Perhaps a plucky, ambitious seamstress?
He wouldn’t force her to choose between a place at his side and her business, but there might be another option, if she was willing.
They aren’t as exciting as you think.That was what Miss Carter had said. He suspected she hadn’t been referring to the same manner of event he wished to attend, but if he was wrong, then she might be the exact partner he required.
All he had to do was convince her to sayyes.
Chapter Seven
“Betty!” Kitty cried.She ran to the door of her shop, opened it, then threw her arms around her younger sister.
“Do not crush my bodice,” Betty said, though she was smiling. Then her smile fell. “What happened here? I’ve never seen your shop such in such a state.”
“Alyssa left the door unlocked before she left,” Kitty lied. There was no use in worrying her sister. “The wind blew it open, and a gang of street urchins snuck inside while I was upstairs. I managed to chase them away, but they made quite a mess.”
“How awful!” Betty pushed away. “Do you need help putting things to rights?”
It was a kind offer, but the way her sister scrunched her nose and twisted her lips told Kitty it was reluctantly given. “Thank you, but it is not as bad as it looks.”
Betty’s smile returned. “Well, I am glad to hear that.” Then she fussed with her deflated gown.
“Let me do that,” Kitty said. She swatted her sister’s white-gloved hands and gently re-formed the tulle-filled cotton. When she was satisfied with the shape, she grasped the edge of Betty’s straw hat and tilted it to better frame her softly rounded face and yellow curls.
“Much better,” Kitty said. “Now, tell me.” She tapped the tip of her sister’s button nose. “What are you doing here?”
Betty grinned. “You haven’t visited in ages, so I came to see you instead.” She fluttered her long eyelashes. “You won’t tell Mother, will you?”
Kitty put her hands on her hips. “Did you at least bring your maid?”
Betty made a mock sound of outrage. “Sister, how can you even ask that? Of course I did.” She held out her arm in the air, as if wrapping it around the shoulders of a shorter woman, although there was no one standing beside her. “Ellis insisted on accompanying me.”
Kitty covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, I apologize for not seeing you, Ellis.” She dipped into a deep curtsey before the imaginary maid they’d invented during their childhood. “Thank you for taking such good care of my sister.”
Both women erupted into giggles that lasted until they ascended the steps to Kitty’s room and sat down for tea.
“Mother said she spoke to you,” Betty said as she held her teacup with both hands in a way that had driven their governess to distraction. “I wanted to make sure she didn’t use me to get you to do her bidding.”
Kitty set her own cup down. “She tried.”
Betty groaned. “I knew it! Tell me you did not agree to her demands.”
“Of course not. She’s tried it too many times.” Kitty grinned. “Do you remember when she sent word that you’d fallen into the lake right after I opened my shop?” Kitty had raced home so quickly that she’d arrived with a half-completed dress tossed over her shoulder.
“I’m serious,” Betty said. “Mother is the only person who has ever been able to truly hurt you.” Her eyes shone with tears. “I don’t want to see you lose everything because of her. Promise me you won’t give her or Father any more money.”
“You know I cannot do that.”
Betty shook her head. “Of course you’d say that. Well…” She set her cup down. “I know I won’t convince you, so I won’t try. Let’s talk about something else. Have you met any interesting men in London?”
Lord Grayson’s face appeared in Kitty’s mind.
“You have!” Betty cried.
Kitty looked away. “I haven’t.”
“Don’t lie to me. I’ve known all the men you’ve fancied. You absolutely have met someone.” She shuffled her chair closer. “Tell me everything.”
Against her better judgment, Kitty outlined the events of the previous evening, leaving out the part about the stolen scarf. Betty didn’t need to know about how the man had entranced her into nearly swooning in his arms.
