“What are you doing?” he snapped at her.
“What is your plan, exactly?” she said calmly. “To cause a scene? To humiliate Millicent in front of her peers?”
“I will not have Lord Grundon worming his way into her affections. She does not know the type of man that he is.”
“If she is as smart as you say she is, she will learn quickly,” Celestine told him. “And if I know young women, which I do…” She scoffed. “Any efforts you make to denounce Lord Grundonwill only drive her into his arms. Young women are rather stubborn like that.”
“I cannot do nothing!”
“You can,” she said. “At least for now. Trust me, Edward.” She looked at him with soft eyes, not aggressive, simply pleading that he listen to her. “Let Lord Grundon make his introductions and later warn Millicent about him. Causing a scene here will only make matters worse.”
He growled as he turned back to find Millicent and Lord Grundon still speaking. Whatever the man was saying, Millicent was eating it up with a spoon.
Worse still, Lord Grundon was not being obvious or too assertive. He appeared a perfect gentleman and was it anybody else, Edward might have felt glad that they had taken a liking to his niece.
But he is not anyone else…
“You asked that I trust you,” Celestine said, still holding his arm. “Such trust needs to go both ways.”
Oh, how he wanted to intercede and put a stop to whatever Lord Grundon was trying to do, but Celestine’s words struck a chord, and their truth could not be denied. Not just what she said about avoiding a scene, but her comments about trusting one another.
He had asked that of her, hadn’t he? So why should he not do the same.
“Fine…” He peeled his arm free. “I will…” He exhaled sharply. “I will control myself.”
“I did not know you had it in you,” she joked.
Thankfully, Lord Grundon left Millicent shortly after, and Edward swept toward her the moment she was alone. If she noticed him watching her with Lord Grundon, she gave no indication. When Edward approached, her eyes lit up and she beamed as if the sun shone from her body.
“Edward!” she cried out. “Did you see? Was I…” Her smile was all teeth. “How did I do?”
“You did wonderfully, Millicent,” he said to her as he took her hands. “Truly, there might have been eight other ladies tonight, but I doubt anyone noticed them.”
Millicent rolled her eyes. “I doubt that…”
“He speaks the truth.” Celestine stepped beside him. “I’ve been to my fair share of debuts, and I must say that you, Millicent, made it look far easier than it is. You were wonderful.”
“Really?”
“Millicent…” Edward turned to face Celestine. “Perhaps it is overdue, but I think it is time that you met my fiancé, Miss Celestine Hargrave.”
“I know who she is,” Millicent said sharply, only to beam as she addressed Celestine. She let go of Edward’s hands and took Celestine’s. “I have been trying to convince Edward to let me meet you for weeks now. But he is so frustrating!”
“He is that,” Celestine laughed. “Although, I prefer to think of him as being protective.”
“Of who?”
“Of you,” Celestine said with more laughter. “Or maybe he is just worried that you will like me more than you do him.”
Millicent laughed. “That won’t be very hard.”
“When did this become about me?” Edward grumbled.
“This is a big night for you, Millicent,” Celestine continued. “And I want you to know that if you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask them. I have three sisters who have been through the same, not to mention myself. I know a thing or two.”
“I will,” Millicent said excitedly. “Oh, I have so many questions.”
“Should we save them for inside?” Edward indicated to the foyer where the other lords and ladies were starting to make their way toward the ballroom. “There is no rush.”
