Page 86 of His Illegitimate Duchess

“Sort of apologised,” Elizabeth echoed with a smile.

“As well as I know how,” he admitted, letting her see how vulnerable it felt.

“All right, thank you.” Lizzie decided to be gracious.

“He invited us to stay with them after our visit to Ashbury, what do you think?”

Elizabeth considered it for a while.

“I would love to spend some more time with Amelia, if you are certain it will be all right for everyone involved.”

“I’m certain. If it’s any comfort to you, I think Harding is rather happy with his wife.”

“Oh?” Lizzie’s ears perked up. “What makes you say that?”

“I recognise the signs,” Colin said with a mysterious smile and stood to leave.

He loves me. He loves me. He loves me, Elizabeth’s heart said with every beat as she walked him to the door.

“Shall I come to escort you down for dinner?” He offered, and she nodded shyly. “See you later, then.”

Elizabeth leaned her back against the closed door, her entire body warm and alive.

He loves me.

“Oooh, what are these?” Mary asked giddily when Lizzie handed her the open box.

“Colin got them for me in town,” she said, taking great care to appear unaffected.

“Mhm,” Mary hummed with her mouth full, then held up her palm.

When she was done eating, she told her, “Robert told me that the carriage drivers were complaining that the whole party had to wait for Talbot because he wanted to go to the shop, and that no other man had gone in to buy anything.”

“That does sound like him,” Elizabeth said with a wince.

“Hold on,” Mary said with a raised brow. “When he finally came out of the shop, he handed out generous vails to all the grooms, for their trouble.”

This knowledge was better than any box of sweets. Elizabeth smiled, and Mary squeezed her hand.

“What kind of hairstyle are we thinking tonight?” She asked.

Upon seeing Colin’s appreciative look when she came out into the hallway to meet him, Lizzie was glad that she had endured an entire hour of hot curling paper torture.

“You look wonderful,” he said earnestly, and she thanked him.

He offered her his left arm, and they walked down the stairs. The whole time, Elizabeth was careful not to lean on him too much, because she feared his balance was affected by having one arm in the sling.

Corporal Harding was the only one in the Blue Room when they entered, and he stood to greet them.

“Where is your wife?” Lizzie asked, not wanting to further hurt Amelia’s feelings by talking to the Corporal without her there.

“I believe she’s dressing for dinner,” he said with a small furrow of his brow, like he was uncertain why he was the one responsible for her whereabouts.

“Thank God we are not women. The stairs in this manor are rather tricky to navigate in these long gowns,” Talbot said nonchalantly.

“Excuse me,” the Corporal said and hastily left the room.

Talbot laughed to himself.

“Why do you not simply say what you mean or offer friendly advice?” Lizzie chided him.

“No man wants to be told how to treat his wife,” he said haughtily, like she was being the unreasonable one. “Besides, Harding already has everything he needs to be a decent husband; he merely needs a… gentle shove in the right direction.”

“And you making fun of female garments is the way to do it?”

“I think you know better than anyone what a deep appreciation I have for female garments,” he told her in a low voice as he stepped closer to her.

Lizzie felt her breasts tense and harden. They felt itchy, and she wanted to rub them against something.

“Your Grace,” an annoying voice came from the door, and Lizzie attempted to take a step back from Colin, but he grabbed her elbow to hold her in place.

“Good evening,” Lady Genevieve said as she stepped closer to them, accompanied by the Baron.

“Good evening,” Baron Waldegrave said as well.

The Talbots returned the greetings, and the foursome briefly discussed the day’s events and the weather as the other guests trickled into the room.

“I remember you never particularly liked the rain,” Lady Genevieve said in an attempt to both allude to intimate acquaintance and to hurt Lizzie at the same time.

“I rather like the rain,” Colin said, arranging his face in innocent confusion. “Do you remember that summer shower in Norwich, when we hid in the gamekeeper’s cabin?” He asked Lizzie, turning his entire body to her and effectively shutting out everyone else.

Elizabeth blushed and glanced at his smiling mouth. Before she could respond, the dinner bell rang. Colin winked at her, and she shook her head in mock reproach.

At dinner, she was seated between Charlotte’s husband and Isabella, and across the table from them were Colin, Louisa, and the Baron.

“We plan on going shooting or hunting tomorrow,” Sinclair announced to Elizabeth, and she realised that that was all she’d ever really heard him talk about.

“How shall you decide?” she asked half-heartedly.

“Well, based on what the majority of my guests feel like. The season is great for both, we can either shoot ducks and geese, or hunt hind, we can even go hare-coursing!”

“I do love a roasted hare,” Lizzie said with a small smile.

“I don’t think the weather will be too good for any of those activities,” Lady Isabella said, seeming uncharacteristically uneasy.

“Don’t you worry about that, Lady Isabella, we can handle it,” Sinclair said jovially, but she pursed her lips together in displeasure.

“Why don’t we plan an excursion for tomorrow?” Isabella proposed in a loud, overly cheerful voice.

“Wonderful idea, you ladies can go do that,” Sinclair said and went back to eating.

Elizabeth had no idea why Isabella was so worried.

The men would not go shoot in dangerous weather, would they?

She looked across the table at Colin, who seemed to be amusing himself by observing Waldegrave and Lady Louisa.

The young woman blossomed under the Baron’s attention, and Elizabeth felt great joy on her behalf.

Colin wouldn’t go hunting anyway, she concluded. Not with his arm. I am not worried.

When the women retreated to the Blue Room after dinner, Isabella started pacing impatiently.

“You need to talk to your husband,” she told Charlotte rather harshly.

Charlotte frowned. “About what?”

“Tell him not to go hunting tomorrow.”

Charlotte raised her eyebrows. “Pardon?”

“I know Sinclair, he always does this,” Isabella continued, like Charlotte wasn’t even there. “He makes these plans with his friends, thinks it will be a pleasant time, and never considers the risk.”

“What risks, Bella?” Lady Louisa asked gently, and that seemed to snap Isabella out of her fit.

She deflated and sat down in one of the many blue chairs. “I have such a bad feeling about tomorrow, like something tragic is going to happen. An injury or an accident. The weather is so foggy and misty and gloomy and… I just don’t want your brother to go.”

“All right,” Louisa said soothingly. “Let’s think of something.”

Lady Isabella exhaled in relief.

“Perhaps a prank might keep the men home?” Amelia, who was used to contriving plots, suggested.

Isabella’s eyes lit up. “Yes! How did I not think of that? Amelia, you clever creature, I want to give you a kiss right now! But what kind of prank? Shall we hide their weapons?”

“No,” Charlotte said pensively. “Ian has an arsenal, we’d never be able to hide all of them.”

“What if we have the servants hide all their boots?” Amelia suggested.

“Ladies, I think it is decided,” Isabella said, looking around the room with a smile.

“Won’t the servants get in trouble?” Lizzie wondered, and the room fell silent.

Lizzie felt like the odd man out for even thinking of it.

“Why don’t each of you hide your man’s boots?” Elinor suggested. “And the unmarried ones we’ll either leave alone, or we’ll try to get their things, won’t we?” She looked at Louisa and Lady Genevieve, who both nodded.

“Yes, yes,” Isabella said feverishly. “Miss Woodhouse, you can steal Pratt’s boots, and Lady Genevieve can take care of young Hawkins. Louisa, can you take the Baron’s boots?”

Louisa nodded bravely, even though she looked like she was going to faint.

“What about Stone?” Lizzie asked, but Isabella dismissed the question with a wave of her hand.

“If he wants to be the only one to go, let him!”

“We should leave a note,” Charlotte said with a smile. “To let them know it was a deliberate prank.”

Murmurs of agreement were heard.

“You’ve been tricked by the Secret Lady Society,” Amelia proposed just as they heard the men approach from the smoking room.

“Agreed, take care of it tonight,” Isabella hissed as the door opened.