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"Excellent. I shall begin sorting the correspondence this evening." He tucked the notebook under his arm and moved toward the door. "We can review the selections together in the library tomorrow."

"Julian."

He paused at the threshold. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

His brow creased. "For what?"

"For the compliment—about the dress."

A faint flush rose along his jaw, and he adjusted the notebook under his arm. "It was not a compliment; it was an observation."

"Then thank you for the observation."

He held her gaze for a moment, an unspoken thought lingering behind his eyes. Then he inclined his head, turned, and walked through the door.

His footsteps receded down the hallway. The dressing room door remained open as the afternoon light shifted across the floor in slow, golden angles.

Adelaide stood before the wardrobe where eleven dresses hung in a row. Reaching out, she touched the deep blue silk again—the fabric that had caught the light and thrown it back in rippling waves.

Breathtaking in whichever dress you choose.

CHAPTER 26

Adelaide felt all conversation hush the instant the grand ballroom doors swung inward. Every head in the room shifted toward the entrance. She stood beside Julian in the deep blue silk she had chosen, her gloved hand resting on his sleeve, while every face in Lady Calliwell's ballroom stared at her.

Julian's stride did not falter. He guided her forward through the parting crowd.

"Do not give their gaze any significance," he murmured without looking down.

They reached the far end of the ballroom where their hostess held court. Lady Calliwell stood surrounded by Lady Cowper and Princess Lieven, leaning heavily on her cane. Her sharp eyes found Julian immediately.

She pointed her cane straight at him.

"Ha!" Lady Calliwell cackled. "You escaped the trap I set for you!"

Julian laughed softly. "I was not aware you had set a trap, Lady Calliwell."

"Of course. I have waited for you for the past decade to attend my ball." She rapped her cane against the floorboards. "Missing my fall opening ball would have been the travesty of the century. I had begun to suspect you had developed an allergy to civilization itself."

"Merely an allergy to London weather."

"Rubbish. You have been gallivanting across deserts and mountains where the weather is far worse." Lady Calliwell's gaze shifted to Adelaide, her expression sharpening with open curiosity. "And who is this?" the countess asked even though she already knew.

Julian drew Adelaide forward, his hand pressing warm against the small of her back.

"My duchess," he announced. "The Duchess of Ravensmere."

Adelaide held her breath.

Lady Calliwell looked her up and down with the thoroughness of a connoisseur inspecting a painting for forgery. Then her severe face broke into a wide, genuine smile.

"Well," she remarked, leaning toward Lady Cowper. "It seems the duke possesses more sense than any of us credited him with."

Lady Cowper stepped forward, her eyes bright with approval. "Welcome to society, Your Grace. You are far lovelier than the rumors suggested."

"Far lovelier," Princess Lieven agreed, inclining her head with regal warmth. "And far more accomplished, from what I hear. The duchess who corrects expedition journals—London has been buzzing with no other gossip for weeks."