“You ought to be curt with him,” Matilda said. “Curt with him, conspiratorial with Caroline, and outspoken with the Dowager. I believe that will be the path to your success.”
“And we will provide reinforcement for whatever you say,” Phoebe interjected. “Let everyone here see us the way society already does. Let them be horrified until they have no choice but to seek alternative prospects for His Lordship.”
Anna stood sharply. “Or let us make it even simpler for you, Olivia,” she said, with more determination than Olivia had ever heard from her friend. “You could continue to get to know him, embrace this betrothal, and pave your own path toward happiness. At the very least, you ought to speak with this other cousin of his, to discover if His Lordship’s past is the truth or not.”
“If you find out that he lied, will you cease asking her to fall completely in love with this man?” Leah remarked.
Anna hugged herself, losing some of her courage. “Yes, I shall. If he has lied, I will agree that he is despicable and that Olivia should not even attempt to become acquainted with him.”
“Then, tonight at the party, that shall be my first port of call,” Olivia said, strengthened by the support of her friends, even when their opinions differed.
Matilda arched an eyebrow. “Tonight?”
“Yes. The party tonight.” Olivia watched her friends look at one another, suddenly feeling like an outsider.
Phoebe was the one who broke the news. “Dearest Olivia, there is no party tonight. The party is to take place the day after tomorrow.”
“Excuse me?” Olivia stared in confusion.
“We received invitations yesterday morning, inviting us to arrive today, so that we might keep you company until the party in two days’ time,” Phoebe explained more slowly. “There were other events detailed upon the invitations, though.”
Matilda pulled a face. “A hunt tomorrow being one of them.” She paused. “Actually, that might be the ideal place for your new plan to begin. If you protest the hunt or remark upon the unsavory nature of it, you are certain to annoy the Dowager and His Lordship.”
“Did you not know about the date of the party?” Anna asked gently, no doubt seeing Olivia’s bewilderment.
Olivia shook her head. “No one told me.”
“It must have been an honest mistake,” Anna urged. “If the Dowager was kind enough to invite us to keep you company, I doubt she would have deceived you.”
Matilda looked like she was about to say something, but Leah clapped a hand over her mouth and said, instead, “For once, I agree with Anna. It was likely a late decision to allow more time for preparations. That is the only reason I can think of to add two more days.”
“Unless…” Phoebe shook her head. “No, I imagine that is quite right.”
Olivia narrowed her eyes at Phoebe. “Unless what?”
“Nothing,” Phoebe insisted. “My mind is awash with foolish thoughts, that is all.”
“Nevertheless, tell me what you were thinking.” Olivia’s voice hardened as the vise around her heart returned, squeezing tight.
Phoebe hesitated, flashing an apologetic look at Leah. “Well… unless they need more time to acquire the special license that you suspect they are trying to gain. I thought, maybe, this party might actually be the celebrations for your wedding.”
The pagoda and the trees and the faces of Olivia’s friends began to spin, her stomach lurching as she closed her eyes and pressed her palms to her temples as if she could squash those last words into dust. In one blinding moment of clarity, it all made perfect sense: no one had told her of the change in date in case she figured it out and fled.
As the ground threatened to fall away beneath her, her father’s words upon his arrival repeated,“I did not expect any of you to be here so soon. Are you not rather early?”
Her friends, she realized, were not supposed to be there, for they were bound to help her figure out the truth. The Dowager had clearly made a mistake in inviting them early. A mistake that Olivia was glad of as she prayed for the world to stop spinning.
Did you know?It was the first question she would ask Evan and Caroline when she next saw them. Her mother, too.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
“Did you know?” Olivia hissed to her mother as everyone sat down to dinner that evening.
Laura furrowed her brow. “Know what, darling?”
“That the party was not taking place tonight.”
Laura’s cheeks reddened, her shaky hand reaching for her glass of wine. “I did. Amelia thought it would be better if you and His Lordship were granted more time to become acquainted before celebrating your engagement before an audience. I agreed. Did I not tell you? I am certain that I did.”
