He didn’t bother to wait for an answer, and Delilah was left to face her friends.
Her very enthusiastic, much too curious friends.
When Miss Grayson gave her a kind smile, she knew there was nothing for it. She might have been able to ignore Louisa, and Addie…even Prudence who was no doubt miserable this evening.
Pru hated crowds and deplored dancing.
But Miss Grayson’s kindness was impossible to ignore. Only a beast would snub their teacher by walking past and pretending not to see them.
With a sigh she headed toward her friends who welcomed her warmly.
“At last!” Louisa exclaimed, as though Delilah had been lost at sea.
“We’ve missed you,” Addie said with a smile.
Prudence wore a scowl that Delilah knew well. Her friend tended to be sanctimonious and a bit of a mother hen, but when all was said and done, Prudence had a big heart. Perhaps too big. She worried far too much about those she loved, and Delilah—for reasons still unbeknownst to her—was on that list.
She gave Prudence what she hoped was a reassuring smile before turning to Miss Grayson. Always kind, forever graceful, Miss Grayson was that sad example of a lovely young lady who was bound to be a spinster because of reasons outside her purview. Miss Grayson’s smile was gentle and understanding. “You have been missed,” she said, her eyes warm with amusement as Louisa chose that moment to launch into a round of questions that would never be answered.
Addie stepped in once more to temper her friend’s loud questions about why she was marrying Lord Evil, and why she hadn’t been back to the house to see them.
“As you can see, we’ve been curious to hear the details of your engagement,” Addie said mildly.
Delilah rolled her eyes at the understatement just as the first notes of a waltz began to play.
“Were you kidnapped?” Louisa hissed in a loud whisper.
“What?” Delilah laughed. “Of course not, silly.” Her gaze never quite focused on any one of them as she looked around. “I have been busy, that’s all. Planning a wedding on such short notice has taken up all my time, I’m afraid.”
Her response was met by silence all around.
Luckily, Delilah was saved by two smitten gentlemen. Lord Tolston and Lord Tumberland joined their group to claim their fiancées for a dance. “We will be back,” Louisa said as her future husband dragged her away toward the dance floor.
Delilah watched with a jolt of disgust as the two couples went off with nauseatingly sweet smiles and soft laughter that spoke of private jokes and happy plans.
“Love matches,” Prudence said with a weary sigh before her. “Is there anything more sickening?”
Miss Grayson laughed lightly, opting to take Prudence’s comment as a joke, though Delilah knew it was not.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Miss Grayson said, looking from Delilah to Prudence. “I believe I see an old acquaintance.” She fooled no one. Miss Grayson was hoping to give Delilah and her closest friend a moment alone, and Delilah hated her for it.
She did not wish to answer questions, not when her heart was still pounding from that run-in with a burglar. Not when her mind still raced with questions after hearing his accusations.
Miss Grayson leaned toward her. “We are all relieved to see you safe and well,” she said. “You know you are always welcome at the school…for any reason.” She hitched her brows slightly. “We all care about you, and we are here if you need us.”
Delilah nodded, her throat temporary choked with emotion as she watched Miss Grayson walk away.
“Well,” Prudence said with a sigh. “I suppose you’re pleased.”
Delilah stiffened at her friend’s casual remark. “Pleased?”
Her friend shot her a sidelong look. “You’re about to marry a man as rich as Midas. Isn’t that what you’ve always dreamt of?”
“It was what I was born to do,” she quipped, her tone filled with a bravado that made Prudence laugh, as she’d hoped. This was an old joke of theirs. From the first day they’d met at the school, Pru was the one to see that not all of Delilah’s snobbery was genuine.
Some of it was…just not all.
“Yes, yes,” Pru said. “You were born to be a queen.”
Delilah’s smile felt more forced than ever since it was aimed at a friend. Perhaps not born to be a queen, but raised to be a trophy. From the moment she could walk, she’d understood that her sole purpose in life, in her family, was to marry well.
It had always been her dream.
Her father’s dream.
It had been both of their dreams. It was all she was good for, and everyone knew that.
She sighed as a sort of lethargic weariness stole over her. The energy that had been coursing through her after that bizarre encounter was starting to fade, leaving her limbs weighted and her mind foggy with exhaustion.
Pru shot her a sidelong look. “What’s wrong?” she demanded.
“Pardon me?”
Pru’s lips pursed and her expression said ‘don’t even try to fool me.’ “You sighed just now as though you’d just ruined your best gown.”
“Did I?” she murmured.
Pru turned to face her. “Are you going to tell me what’s happened?” When she didn’t immediately respond, she continued. “Are you going to tell me why you’re suddenly betrothed to Lord Evil?”
“Hush,” she said quickly, peeking around to see who might have heard. “I do wish you all would stop using that name.” She arched her brows. “I understand Louisa and Addie saying it as a joke, but that sort of immaturity is beneath you, Prudence.”
Prudence just stared at her evenly, scrutinizing her expression. “What is going on, Dee?”
Oh nothing. I’ve just been alone with an overbearing oaf who believes my fiancé to be a murderer and a smuggler.
She frowned. It was the smuggler bit that had gotten to her. Murderer? The very accusation had felt too far-fetched. Murderers did not exist
