Molly knew exactly what Joan meant. Lumley had such a big heart.
“But he is more like a brother to me now,” Joan went on. “And I say that as the highest compliment.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “He’s providing me with sufficient funds to move north and be with my son and my sister. And then he’s sending my son to a good school not far away from home.”
There were gasps along the log, and happy tears were shed by all for some few minutes.
“And you, Hildur?” Molly eventually asked. “What will you do if Captain Arrow must marry?”
“I go where it’s
“You mean you’ll find a pirate protector on an island somewhere?” asked Bunny.
“No,” said Hildur, pointing to her chest. “
“Arrow told her he’d arrange her passage,” Athena said, rolling her eyes.
Molly grinned. She could actually imagine Hildur as a female pirate!
“What are your plans, Delilah, if Lord Harry must get legshackled?” Joan asked. “Will you stay with him? When you performed tonight”—she hesitated—“it seemed as if you would be truly pained to be parted from him.”
Molly looked around at the other mistresses. She’d been kidding herself, hadn’t she? She’d tried so hard not to care about Harry beyond their friendship and kisses and jokes, but she loved him.
She loved him, and she wanted to be more than his mistress.
She did!
She wanted to be his
She sighed. “I believe Harry, once settled into marriage, won’t be the type of man to seek out a mistress. He would devote himself to his wife, whoever she is.”
Whoever is lucky enough to win him, she thought.
There was a long silence.
“For Impossible Bachelors, this group is certainly more serious-minded than anyone thought, aren’t they?” Joan said.
“Except for Sir Richard, of course,” Bunny interjected.
“Yes,” said Athena. “Except for him, they’re all good men.” She put her hand over Molly’s. “If Lord Harry decides to have both wife
Molly shook her head.
And then she had to shut her eyes. She felt that hot sand welling behind them that signaled tears about to flow. She squeezed her eyes shut harder, but one, lone tear escaped.
There was a painful silence.
“You
Molly nodded, still unable to speak.
There were many sighs from the other mistresses.
“I understand why you wouldn’t want to share the man you love with another woman,” said Athena gently. “But sometimes it’s the only way.”
“That’s the lot of the mistress,” Joan reminded her.
Molly blew out a shaky breath. “I can’t do that,” she said. “I would rather be…
And now she realized that she would. She couldn’t be Harry’s mistress. Not when he was a bachelor
Hildur patted her shoulder. “Start over.”
“In a new life,” said Bunny.
Or in her old one, Molly thought. Could she pick up where she’d left off? Could she go back to being the person she was before she’d taken off with Cedric on their ill-fated elopement?
She wasn’t sure she could. She would have to take each day as it came. At least for now.
Athena stared at her, a thoughtful crease on her brow. “You’re the only one of us here who really has a stake in this competition,” she said. “If you won, it would mean another year of freedom for Lord Harry. A year he could spend with you.”
Molly wished she could tell them that tonight, no matter what, was her last night with Harry. Because if she won, he was obligated to help her find a husband. And he’d made no promises to her that he’d be anything but his old, dissolute self, biding his time until he had to marry Anne Riordan.
But she couldn’t tell her new friends. She’d promised Harry she would play the role of his mistress.
And she must play it to the end of the competition.
Would the other mistresses hate her if they found out her true identity was not that of a mistress at all? She hoped not, but she wouldn’t blame them if they did.
“I want you to know,” she said carefully, “your friendship has meant the world to me this week. The absolute world. I was so scared. And—and you made me feel at home.”
Hildur wiped at her eyes. “I don’t know what you say, but it’s sad.”
Molly patted her hand. “Whatever happens, I hope you know that I care for you all. Very much.”
“And we, you, Delilah,” said Bunny.
“It’s time, ladies!” Harry’s voice rang out.
The women exchanged hugs and best wishes.
And for the last time, they journeyed to the curtain.
Chapter 39
Once at the curtain, Molly noticed right away that the men had moved back far enough from the torches so their faces were in shadows.
“Ladies,” she heard Harry say, “you’ve all done marvelously well this week. We wish all of you could win the title of Most Delectable Companion.”
Lumley clapped and hooted.
“But we must choose only one winner,” Harry went on. “We’ve tallied the votes, double-checked our figures, and now are proud to announce…”
Molly felt as if time slowed down then, even though Lumley slapped his thighs in a rapid tattoo, in imitation of a drum roll.
“The winner of the Most Delectable Companion title is—” Harry paused.
Molly clutched hands with Bunny and Athena.
Molly blinked. It didn’t seem possible!
The other mistresses hugged her and congratulated her. But it was as if she were in a dream. She felt the same way when the men came forward. All of them wished her many happy returns, except Sir Richard, who stood alone, his lip curled.
Harry had a pleasant smile on his face but his gaze was carefully neutral. She supposed as host he didn’t want to go overboard showing his joy at being the lucky bachelor whose name didn’t have to go into the hat. That wouldn’t have been sporting of him.
But she knew, however much she pretended not to care, that he must be thrilled to have another year of freedom. He despised the parson’s mousetrap. He’d made that clear in his words and actions for years.
He held out the sparkling tiara. It was beautiful, Molly, thought, but it was made of worthless paste.
It was a sham.
Like her.
Like her week with Harry had been.
“Congratulations, Delilah,” he said, rather formally.
“Thank you,” she responded in kind.
And he kissed her cheek. It was a polite kiss, nothing more, signifying no connection between them beyond their obligations to each other as coconspirators in a fraudulent endeavor.
