“A wedding your father still doesn’t approve of,” Harriet pointed out.
“Oh, he will come around,” Louisa said darkly, stabbing her fork in her otherwise untouched slice. “He doesn’t have a choice. It’s time to put the feud between the Cavanagh and Talbot households to rest.”
Selena cleared her throat and set her plate aside. “One thing,”—she swallowed, pointed to the cake—“a bit too much salt.”
Louisa’s head snapped to her own slice. Taking a small bite, she barely managed to swallow before recoiling and setting her plate aside. Lawks! This... “How on earth did this happen? Iswear I added the right amount!” Her gaze swung to Theodosia and Harriet. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Harriet arched a brow. “It’snotsome form of savory cake?”
“No!” Louisa exclaimed, aghast. Her eyes suddenly widened, horror filling her. “Dear Lord, I baked two!”
Theodosia set her plate down calmly. “I hesitate to ask this,” she said, lifting her teacup, “but where is the second one?”
Louisa bolted upright. “I sent it to Oliver’s house.”
Her three friends stared at her in mute disbelief.
“No!” Her hands flew to her head. “I sent it to Oliver’s house!” How could she have made such a mistake? She wanted him to taste a masterpiece, not a devil-piece! She could just imagine that usually stoic face scrunching up in shock.
Selena snagged her wrist and tugged her back onto the sofa. “It’s too late now. He has probably already tasted it. There is nothing you can do about it.”
Louisa groaned and slumped against the cushions. “Urgh!”
Her friend was right. There was no undoing this nightmare.
Harriet, ever the voice of reason, steered the conversation back on course. “Have you decided where you shall marry? You might be the only one of us who will have a normal wedding.”
If marrying your family’s nemesis was normal, then yes. “We shall be wed beneath the weeping willow tree at Ashford in two months.”
Selena laughed. “You truly have no fear of your father.”
“Why should I have fear? Besides, it was Leo’s idea,” Louisa said. She had to give the little brat his due, he had some good ideas. “And besides, my father is powerless in the face of his children.”
Power truly had its limits. It all but disappeared in the face of love.
“I still cannot believe you are marrying a duke,” Theodosia mused. “Didn’t you say you vow never to marry a king, prince, or duke?”
“I’ve learned a lot since then,” she smiled, still dancing in the clouds herself, “and changed my mind.”
Harriet lifted her teacup in salute. “Well, that is what life is all about.”
Selena, however, remained a touch brooding. “I still cannot believe the head of the secret women’s club was yourstepmother,” she muttered with a scowl. “I wasted so much energy on nothing.”
“Imagine if you’d been accepted into their club,” Theodosia said with a sly smile. “You would soon be an infamous criminal.”
Selena scoffed. “By association.”
Theodosia sipped her tea. “Of course.”
Harriet turned back to Louisa. “What is going to happen to your stepmother? The gossip columns are surprisingly silent on the matter.”
Louisa waved a hand, unconcerned. “Oh, do not worry, they shall explode soon enough after my wedding.” Oliver had handed over the power to her, and she had decided, much to her father’s relief, to deal with the matter after she wed. He still wished to keep the scandal quiet, but to do that, he would have to remain married to Camilla. And he wasn’t prepared to accept that.
Neither were Louisa and Leo.
She’d learned a lot of things since she got embroiled in this tangled mess—the book, Oliver, her stepmother, and even those infuriating Fury brothers. For one, she’d learned that not all threats came with snarling teeth and drawn blades—some arrived wrapped in silk. Therefore—her second lesson—a lady should always keep her friends close at heart, and known enemies close at hand. That being said, known enemies couldbecome allies, and allies enemies. And lastly, sometimes rough and tough had more honor than the elegant and esteemed.
Life truly possessed a wicked sense of humor.
