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“Well, he is notmyJohn…” Lady Clydesdale grimaced. “Yes, my John.”
Sam stepped closer to observe the interaction with undisguised interest.
“You want me to marry your John?” Evie continued incredulously.
“Why not? I love you both. I think you will suit perfectly.”
Sam looked from one lady in front of her to another. “Who’s John?”
“Julie’s neighbor and friend. The one she was supposed to marry before… Well, before she married Clydesdale,” her friend finished lamely.
Sam didn’t know the details, but she knew that Lady Clydesdale and her husband’s marriage had started as one of convenience. They were blissfully happy now, but at the time, it was a messy affair. Lady Clydesdale had been in love with her lifelong friend, and Lord Clydesdale had only married her to placate his father.
“He is coming to Lady Pelham’s dinner party next week. And I am to introduce him to prospective brides. Unless you are interested, of course.”
Evie looked like she was about to protest, but she pursed her lips at the last moment. “All right. Couldn’t hurt to meet one more person. I mean, I know I’ve met him before, but I do not remember him. I was a child back then, and so was he. So were we all.” Evie’s expression darkened for a moment before she turned a bright smile to Sam. “How about you join us? Perhaps John will be to your liking?”
“No, none of my gowns will be ready yet. Besides, Gage avoids all social events unless strictly necessary, and I’ll not even speak of my other brothers.” One side of her mouth kicked up in a half-smile. “It’s not like they need husbands.”
“I shall probably be attending every event starting with the dinner. Montbrook seems desperate to get me married too. He has a few suitors lined up for me, I believe.” She turned back to the racks of fabrics. “Everyone is desperate to have me shackled.”
Sam studied her friend’s pinched features. “You don’t seem very happy about that.”
“Oh, no, I am.” Evie turned to her. “If I don’t marry this year, next year the both of us will be wearing spinster caps and sitting with the dowagers instead of dancing.”
“Ah!” Sam slapped her friend playfully on the arm. “Speak for yourself, Your Grace. I am getting married this season with or without you.”
“How about a wager? Whoever is not married by the start of the next season is the one to wear a gown the color of manure to her wedding.”
“You wouldn’t—” Sam narrowed her eyes at her friend.
Evie quirked her brow. “I would.”
“Ladies do not wager,” Lady Clydesdale said in a pretentious tone of voice behind them. “At least that’s what the dowager would say. I shall officiate the wager,” she added with a grin and hurried toward the girls and they all laughed.
At that moment, Madame Deville came in from the back of her shop. “Did you ladies choose your styles and fabrics?” she asked in a light French accent.
“Yes,” they answered in unison.
* * *
Lady Pelham’s dinner party wasn’t as crowded as John had thought it would be, and he thanked the Lord for that. All he needed was to have one of his fits in a house full of people. Divided into several groups, lords and ladies were lounging in a sitting room waiting for the supper to start.
He noticed the Clydesdales right away, and after greeting and conversing with his hostess, he moved toward them.
“Here, I brought my list with me as promised.” Julie got straight to business after the pleasantries were out of the way. “More than half a dozen beautiful and well-dowered young ladies. Of course, most of them are still in the country, but as soon as the season starts you should be—”
“I don’t want to wait for the start of the season,” John interrupted her briskly. “I want to be married and done with it before the season begins. Courting with the entire world watching doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.”
“Best way to do it too.” Clydesdale smiled down at his wife.
Julie shook her head lightly before addressing John again. “Very well, if that’s your wish. That shortens our list considerably since not everyone has arrived in London yet, but still…” She paused, looking around. “There’s Lady Penelope Hardgrave. In a pale pink dress, standing by her father, the Earl of Royston. As an earl’s daughter, she has a sizable dowry; she also enjoys riding and is a nice conversationalist.”
“Hmm…” John studied the young lady in question. She stood separate from the crowd, trying to blend into the shadows. Perhaps she was the perfect bride for him.
“There’s Lady Aurora,” Julie continued, narrating her list. “The Marquess of Bainbridge’s daughter. She’s sitting on a blue settee in a pale yellow gown. She is young, has only had her come-out last season, and she is rather popular with the gentlemen.”
“Why isn’t she married then?” John asked, looking at the lady in question.
