Page 32 of The Duke's Goddess

Joan inched forward on her seat. Leaning forward, she poured herself another cup of tea while the ladies of the house party chatted around them, oblivious to the benevolent plans being shared in their midst.

“Well,” she hesitated, and her sisters inched closer. “I’ll tell you this.” Her eyes darted back and forth between her sisters. “Wehave plans for them to seal their courtship with a kiss out in the gardens tonight.”

Joan watched as Mimi’s eyes widened in delight in direct correlation to the narrowing of Nobi’s eyes.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Nobi asked cautiously.

“It’s a marvelous idea,” Mimi spoke over her sister in glee. “How can we help?”

“Now that you mention it, we don’t want them to be caught. We just want them to have a moment alone together.”

“We?”

“James and I,” Joan gave Mimi a curious look. It should have been obvious who she was referring to. She had just told her sisters that James and her were planning it.

“We?” Mimi mimicked in subdued tones to Nobi.

Nobi ignored her. “Do you think it’s wise?”

“It’s the perfect plan. James will get Jacob to the garden, and I’ll direct Sally to the garden. Then the two of them can share a kiss.”

“Or more.” Mimi smiled.

“Mimi!”

“No need to scold me, Nobi.”

“Someone has to if Boudicca is away.” Nobi looked flushed, and a bit frumpled. But whether that was at the comment about more than kissing or having to chastise Mimi, Joan wasn’t certain.

“They won’t do more than kiss,” Joan reassured them both. “Sally is too shy for that. Far too conservative to do more than a little kiss.”

“Love makes people do crazy things,” Nobi sighed.

“Not in this case,” Joan said.

“How can you be sure?” Nobi asked.

“I know Sally.”

“Would you have ever predicted that she would be so forward with James?”

“Well…” Joan would have never predicted that Sally would have acted that way. “But that was different.”

Mimi only raised her eyebrows in question.

“That was not scandalous. At least, notsoscandalous. This is different. She won’t do anything more than kiss. Even a kiss might be a long shot.”

Mimi and Nobi both offered a noncommittal, “Hmm…” in reply.

And really, that should have been a warning flag to Joan. But it wasn’t.

***

HOURS LATER, THAT EVENING, Joan stood in the garden waiting for Sally to show up. She was hiding, backed up close to the roses where she could smell their delicate fragrance. The plan had been to tell Sally to meet Joan there, while James told Jacob to meet him there. In reality, neither Joan nor James would show their faces. The two starry eyed lovers would meet and share a kiss, sealing their fate.

James would arrive any second so that they could be sure Jacob and Sally met up as planned. Joan’s heart was racing. Her palms were clammy, and she could feel a bead of sweat dripping down the small of her back. In a few minutes, she and James would witness the final results of all of their efforts, and she felt as though she were floating on air. Bouncing from cloud to cloud, able to reach out and touch the stars.

From her side, a rustle sounded and then a voice whispered, “Are they here yet?” The gentle puff from his lips was close to her ear, and tickled her skin. A shiver danced down her spine like a ballerina.

---