Their children call me Uncle William . I might as well be family for all anybody cares. And now that Arabella is my wife, you and she are part of this family as well.”

Caroline didn’t look particularly reassured.

She was a nervous one, William realized. Much more so than Arabella, who had always had a sort of confidence about her. And in the presence of her sister, Arabella was even more confident, as though she registered that Caroline needed her strength.

She was standing behind Caroline now, adjusting the hem of her skirt.

“You look beautiful,” she assured her sister.

“Everyone is going to love you. And once you get to know all these important and influential people, you know, it will be that much easier to find a suitable gentleman for you to marry.”

“Yes, I know,” Caroline agreed. “I know it’s important. That’s why I agreed to it. I just can’t help feeling nervous. What if they don’t like me?”

“Don’t worry about whether they’ll like you,” Arabella told her sister firmly as they climbed into the carriage and took their seats. “You can’t control what other people think. Worry about whether you will like them .”

“That isn’t what Mother and Father would say. They would say it’s my job to show myself off to my best advantage so that people will like me.”

“Well, since you know what Mother and Father would say, you don’t need to hear it from me.” Arabella smiled as the carriage began to roll. “Try not to worry, Caroline. We’re going to have a wonderful time.”

The journey to Loxburgh passed peacefully enough.

William noticed that Caroline continued to fret, but every time she showed signs of being worried, Arabella spoke up quickly to ease her fears.

Sometimes she addressed them directly, talking through what they could expect at the garden party.

Other times, she did what she could to distract Caroline from her thoughts.

“Your gown is lovely on you,” she said as they approached Loxburgh.

“Yes—it’s very nice,” Caroline murmured. “I haven’t thanked you properly, Your Grace.”

“Oh, Caroline, please. You and I are family now,” William reminded her. “You can call me by my name. I wish you would.”

Caroline looked to her sister, who nodded.

“Very well,” she agreed. “William, then. Thank you so much for the gown. It’s the nicest one I’ve ever owned.”

“It’s my pleasure,” William said.

“It really is,” Arabella told Caroline. “He’s overly generous. He loves to give gifts. You’ve done him a favor by accepting.”

“That’s true,” William agreed. Even though it made perfect sense that she had put together this fact about him, given everything the two of them had been through, it surprised and gratified him to hear her say it.

The carriage pulled to a stop. Caroline took a deep breath.

“Just be your charming self,” Arabella told her with a smile. “This will be lovely.”

They were helped down from the carriage by one of Seth’s valets and directed around to the lawn where the party had already begun. William took each of the ladies by one arm and offered Caroline an encouraging smile, which she returned somewhat shakily.

“William!” Edwina came running over, flushed with excitement. “We’re about to start a game of Pall Mall—you’re just in time. Oh, we haven’t seen you since the day of your wedding. I’m ever so excited that you’re here.”

She turned to Arabella. “And it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to get to know you, Your Grace,” she added. “Victoria has just been singing your praises from the moment she arrived—but may I call you by your name? I would so like us to be friends.”

“Of course.” Arabella smiled. “And this is my sister, Miss Caroline.”

“Oh Miss Caroline—yes, I was told you would be joining us,” Edwina enthused. “You know, my husband, Allan, brought along a cousin of his. I’d love to introduce you.”

“What?” Arabella stiffened. “What is this?”

“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about!” Edwina said. “We just thought she would want to have a partner for the games, that’s all—would you like to meet Jeffrey, Miss Caroline?”

“I’d be happy to meet him,” Caroline said. She looked more invigorated than she had all day so far. “And you may call me Caroline, Your Grace.”

“Please. Edwina. Come along, I’ll introduce you to everyone!” She took Caroline’s arm and whisked her away, leaving Arabella and William behind.

Arabella’s jaw hung open. It seemed to take her a moment to realize the reaction she’d had, whereupon she closed her mouth and looked up at William. “Did you know about this?”

“I didn’t. But I’m not surprised,” William admitted. “This is exactly who Edwina is. Always making decisions without asking anyone else.”

“You might have warned me!”

“Oh, warned you of what? She’s only brought along a cousin to spend time with your sister.”

“I know nothing about this Jeffrey . Do you?”

“Well, no, I’ve never heard of him before,” William admitted.

“So how do you know he’s fit company for my sister?”

“If he isn’t, then we’ll separate the two of them. But it isn’t as though they’re going off alone into the woods together, Arabella. They’re going to play Pall Mall with my good friends. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

“I can’t believe I’ve let her out of my sight, even for this long,” Arabella fretted. “You know, this is exactly how I ended up with you.”

He studied her. “And was that so terrible?”

“Oh, of course, it wasn’t; you know that’s not what I mean.” A very attractive blush stained her cheeks, and William suppressed a smile. He didn’t think he would ever tire of teasing her, not when she always responded in such fetching ways. “But I can’t be certain that Jeffrey is like you.”

“Well, I’m sure nothing untoward is going to happen while they are surrounded by friends, Arabella. You and I ended up where we are because we weren’t in the company of chaperones if you’ll recall. That isn’t the case here.”

“Oh, I suppose you’re right.” Arabella sighed. “I’m just not used to having her out of my sight, that’s all. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Well, there’s a very easy solution to that ,” William said, smiling. “Let us go and find her.”

Arabella laughed. “I’m being silly, aren’t I?”

“A bit silly.” He was careful to inject fondness into his tone.

“I wasn’t expecting this from you. I thought she was the one who was going to have a difficult time.

I thought she would be clinging to your side the whole time we were here.

But instead, she’s off to the races, enjoying herself as thoroughly as if she had known these people all her life, and you’re the one who’s stuck here over worrying about things that shouldn’t be nearly as concerning to you as they seem to be. ”

“You can’t understand this,” Arabella told him.

“You haven’t got younger siblings of your own to worry about, so you don’t know what it’s like to spend all your time and energy worrying over someone else’s well-being.

You don’t understand the way it can feel as though your heart is living outside your own body.

I would rather something happened to me than to one of my sisters. ”

“That I can believe,” he told her. “You’re much more bold when it comes to potential risks to your own well-being.”

“Is that right?”

“Well, sneaking into that library to mend your gown the night we met—I mean, what would you have said if Caroline had told you she was going to do that?”

He didn’t really need to hear the answer—he was already certain. And sure enough, Arabella shuddered. “I would never have allowed her to go,” she said. “I wouldn’t have tolerated it. The suggestion of it would have been enough to compel me to take her straight home.”

“You see? Of course, you would have done that. But with yourself, you were willing to take more risks. I don’t know if it’s because you care for yourself less or because you trust yourself more… I suppose it’s probably a combination of the two.”

“You seem like you’ve given this a lot of thought,” Arabella commented.

“Well, some thought.” It was time to get away from that topic, he decided. He wasn’t ready to let Arabella see just how much time he spent thinking about her. “Look, here’s the Pall Mall game. And that young fellow must be Jeffrey as he’s the only one I don’t know.”

The stranger was young, probably near Caroline’s own age, with a thatch of red hair and a broad smile. He looked completely harmless to William.

Perhaps Arabella was thinking the same thing. He saw her shoulders slump as the tension left her body. “I’ve been silly. I know I have. You can say it.”

“You haven’t been silly.” She raised her eyebrows at him. “Well, all right, perhaps you have, but it was only out of a desire to defend your sister. I call that a respectable reason for silliness.”

She smiled up at him.

If I live a hundred years, I don’t think I will ever stop being disarmed by that smile. The way it takes over her whole face. The way it seems to turn her into a completely different person. I don’t know how I lived so long without it. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to live without it again.

Maybe there was love in their future, or maybe there wasn’t—he couldn’t predict what would come for the two of them. But what he did know was that this captivating woman was his wife and always would be. He was going to get to share his life with her.

“Do you want to join the game?” he asked her.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t,” she said. “It looks as though Caroline is having fun. And as much as it goes against my instincts to say it, it might be the best thing for her if I step back and allow her to socialize without my guidance. It will let her develop the confidence to see that she doesn’t need me as much as we’ve both allowed ourselves to believe she does. ”

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” William said. “How would it be if you and I go for a walk together before lunch is served? I can take you through the garden. It really is wonderful to behold at this time of year, awash in flowers.”

Arabella smiled. “I’d very much like to see that.

So, William took her arm and led her away, and he was most impressed to notice that she didn’t look over her shoulder even once to see how Caroline was getting on.

She would make an excellent mother , he thought.

And though he tried to shake it off, that thought took up root in the back of his mind, and he knew it would remain with him for some time.