Page 103 of A Duke for Hire

Inside, a chorus of greetings came from their group of now mutual friends.

“Oh, my darlings!” Seraphina gushed, throwing her arms open wide as Leah, Rose, Amelia, and Ophelia came rushing at her.

They giggled like schoolgirls as they hugged, happy to be in another’s presence yet again.

Leah, as Seraphina had suspected, had integrated quite seamlessly into her group of friends, and from the letters she’d received while on her honeymoon, Seraphina knew that the rest of her friends had loved her immediately.

“Little lamb,” Hugo called, pulling her attention from the frenzy of chatter.

She looked over and smiled as she saw her husband standing beside Duncan and a beautiful woman he held close to his side.

“I shall return quickly,” Seraphina assured her friends before going over to Hugo.

Very much like Duncan had done to his wife, Hugo drew an arm around the back of her waist.

“You remember Duncan, don’t you?” He asked.

“Of course! How wonderful to see you again, Your Grace,” she stated as she curtseyed.

“What did I tell you?” Duncan scolded playfully, “There is no need for such stiff pleasantries between us.”

He reached out to kiss her chastely on the cheek, then turned his attention to the brown-haired beauty at his side.

“As promised, I would like to finally introduce you to my wife, Lady Alice Banfield, Duchess of Baxter.”

Alice and Seraphina both smiled at one another warmly, and left their husbands’ holds to embrace one another.

“It is so good to finally meet you my dear,” Alice said.

“And you,” Seraphina replied, “You must pay a visit to Merrivale soon. I cannot wait to learn more about you.”

“I too, would like to receive such an invitation,” a tall, sharp-eyed woman said, approaching them.

“My love, this is my friend Ambrose’s fearless wife, Lady Barbara Curtis, Duchess of Colborne,” Hugo explained.

“Tell me dear, are you by chance a bluestocking?” Barbara asked boldly. “You have the fierce look of one.”

“I am familiar with the movement, of course,” Seraphina explained, waving over Theo, “But my friend Theo here is a true supporter.”

“Oh how I love meeting new people,” Barbara said, wriggling her shoulders with excitement.

“Send me an invitation and we shall talk later, Seraphina,” Barbara went on, taking Theo’s hand, “But for now I must speak with my bluestocking sister.”

“Of course,” Seraphina laughed, watching with joy as Theo and Barbara quickly started an animated conversation about women’s rights.

“Lovely to meet you, Lady Seraphina,” Ambrose Curtis, Duke of Colborne and husband to Barbara said, approaching her next.

“Lovely to meet you, my Lord, and your wife. She seems like quite the powerful woman.”

Ambrose chuckled as he looked affectionately over toward his wife.

“Oh, you have no idea,” he said with a smirk.

Seraphina’s joy grew as Hugo then introduced her Ezra and Lydia Fernside; Alice’s older sister who were the Duke and Duchess of Frampton, and then Morgan and Helena Green, Duke and Duchess of Grandville.

And of course, she had already met Everett and Dominic, both of whom also gave her a warm welcome home before Tristan joined them and they started on their teasing of Hugo.

The dinner party passed quickly with ample talk and laughter. Every person in attendance seemed at ease with one another, to Seraphina’s relief, and unlike other parties she’d been to, there was no gossip of the outside world; only personal tales of their lives.

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