Zia rolled her eyes and waggled her fingers as my friends swept from the foyer in a flash of muslin. “Because we are secretly abducting you?”
I shook my head at her, not sure if she was joking. Zia had a quirky sense of humor, and considering she and her little band of lady knights hadrobbedher brother and his friends once upon a time to save an orphanage, I wouldn’t put it past her to kidnap anyone.
I was hoping to hear from Tarik by the time I finished getting ready, but there were no messages. I quelled my disappointment. He’d been very busy over the last two weeks, setting up various contracts and agreements with Papa’s solicitor to get his business idea off the ground.
Having the enthusiastic backing of the Duke of Delmont opened many doors in London, including those of other aristocrats who wanted to be part of such an intriguing concept. Though there were still many who snubbed their noses at the inclusion of women, not just as members but as bona fide academic colleagues. We didn’t need them; we only needed a few.
I loved that Tarik was trying to be the change the world needed.
Anna put the finishing touches on my coiffure, which was a new style. Half of my hair was pinned up and the other half left to fall like a curtain of black silk around my shoulders. It was a pity that Tarik would not be attending tonight’s soiree—he was obsessed with my hair. I made a mental note to request this style more often.
The dress Anna had chosen was one I hadn’t worn before…or seen before, come to think of it. It was an elegant dark silver silk ensemble with a sash of seed-pearl beading settled under the bust and delicate embroidery of tiny stars and phoenixes over the bodice and hemline. The stitching was exquisite.
“Where did this come from?” I asked. “I don’t recall ordering it.”
Anna lifted one shoulder. “It was delivered with the rest of your things, my lady. Perhaps the duchess commissioned it? The phoenix is a symbol of harmony and prosperity in your family’s customs, no?”
It was. The fenghuang bestowed harmonious blessings on the kind and honorable. Perhaps my motherhadcommissioned it, though the symbolism was mostly used for bridal wear in Chinese culture. I supposed I was grateful it wasn’t pineapples.
In the foyer, Anna deftly fastened a plain but gorgeously made charcoal pelisse with wide sleeves over my shoulders and then threw her cloak over her own shoulders. Her eyes sparkled with an unusual amount of cheerfulness. “There. You are a vision, my lady.”
“Is it too much for the soiree?” I asked. “I feel overdressed for a garden event.”
She shook her head and ushered me out the door to where Ela’s carriage was waiting. The girls were already inside. Since Ela didn’t require a chaperone, as she was married, she could technicallybea chaperone for Zia. I still required Anna to accompany me.
“Where are we going?”
Zia wrinkled her nose. “Settle in for a bit. It’s near Windsor Castle.”
“The king’s residence?” I asked with a gasp. “My gown is lovely, but it’s not a court dress.”
“No,” Ela said noncommittally. “A bit north of there.”
Something felt decidedly odd. The girls lapsed into chatter about the remarkably clear weather, the end of the season, and plans for Zia’s upcoming nuptials. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, and also typically Zia, she was having an intimate summer wedding at her father’s ancestral seat in Berkshire. Her residence was a few miles farther east than Windsor.
When the coach started to slow, it was in front of a large brick house with wide windows.
“Here we are. You and Anna, go on in. Ela and I will be there shortly,” Zia said with a distressed sound that sounded quite theatrical. “I need assistance with a tear in my gown.”
I blinked. “Anna can help.”
Ela shook her head, shooing us off. “I’ll take care of it.”
Again, decidedly odd.
As we descended the carriage steps, the house windows were lit from within, but there didn’t seem to be any other carriages in the drive. Were we at the right address? Approaching the door, I knocked tentatively when Anna pointed explicitly at the entrance. When the door opened, my jaw slackened.
“Tarik! What are you doing here?” I blurted, noticing his elegant ensemble. “Did you come for the soiree as well?”
He took my hand and drew me inside. “You take my breath away, mon coeur, every time I see you,” he said, kissing myknuckles. I blushed at the husky endearment. I loved when he called me hisheart.“I want to introduce you to someone. This is Miss Caroline Herschel.”
I blinked. And blinked again. Had I heard him correctly? But then the tiny older lady, who was barely a few inches over four feet, smiled. “Lady Rosalin, it’s a pleasure to meet a fellow lover of astronomy and, of course, my dear friend Susu’s daughter.”
It was the hunter of comets herself.
I sucked in a wild breath that didn’t come close to reaching my lungs and swayed on my feet, only to be bolstered by a grinning Tarik.
“Miss Herschel, I am adevotedadmirer of yours,” my voice emerged as a squeak. “The eight comets you have discovered, the catalogue of stars…I…I…”
