Page 51 of A Virgin for the Duke of Ash

A slow smile spread across the redhead’s face. “I am sure he wasmost solicitous—as your betrothed, of course.”

A delicate flush rose to Evie’s cheeks, and she looked away as Daniel glared at her friend. He did not particularly like it when someone made his little fawn uncomfortable. Or blush.

Onlyhewas allowed to do that.

This friend of hers frequently forgot herself and overstepped her bounds.

“Do not worry overmuch, though.” Lady Scarlett laughed lightly, seemingly reveling in her friend’s discomfiture and his growing irritation.

She should pray that she and Evie remain friends for a long, long time.

“No one noticed you were missing,” she added. “Besides, you were not the only couple missing.”

Her eyes lit up with mischief, and Daniel was reminded of a crafty fox. Once again, he reminded himself that this was a woman who should not be underestimated.

She was dangerous, mostly because she was audacious to a fault—annoyingly so.

If she knows what is good for her, then she had best keep Evie out of her schemes. Otherwise, I cannot be faulted for taking drastic measures.

As Evie’s betrothed, of course.

Maybe if he kept telling himself that, he would eventually believe it.

CHAPTER 18

Men liked to say that women were the most complex, vexing creatures alive, but Evie had the distinct impression that they were simply projecting those very same characteristics on the fairer sex. Indeed, there was nothing more confusing than a man who was hot one moment and then freezing cold the next.

At least with Colin, he was pretty much consistent. Daniel was an entirely different story altogether…

Right after they arrived home after the fireworks show at Vauxhall, he had muttered a brusque “Good night” before stomping off to his tower, leaving not only Evie but also her grandmother and the Dowager Duchess thoroughly perplexed.

The next few days after that were hell for the servants.

Daniel seemed to find something wrong with everything—his coffee was not bitter enough or hot enough. He found a speckof dust on an antique vase he had never cared for before. He would snap at Barnaby for the slightest thing. His valet could not prepare his clothes fast enough…

All of that, on top of the rushed wedding preparations, had the servants scurrying about anxiously, jumping at the mere sight of his shadow or the sound of his footsteps. As a result, more mistakes were made, and Daniel grew even more irascible.

It was madness.

It was also absolutely unnecessary, and Evie was of the mind to tell her betrothed precisely that—if he would talk to her, at least.

The past few days, he had communicated to her in nearly unintelligible grunts and one-word responses that she feared she would be driven out of her mind. He was making her crazy—and not in a very good way.

Which was why she was looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon enjoying tea with her friends—even if all they wanted to discuss were the details of the wedding.

Evie sat quietly, sipping her tea as her grandmother and the Dowager Duchess debated about the best flowers to festoon the wedding breakfast with.

“The ceremony will be held in the drawing room,” the Dowager Duchess pondered. “I was thinking that a spray of myrtles here and there would be lovely.”

“Yes.” Lady Wellington nodded in agreement. “For love and marriage. And violets, too—for faithfulness.”

Evie nearly choked on her tea when her grandmother mentioned that. After all, Daniel had already stipulated that they were both free to entertain their own lovers outside of their union—provided that they were both discreet, of course.

Phoebe, however, shot her a worried look as she delicately wiped her lips with her napkin. She was spared from further questioning when Barnaby announced the arrival of Madame Dumosse.

“Madame Dumosse?” Lady Wellington looked rather surprised. “But we had not commissioned anything from her since the start of the Season…”

Their questions, however, were answered when the premier couturier in London sailed into the parlor with a huge smile on her face. A bevy of assistants trailed after her, each one of them holding boxes of different sizes.

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