leaving his mother, but I wasn’t taking any chances. “It’s good to see you, Daniel,” I said when we were safely in the conservatory. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too,” he said, looking down at me fondly. “I’m itching to show you the improvements I’ve made across the street. You haven’t seen them yet, have you?”
Now I was in a quandary. I didn’t want to tell an outright lie to him, but I realized that he would probably have wanted to do the grand unveiling himself. “I just peeked inside,” I said, “in case you were there.”
“And what did you think?”
“From what I saw it looked wonderful, Daniel. Like a brand spanking new house. So elegant. You’ve worked a miracle.”
He smiled and I saw the tension lines leave his face. “I’m rather satisfied with it myself. Shall I give you the grand tour now then?”
“Why not?” I beamed up at him. “I can’t wait.”
“What about your friends and the little gathering?”
“They can do without me for a while. I’d rather be with you,” I said. I poked my head back out of the door. “Daniel is going to give me a tour of his improvements across the street.” I gave Sid and Gus a long, knowing look. Luckily they were both quick on the uptake and said nothing.
I slipped my arm through Daniel’s as we emerged onto Patchin Place.
“It was good of those ladies to give you a nice little party,” he said. “Those women are presumably their friends. I don’t recognize any of them.”
I realized then that he thought that this small gathering was the party.
“Oh, no,” I said. “This is just some of Sid and Gus’s friends stopping by. I came down to help with the planning for the real event.”
“A fancy affair then, is it?”
“Who knows, with Sid and Gus.” I smiled at him. “You’re welcome to come, of course, but it will be with their more bohemian friends—ones we couldn’t invite to the wedding itself.”
He sighed. “I have no time for parties at the moment in any case. I’m on the job day and night.”
“A big case, is it?”
He nodded. “And one I’d rather not have taken on. But the order came from high up and I couldn’t refuse.”
“And I don’t suppose you can tell me any more about it?”
“You know I can’t, but it’s probably one of the most difficult things I’ve been asked to do. So forgive me if I haven’t been the most attentive bridegroom.”
“So what brought you here tonight?” I asked. “You haven’t taken to secretly visiting my friends, have you?”
He laughed. “Hardly. I wanted to know if there had been a delivery for the house today. I gave their address. It’s the last of the curtains.”
He fished for his key outside our front door, then opened it with a flourish. “I shouldn’t carry you over the threshold this time. It would be bad luck,” he said. “After you, ma’am.”
I was proud of my acting ability. I was suitably awed and excited by everything he showed me, especially the bed. “That’s some handsome bedroom we’ve got there, Daniel,” I said.
He slipped his arms around my waist. “Are you as impatient as I am to be making use of it?”
“You know I am.”
He kissed me. It felt wonderful, but as I melted into his arms I felt a shiver of guilt that I was deceiving him by taking on this case. Maybe it was a good thing that I hadn’t succeeded completely. A couple can’t start off life together with deception.
“So how are the preparations progressing at my mother’s house?” he asked.
“She has everything under control,” I said. “The invitations have been sent, the menu for the wedding breakfast planned, and she is sewing my wedding dress as we speak.”
“Splendid. So you’re getting along well, are you?”
“She’s being kind,” I said diplomatically, “and very patient. My sewing skills are sadly lacking and she’s had to take over the brunt of the work.”
“She won’t mind that.” His arm was still around my waist as we came down the stairs together. “She needs something to keep her occupied. She still misses my father terribly. Maybe one day we can find a bigger house and she can join us.”
I tried not to let my alarm show. “One day,” I said. “I think it’s important to start our marriage on our own, don’t you?”
“Oh, absolutely,” he said.
“And we will go and visit her regularly,” I went on.
We reached the street. “So you’ll be going back to her later this week?”
“After the party,” I said. “I have to do a little shopping for my trousseau. My attempts at undergarments have turned out rather disastrously.”
He actually laughed at this. “I can imagine. How fortunate that we live in a big city, isn’t it?”
