Page 12 of A Duchess to Unravel
“So, this is your fault, then?” Dominic said, Amelia’s back caged against his chest. He dropped a kiss to her neck then spun her out so he could move toward Tristan.
“Easy, men,” Tristan warned, letting go of Theo and Ophelia so he could put his hands up.
Theo watched with great amusement as Tristan’s three friends turned on him, giggling madly as she felt a sense of normalcy return to her.
“My sister needed cheering up. How was I to know she would use us as a means to do so?” Tristan asked, his tone purely innocent.
“When these five come together they are diabolical,” Everett retorted, “You know that.”
“True,” Tristan noted, pointing a finger toward Theo. “But look. She smiles again.”
Tristan’s friends turned their gazes to Theo then, a softness touching their hardened features.
“Well, well,” Everett mused.
“It is indeed good to see,” Dominic admitted, then sighed, giving up his pursuit for revenge.
“I suppose we could forgive such a trespass,” Hugo admitted, smirking as he winked at her. “Since it was for such a good purpose.”
A happy glow radiated from within Theo, seeing now just how much she meant to those surrounding her. Though they’d been strangers once, Tristan’s friends truly now felt like brothers. She hadn’t just ignored her friends, she realized. She’d ignored them too--and she’d missed them all.
“Thank you for being our victims,” she said, smiling as Ophelia wrapped an arm around her waist, and hugged her.
“Oh, do not thank us yet,” Everett warned, “Wewillget you back for this. What did you sneak into the room that was so utterly foul?”
“A lady never reveals her secrets,” Ophelia answered, raising her nose in the air as she shimmied her shoulders.
“Well, whatever it is, do please get rid of it,” Tristan implored. “We accept the jest in good fun, but we do have to get back to work. We’re planning a business dinner for our new associate.”
Theo turned to Seraphina as she heard her gasp.
“Is it my cousin?” She asked, “Has he finally arrived in town?”
Hugo grimaced and turned Seraphina in his arms.
“Did I not tell you this morning?” He asked, adding a tense smile.
Seraphina laughed at his expression and swatted his arm.
“You did not!” She replied, “Tsk tsk, you promised you would let me know when you got word he was in London!”
“I am sorry, my love,” Hugo apologized, raising her hand to his mouth to kiss. “I was busy gathering my reports for the breweries the four of us have invested in thus far. He only just arrived a couple of days ago. If we are to ask your cousin to join us, we have to be thorough and transparent with our success.”
“Indeed we do,” Tristan agreed, “Which is why we need to finish these reports and get this dinner coordinated.”
He turned back to Theo, a brow raised as he swept a hand toward his office. “So, if you would please…?”
“Yes, yes,” Theo sighed, “We shall remove the trick. More information first though, please. When is this dinner party? And where are you hosting it?”
“Two days from now,” Tristan answered, a tinge of guilt lacing his voice. “And we are hosting it here.”
Theo’s smile faded a little, sensing that there was something more to this business dinner.
“And you are inviting other gentlemen beside the new Duke of Caldermere, I imagine?”
Tristan sighed.
“I was thinking so,” he agreed.
