“There was,” Phoebe retorted, flustered. “You have already mentioned it.”
Anna’s eyes glazed over, as they so often did when she descended into her private world of romance and fantasies. “Just because he was not a man of much fortune does not mean he would not have made Joanna hopelessly happy.” She swooned a little. “He was so handsome, so charming, and so earnestly besotted with her. Do you think it might be too late to arrange a meeting between them? If you explained, perhaps he would agree.”
“No, he married the Viscount of Carrow’s youngest daughter, just this November,” Leah replied, for there was very little she did not know about Society’s goings-on, as her husband, Nathaniel Forbes, the Duke of Bergfield, liked to ensure that he knew everything about everyone.
Phoebe took a steadying breath. “I want the best for them, and sweet though Mr. Barkley might have been, he was not the best. You do not understand what it is like,” she said, fighting against her temper. “My father has no male heirs, aside from one distant cousin whom I have never met. That stranger will inherit everything when my father dies and has no duty to see us taken care of. I will not put the fate of my sisters’ fortunes in the hands of someone I do not know, nor will I merely sit back and hope that this distant cousin is kind, for we have all seen how that can end.”
Her friends fell silent, turning guilty glances down toward the floor.
“I must take action,” Phoebe continued. “Iamtaking action, and if that means being ‘stifling’ until my objective is achieved, then I shall bear that burden. One day, I hope that my sisters will thank me for it, even if, right now, they wish to escape me. And, truly, I hope that none of you are ever in this position, feeling as if the ground under your feet is made of sand that is slipping away with every passing day.”
She stood there, breathless, her chest rising and falling with a fury that burned in her blood, flaming up into her cheeks. Of course, there was a part of her that agreed with her friends, but she had to ignore it. She had no choice.
Matilda broke the silence first. “Dearest Phoebe, I am sorry. I spoke out of turn. I should not have done so, when you adore those girls more than anything. Of course, we know you are doing all you can on their behalf.” She smiled. “Please, forgive me, and let us have a lovely evening together. It has been too long, I would regret it terribly if I were to ruin the night with my foolish tongue.”
“Yes, please do forgive us,” Olivia urged.
Leah nodded. “As Matilda is always telling us, we should not speak on things we do not understand until we have studied and researched them thoroughly. We all spoke out of turn.” She put a hand on Phoebe’s back. “Please, accept our apology.”
“That clergyman was probably very boring,” Anna added, smiling apologetically. “Those sisters of yours deserve dukes. No, princes! Sorry, Phoebe. We should not have doubted you like that. Indeed, you are perhaps the wisest among us, so we have no cause to doubt you!”
In all the years they had known one another, the Spinsters’ Club had dealt with quarrels and arguments in the same way: apologizing quickly and genuinely, never letting any upset linger. They would not always agree, but they always agreed to disagree, putting the sanctity of their friendship above all else. Indeed, the fact that two of them were married, after vowing never to marry, was a testament to their ability to support each other, no matter what.
Looking at the smiling faces of her dearest friends was like a salve to Phoebe’s soul, calming her, soothing her, until her breathing returned to normal and all was forgiven and forgotten.
“Of course, I forgive you all. I know you are merely trying to alleviate the strain I have put on myself, and I know you all adore my sisters as much as I do. Why, you are all like mothers to them.” She laughed as Matilda pulled a disapproving face. “Older sisters, at least.”
“You truly forgive us?” Anna asked, clasping her hands together.
“I truly do,” Phoebe assured.
She could never stay mad at them, but they had given her food for thought. Perhaps shecouldbe a little looser with the reins when it came to her sisters. For one night, maybe, to see how it felt.
Just then, two astonishingly handsome gentlemen approached the quintet of ladies, dressed in their finery. Other young ladies in the ballroom glanced over at the group with envious eyes, but that was to be expected. These two gentlemen and their lovely wives had been the talk of Society ever since their respective weddings.
“Goodness, you have the most precise timing,” Matilda said, with a smirk. “I was just saying that I did not want anything to ruin our first evening together in an age, and here you are, striding over to sweep away two of our number.”
Nathaniel Forbes, the Duke of Bergfield and charming husband to Leah, chuckled. “A delight as ever, Matilda.”
“Indeed, it took us ten minutes to muster the nerve to come over here,” Evan Thorne, the Marquess of Bridfield and Olivia’s husband, agreed. “Would you have us retreat with our tails between our legs?”
Matilda grinned. “I find it important to remind you both of who adored our dear girls first, and keep you on your toes, so you never disappoint them or upset them.” She leaned in. “After all, if you do, you shall have me to contend with.”
“Have no fear, we shall never do anything to hurt them.” Nathaniel smiled. “And not because of your threat either.”
Evan nodded. “We hoped we might borrow our wives for a dance or two, and then we shall, of course, return them so that you may gossip and talk the night away in the manner you are accustomed to.”
“Indeed, I saw your sister dancing with someone,” Nathaniel said, sending a jolt of panic up Phoebe’s spine.
“You did?” she asked, scouring the dance floor. She spotted her sister, Joanna, leaping and bounding her way through a country dance with a partner, though she could only see the back of the gentleman’s head.
The little scamp!
Phoebe groaned inwardly, for if she were to interrupt her sister in the middle of a dance, dragging her off the floor, it would cause more of a scandal than simply allowing her to complete the dance. Although Joanna would require a lecture afterward, regarding etiquette—a lady did not dance with a gentleman unless proper introductions had been made, even at the ball of a friend. And she doubted the fellow had asked their father, for the old man had retreated to the smoking room upon their arrival and had not emerged once.
Evan nodded. “I believe your other sister is conversing with a gentleman, too. I cannot recall his name. Give me a moment, it shall come to me.”
“What?” Phoebe’s head throbbed with the familiar pressure of wrangling two wayward girls.
