Chapter 3
Thea
Thegardenpartywasinsufferable, and Thea had no one to blame but herself.
She'd accepted the invitation because her mother had insisted, and because refusing would have required an explanation she didn't have the energy to invent.Not that her mother would have been moved on the matter anyway.
Now she sat beneath a canopy of climbing roses, a cup of lemonade in her hand, listening to Lady Caroline Ashby.
“I find that an early walk settles the mind.”Lady Caroline’s voice suggested she were genuinely excited about the topic.“Mama says a duchess must be disciplined in all things.The household will look to her for order.”
“How fortunate that you're so well prepared.”Thea kept her smile fixed in place.Lady Caroline was not unkind.That was the problem.She was perfectly pleasant, perfectly mannered, perfectly bred for the role she expected to fill.
The role of Wesley's wife, it would seem.
Lady Caroline hadn't said his name.She didn't need to.Everyone knew the Dowager Duchess of Greystone had been pushing the match for months.Lady Caroline's careful references to “a certain duke” and “expectations for the Season” made it clear she believed the matter was all but settled between their mamas.Not that either mother could legally make Wesley take Caroline as his wife if he didn’t wish.
But Thea knew all too well about the influence of nagging mothers.
“Do you walk in the mornings, Lady Theodora?”
“When I can manage it.”Thea took a sip of her lemonade to avoid saying more.She didn’t walk in the mornings.She slept late because she spent her nights dressed as a man, taking money from aristocrats in a gaming hell.
Lady Caroline would faint dead away if she knew.
“I confess I'm surprised we haven't spoken more,” Lady Caroline continued, oblivious to Thea's internal torment of her own unsuitability for a man like Wesley.“We're of an age, are we not?And we share so many acquaintances.”
“The Season keeps everyone busy.”
“Indeed.Though I hope—” Lady Caroline paused.A delicate blush rose to her cheeks.“I hope that will change soon.If certain matters resolve as expected, perhaps I’ll quit the Season for a honeymoon.”
Thea's stomach turned.
Across the garden, Wesley stood with a cluster of gentlemen.He'd nodded to Thea when she arrived—the same nod he'd given a dozen other guests—but hadn't approached her since.
This was the side of the man she'd seen since his father passed.The version of him that made her want to scream, or shake him, or press him against a wall and demand to know where the real Wesley had gone.
But she couldn't do any of those things.She was Lady Theodora Hasting, a spinster sitting in a garden with the woman who would probably become his duchess while pretending she didn't care.
“Lady Theodora?”Lady Caroline tilted her head.“Are you well?You look flushed.”
“The heat.”Thea pressed her lemonade glass to her cheek.“I'm afraid I'm not suited to garden parties.”
Lady Caroline laughed, a gentle, musical sound.“You're so droll.I can see why everyone speaks highly of you.”
Did they?Thea doubted it.Her mother despaired of her.The matrons whispered about her tragic engagement and extended mourning.The gentlemen who'd once pursued her in her first Seasons had moved on to younger, more pliable prospects.
Lady Caroline sat beside her, glowing with youth and propriety, waiting for Wesley to offer for her.She was everything Thea wasn't.Everything Thea assumed Wesley would want.
She supposed she wasn’t the same woman she was before Wesley’s father had died either.Before she had attempted to free herself from Wesley’s hold on her through sex and a betrothal to another man, which hadn’t gone at all according to plan.
Thea set down her glass and rose.“If you'll excuse me.I need some air.”
“Of course.”Lady Caroline's smile didn't waver.“I do hope we'll speak again soon.”
Thea murmured something appropriate and escaped deeper into the garden, weaving between clusters of guests until she found a bench tucked behind a hedge.She sat down and pressed her hands against her face.
This was absurd.She had no claim on Wesley.He'd never pursued her, never declared himself, never given her any reason to believe he wanted more than friendship.If he married Lady Caroline, it would be none of her concern.
