Seth stirred. “Hmm? Did you say something?”
“I ought to whip you silly, you great oaf!” Henry barked through a smile, for he could hear Arabella’s voice in his head, reciting the letter. It made his heart swell in a way he had never experienced.
Seth sat bolt upright. “What has happened? Did you find a worrisome letter?”
“Yes, I rather think I did,” Henry shot back, waving the unfolded piece of paper in his direction. “Your sisterdidwrite to me. Twice, in fact, and twice I have missed receiving them because of you! I cannot blame you for not wanting to open your correspondence, but surely you read the name they are addressed to before you shove them in this drawer?”
A guilty expression shifted across Seth’s face. “I apologize, Dear Haskett. I have grown out of the habit, for I can usually tell if the contents are going to be bad by the way I am addressed.”
“I cannot believe I have such a fool for a dear friend.” Henry shook his head and slipping both letters into his breast pocket, got up. He marched across the room, eager to summon his horse and remedy this situation.
Seth called out before he had reached the door. “Where are you going?”
“To see your sister, and hope that she is not furious with me. She must thinkIam ignoring her, as I thought she was ignoring me.” Henry rested his hand on the brass doorknob, but Seth gave him pause.
“We are going there tonight anyway, Haskett. Make your peace with her then. Otherwise, you will have to make the journey twice, and you might not make it back to the Estate in time for the ball.” For once, Seth had decided to be sensible in his suggestion. “If you have gone a fortnight without speaking to one another, what is another handful of hours? Anyway, you will want to look your best if you are going to persuade her you are not a scoundrel.”
Henry turned slowly. “Very well, butyouwill explain why I have not replied to her. I expect you to grovel.”
“I shall prepare my knees accordingly,” Seth replied, with a grin. “You really are fond of her, are you not? And here I was, thinking a marriage of friendship was the best thing I could envision for the two of you.”
Henry’s heart felt like it might burst. “I really am, Milford. Fonder than you, or she, knows.”
“Then you must tell her!” Seth jumped up and punched the air. “Tonight, you must confess!”
“And if she does not feel the same?” Henry wondered aloud.
Seth flashed a wink. “If she was asking you to visit her, then she is likely head over heels in love with you already. My sister is a solitary creature who abhors it when people call upon her. The mere fact she wanted to see you spells good news, my friend.”
“So, youwereawake?” Henry arched an accusatory eyebrow, though he could not stop his mind from racing with giddy thoughts. Were Seth’s words true? Did Arabella’s request to see him again mean that… she had affections for him, in return?
Seth grinned from ear to ear. “It is best to pretend to be asleep when there is a potential threat to one’s life.”
“You really are a prize idiot,” Henry grumbled, but he did not have the heart to stay angry. How could he, when his heart was filled with such joy and nervous anticipation?
Tonight, hewouldconfess, and hewouldtell her what was in that letter. For if Lord Powell thought he could propose love to Henry’s betrothed and get away unscathed, without the truth being unearthed, he was sorely mistaken.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cassie covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes brimming with uncharacteristic tears, as she looked upon Arabella. It had taken all afternoon to get Arabella ready for the evening’s ball, and though she had suffered through the tugs and pulls and burns of having her hair wrangled, the strain of having her stays yanked too tight, and the endless tapping and pinching to beautify her face, she rather hoped it was all worth it.
“Is it so atrocious you are about to cry?” Arabella teased, glancing shyly at her reflection in the long mirror by the window of her bedchamber, where the light was the most flattering. With the sun beginning to set, casting a wash of bronze across the countryside landscape outside the window, the light was even more flattering than usual. Indeed, Arabella rather looked like she was glowing.
Cassie gave her friend and mistress a playful smack on the arm. “You look… breathtaking, Milady. I know it’s all my handiwork, but there’s only so much a person can do. The rest comes from the heavens themselves, and they’re shining on you tonight.”
“I only hope I do not faint. Did you have to pull my stays so tight?” Arabella smiled.
“If you do, you’ll have a flock of gentlemen running to aid you,” Cassie replied, with a wink.
Taking a deep breath—or, rather, as deep a breath as her stays would allow—Arabella smoothed her hands across the beautiful gown. The color was difficult to describe, though Cassie kept calling it a “golden blush.” In some angles, the gauzy muslin, layered over two silken petticoats of pale coral, looked gold, and in others, it held more of a blushing pink hue. A gown of pure magic, and no mistake.
An embroidered band of cream and gold sat between her waist and bust, giving some shape to her silhouette, while the squared neckline was bordered with the same intricately embroidered design. At her shoulders, the gown ended in capped sleeves that were fringed with gold lace and pearls, while more seed pearls had been threaded into her elaborately coiffed hair. There were two golden hair slides, shaped like butterflies, to flank the proud bun, though Arabella thought they rather looked like the beginnings of a crown.
“Did a response finally come from my brother?” Arabella twirled one of the curled strands of hair that framed her face, making sure it lost none of its bounce.
Cassie chuckled. “Do you mean your brother and his friend?”
“Cassie, I am nervous enough without thinking of Henry.” Arabella gulped. In truth, she had thought of nothing but Henry since his departure a fortnight ago. Like a woman possessed, she had ransacked the tray of correspondence every morning and afternoon, growing more disheartened every time she did not see Henry’s handwriting.
