“Who’s that?” her friend asked, following her line of sight. “The girl in pink, coming out of the barn with your brother?”
“That’s Jewel, Ford’s niece. Rowan and she have been friends forever.”
“What sort of friends? And what do you suppose they were doing alone together in a barn?”
“Goodness, they’re but children of ten! Your mind is too much on romance these days. Knowing those two, they were probably planning a practical joke.”
“In a barn?”
Lily laughed at the expression on her friend’s face. “I doubt there’s an inch of Trentingham that hasn’t seen one or another of their schemes. And Lakefield, too.”
Judith looked likely to say more, but the door popped open and her mother poked her head in. “Were you leaving without me, dear?”
“Of course not, Mama.” Judith scooted over to make room. “We just came inside to talk.”
A large, jolly woman, Lady Carrington wedged herself beside her daughter and tucked in her voluminous coral skirts. Before her footman could shut the door, Lily’s striped cat nimbly leapt inside.
Lady Carrington sneezed. “Shoo!” she exclaimed, waving an elegant hand at the creature.
“Beatrix,” Lily said softly, “you cannot ride in this carriage.”
The cat gave her a hurt look before hopping out.
“Much better,” Judith’s mother said as the door shut. She turned to Lily. “This afternoon, I’m hoping your father will advise me about flowers for Judith’s wedding.”
The Earl of Trentingham was nothing if not an expert on flowers. “I’m certain Father will fancy being consulted,” Lily assured her.
The carriage began moving at last. “I’ve my heart set on yellow flowers,” Lady Carrington told Lily, “because Judith looks best in yellow. But she wants to be married in blue. What color will you wear for your wedding?”
“Blue is nice,” Lily said with a vague smile.
She wasn’t ready to think about weddings, and most certainly not her own.
Rose was a year older—her wedding had to come first.
THREE
WHEN LILY entered Violet’s house, Rose motioned her into the drawing room.
She nodded toward where Rand stood in conversation. “He keeps looking over here, Lily. He’s spotted me.” Tall and willowy, Rose made a pretty picture against the drawing room’s soft turquoise walls—and well she knew it. She straightened one of her glistening chestnut curls and smoothed her deep-blue satin skirts. “He remembers me,” she added confidently.
“Of course he remembers you—the two of you worked together translating that old alchemy book.” Lily glanced in Rand’s direction—or at least she intended no more than a glance. But it turned into more of a stare.
Was this really who she’d been standing next to all morning?
He was so…well, she’d thought him handsome when they’d first met. But he’d changed so much in the four years since Violet’s wedding. Gone was the adolescent mustache. He’d grown taller, his physique lean and athletic. And his hair, a thousand mixed shades of blond and brown, was now longer than hers. She usually preferred young men with cropped hair rather than long, but on Rand, long looked glorious.
As though sensing Lily’s gaze, he turned his head while still talking. For a split second, his intense gray eyes blazed into hers.
Or she thought they had. She blinked, clearing her vision. Now Judith had her imagining things.
“I’ve been dreaming about this day for weeks,” Rose said, reclaiming her attention.
“The baptism?”
“No, you goose. Seeing Lord Randal again. Doesn’t he look fine? Thank heavens he got rid of that mustache—” She broke off, startled by the ear-piercing wail of an infant. Two infants.
The cries grew deafening as their eldest sister approached, a twin nestled in each arm. “Violet,” Lily called to her, “do you need—”
“Not at all,” Violet said calmly. “Just putting them down for a nap.” She whisked by with an air of efficiency and a nursemaid following in her wake.
“Poor Violet.” Rose shook her head. “What a handful the twins are.”
“They’ve had a lot of excitement today.”
“I suppose.” Rose frowned. “I hope twins don’t run in Lord Randal’s family.”
Lily looked up at her in surprise. “Do you mean to marry him, then?”
“Of course. Ever since I danced with him at Violet’s wedding, I’ve known we were meant to be.”
Lily remembered that Rand had danced with her, too, at their sister’s wedding. And then there was the fact that Rose lost her heart to every handsome male who crossed her path.
But Lily had to admit that Rand could be meant for Rose. Good looks aside, they were well suited—the son of a marquess with the daughter of an earl. Rose’s talent for languages would make her an especially fitting wife for an Oxford linguist. And Rand’s unfailing patience and courtesy would come in useful with a wife as forthright as Rose.
Lily touched her older sister’s hand. “I had no idea you’d been thinking about him all these years.”
“Dreaming,” Rose repeated on a sigh.
“Four years is a long time to dream.” Lily took another quick peek at him, then smiled. “I suppose he is the memorable sort.”
Rose cast her a sharp look. “You’re not interested in him yourself, are you?”
“Of course not!” First Judith, now Rose? Was something in the air today? “Whatever would make you think that?”
“You said he’s the memorable sort.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s my sort. He’s too tall for me.” Lily drew herself up to her full height of five-foot-two. She’d barely come level with his chin. “Besides, why would he settle for me when he could have you? You two have so much more in common.”
Glancing down at her, Rose snorted. “There’s no such thing as a man who’s too tall. Will you promise?”
“Promise what?”
“Promise me you won’t pursue him. Promise me you won’t get in my way.”
The entire idea was so absurd, Lily laughed. “I promise. In fact, I’ll do better than that. I’ll help you win him.”
“Would you?” Rose breathed.
“Of course. You’re my sister. I love you, and I want to see you happy.”
Rose’s dark eyes actually misted. “You’re too
