Page 27

"And a celebration! We must arrange a grand celebration—a ball before the ceremony, and another following it. The entire ton must witness this occasion. Lady Calliwell will be green with envy; she has boasted of her autumn gathering for months, and now we shall host a ducal wedding to eclipse it entirely."

Adelaide rose from her seat. "Aunt Beatrice, I ought to inform you that Julian desires the ceremony to remain a quiet, private affair."

Beatrice stopped in her tracks, staring at Adelaide as though she had suggested holding the service in a storage closet.

"Private?"

"Yes."

"A quiet affair?"

"He was entirely explicit upon the matter."

Beatrice turned on her heel and marched straight to the writing desk beneath the tall window. She opened the slope with a sharp snap, retrieved a sheet of fine parchment, and dipped her quill into the inkwell.

"Absolute nonsense! A duke's wedding is never a quiet affair!"

"Aunt—"

"His Grace may enjoy his privacy after the vows are spoken, Adelaide. Beforehand, society shall have its proper due." Beatrice began writing, her quill scratching across the parchment with furious speed. "I shall dispatch express riders to every relative this afternoon. Sarah will be beside herself."

"Sarah is here," Adelaide pointed out gently, glancing at Sarah.

"Then Jane shall be the first to know, and she will be insufferable for weeks," Beatrice replied without looking up from her desk. "Which is entirely proper, given that her cousin is marrying a duke."

Adelaide turned to Cassian. He remained in his chair by the hearth, a quiet, amused grin touching his lips as his eyes met hers.

"I suspect you will face a formidable challenge if you hope to keep this wedding private," he remarked.

Adelaide looked at her aunt, who was already addressing a second envelope with increasing urgency, and then back at Cassian. She thought of Julian standing in his library, outlining his intention to apply for a special license from Lambeth Palace, and of the board of trustees enforcing their strict nine-day deadline before his vessel set sail.

Explaining those complex circumstances to Lady Beatrice Lupton was entirely out of the question.

"Perhaps I should leave that discussion to the duke," Adelaide said dryly.

Cassian laughed softly. "A faint-hearted strategy."

"A pragmatic one," she corrected.

Beatrice's quill paused. She looked up from her desk, her expression holding a genuine warmth that caused Adelaide's posture to soften.

"I am proud of you, Adelaide."

The unexpected statement left Adelaide momentarily silent.

"I recognize that I have not always..." Beatrice paused, smoothing the letter before her. "I recognize that I left you behind at Ashwood, and that my reasons were not entirely unselfish."

Adelaide remained quiet. She had long understood her aunt's motives and required no formal confession.

"Yet you have managed exceptionally well," Beatrice continued softly. "Far better than any of us anticipated, and better than we deserved."

The sincere affection in her aunt's tone reached Adelaide, offering an unexpected sense of comfort.

"Thank you, Aunt."

Beatrice offered a decisive nod before returning to her correspondence. "Now, Lady Cowper first, I think. She commands the widest social circle and owes me a favor from the winter assembly of 1811."

Adelaide resumed her seat while Cassian studied her thoughtfully.