Page 24 of The Virgin and the Viscount

“Both your husbands know about our group, correct?” Tilly whispered to her friends.

The women exchanged glances, then both nodded.

“Oliver figured it out when he found me training with Lottie,” Harriet said.

“Fletcher knows as well. In all honesty, I don’t think I’d be able to hide it from him. He’s far too observant.” Agnes eyed Tilly for a moment. “I’m assuming you are wondering if you should be forthcoming with Sullivan?”

Tilly nodded. “We marry tomorrow and I know our union will not be like either of yours, but that said, I don’t feel comfortable going into our marriage without being honest.”

“I think you should tell him,” Harriet said.

“Yes, I think I shall. Honesty is always the right choice.”

“Absolutely,” her friends said in unison.

Tilly wanted to ask Lady Somersby about ideas of how to save the orphans she’d caught stealing, but to do so would betray that she’d been working when they had been instructed not to. She decided she would save that inquiry for another day.

She was married.

Officially Lady Glenbrook.

She stood at the window of her new bedchamber, looking out on the street below. Sullivan’s townhome was in a lovely part of town, on a corner that provided them with great views of Hyde Park. The ceremony passed in a blur of spoken vows and a chaste kiss that had happened so quickly she’d barely felt his lips upon hers. He’d held her hand as they’d left the church.

That was several hours ago, and she hadn’t seen him since. Their mothers were busy preparing for the celebratory ball that would take place the following night. Tilly should care about the details, but she didn’t. All of this felt like a farce, a charade, and hardly something to celebrate.

She couldn’t stop thinking about this new life of hers. She was a wife, which meant tonight he’d come to her bed. She swallowed, wishing she’d paid closer attention to her mother’s words when she’d explained the union between a man and a woman. But her mother had used so many floral analogies and, frankly, Tilly had gotten lost in the garden. She knew the basics, she supposed. That alarmingly large part of him—the one she’d naïvely grabbed onto at the inn—somehow went inside of her. Perhaps she should have asked her friends a few questions; that might have alleviated some of her nerves.

A knock came to the door and then it opened. Sullivan stepped inside.

Already? Her gaze flickered to the window where dusk hadn’t even fallen yet. He wasn’t even going to wait until it was dark outside? Until after they’d had their dinner?

Her heart hammered inside her chest. Unwillingly, her hand flew to her throat.

“I hope you find the room satisfactory,” he said.

“It’s lovely.” She glanced around, noticing it for the first time. It was a very nice room with a view of the gardens behind the home.

“Excellent. My room is next door.” He pointed behind her to the right. “There’s a door that adjoins them should you need anything. Or you can ring the bell, of course.”

She nodded. She needed something to break the tension. Then she remembered Lady Somersby’s words and her own decision to be forthcoming. It would be prudent for her to tell him about her activities with the Ladies of Virtue.

“Could we speak about something?” she asked.

He nodded, moving to the sitting area near the fireplace.

She joined him, lowering herself into the chair adjacent his. “Now that we’re married, I suppose I need to share with you yet another of my secrets.” She gathered some of the fabric from her skirts into her hands and balled it up.

His brows rose above those liquid chocolate eyes of his. So soulful, so full of emotion she hadn’t yet been able to identify. “You have a habit of collecting secrets?”

“Something like that.” She paused a moment to consider how to continue. Then she licked her lips and just began. “Are you familiar with a group called the Ladies of Virtue?”

He stilled, his expression suddenly guarded. “I have heard of them. Do-gooders?”

“Yes, well I am a member of their group.”

“I have no issue with you participating in charity groups and servitude, Tilly.”

It was a statement, not a question, but there was something in his tone, something that made her think he might know more than he was saying. That he was waiting to see what she would reveal.

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