Page 10 of Miss Ellis Unleashed

“Yes, you were luckier than I was in your guardian,” Daisy said, biting back her growing sense of emptiness that had come after Throsby’s departure from her life. “I haven’t had a family to laugh with for a long time.”

“You still have me,” Gabby promised, hugging her close to her side. “Friends are as good as family.”

That helped somewhat, but the emptiness remained. “Nothing is better than being the best friend of a duchess.”

“We are in this together, and our friendship never depended on either of us tying the knot or being titled,” Gabby reminded her, turning away abruptly as someone called her name.

Daisy stood about awkwardly beside Gabby, not excluded in the new conversation but not immediately part of it, either. Despite Gabby’s reassurances that she belonged, navigating society as an independent woman was harder than she realized it would ever be. Her welcome was less certain.

Without Throsby—or perhaps it had been his title rather than the man—it seemed her appeal had taken a marked downturn except to scoundrels. Women who were once so keen to know her thoughts and opinions, while not turning away from her yet, now barely spared her a moment of their time anymore.

She’d resumed her position as a wallflower at society events without realizing it would happen so fast. It was only her close friendship with the Duchess of Mamble that kept her invited to dinners and balls like this.

Gabby eased closer again. “Why so great a sigh?”

“Just the usual despair I feel when being in society overwhelms me,” she said, rather than admit she was feeling left behind.

Gabby chuckled. “I know what you mean, but try not to fret. There’s a whole city to explore, and it’s full of potential husbands. You never know where or when you will meet the right man.”

Daisy sighed again. “Well, I know many men in higher society, and I want none of them—or they me, it seems—so far.”

“You must be patient,” Gabby warned, patting her hand. “Finding a husband is not easy. But you’ve always known what you wanted in a man. One with marriage on his mind first and without a care for the size of your fortune.”

“Yes, that is true, and yet…” There was a problem. “I want something more,” she whispered.

“Love?”

She blushed and then shrugged. “Perhaps I’ve become too particular.”

“That’s not true. You will find someone who cares about you and your reputation. Someone who watches over you, too.”

“Now you’re describing Throsby,” she said sourly. “The last part, I mean.”

“He was a difficult man, but that benefited you,” Gabby whispered. “Throsby was reliable. You always knew what to expect from him.”

She winced. Not always.

She had known to keep the details of her last conversation with Throsby to herself—and especially that astounding kiss of his, because Gabby would have imagined it meant something more. But what man kisses a woman like that and vanishes into thin air?

She shook her head. “On time and without any embellishment whatsoever, just like the old, battered pocket watch he wore.”

“You could know the time by how frequently he checked it at balls,” Gabby giggled.

“Yes.” But it was Throsby’s parting words that played over in her head constantly since he’d disappeared from her life. “And he never boasted, even when he had every reason to.”

“What could he boast about?”

“In four years, he somehow tripled the pitiful funds my father left to me,” Daisy whispered.

“You only said he improved your fortune,” Gabby murmured, looking at her with shock. “Tripled? Really? How did he do that?”

“With a great deal of hard work and dedication on his part, I suspect. I spent some time poring over the ledgers and papers he left behind, and I’m astonished by the degree of improvement.”

“Your father would be pleased to know he made the right choice for your guardian then,” Gabby whispered, squeezing her arm. “We’ll talk of this more tomorrow when you come for luncheon. Please excuse me.”

The duchess was pulled away into the arms of her grinning husband. They swept onto the dance floor, eyes locked on each other. So much in love.

Daisy sighed with happiness and looked away, but the group she’d been standing with broke apart, all going separate ways, leaving her standing by herself.