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“Well, moving on from that,” Lavinia continued. “Now that Kensington is free, and he still needs a duchess… I just thought that maybe… Oh, I don’t know. Do you think if I went to him and asked him to take me as his wife, he’d agree?”
Annalise almost spewed the tea out of her mouth. “You want to go to him and ask for his hand in marriage?”
“Well, he is not going to ask me. I might as well seize the opportunity. I did it for you, and it worked.”
Annalise bit her lower lip and placed her cup delicately on the table. “Is that really what you want, Lavinia? He does not love you. Not the way you love him. And as much as it might hurt, can you imagine how much harder it would be to live with him all your life knowing that he will never love you back?”
Lavinia sank deeper into the settee. “You don’t know that. He can grow to love me.”
Annalise’s gaze ran all over the room, not finding a place to rest. She sympathized with her friend. But Kensington had known Lavinia most of his life, and if he didn’t love her now, would he ever?
“Lavinia,” she said at last. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. You deserve a man who will appreciate that he has you, not someone who will look upon you as a duty.”
“You were ready to marry him,” Lavinia grumbled.
“Yes, but I was content with a loveless marriage, and I don’t think that’s what you want. I don’t think you’re ready for the type of heartbreak that comes with living with a person who doesn’t love you back.” Annalise didn’t mean to sound bitter, but that’s exactly how the words came out.
Lavinia lowered her eyes. “I apologize. You have your own problems to worry about, and here I am dumping my issues on you.”
“Oh, no, Lavinia, please. Never think that. We’ve been friends all our lives, and your problems are never and will never be less important to me than mine.”
“Thank you, dear.” Lavinia placed her hand on top of Annalise’s and squeezed it lightly.
“You don’t have to thank me for loving you, dear.” Annalise smiled sadly. “And you deserve a husband who feels the same.”
“But what should I do?” Lavinia stood abruptly and started pacing the floor. “It’s not like I have a bevy of suitors lining up to take my hand. And even if they were, I wouldn’t want them to.” She looked at Annalise with such a naked plea in her eyes that her heart squeezed.
“All right, if you’re that sure that there can be no one else but Dane, then I shall help you,” she said and nodded resolutely.
“You will?”
“Yes, but there will be no talk of deals and loveless marriages. If we are to make Dane your husband, we are to make him fall in love with you.” Lavinia gave a snort. “No, none of that. You are beautiful and bright and exuberant, and only a fool wouldn’t fall in love with you.”
“Then every man in the country is a fool.”
“Quite possibly.” Annalise grinned at her friend. “But Kensington is no fool. He’s just so used to thinking of you as his little sister that he doesn’t see you as his prospective wife. What we need to do is to make him aware of you in another light. And I just know how we can do that.”
“You do? How?”
Annalise stood and walked toward Lavinia, studying her from head to toe. A debutante’s light colors didn’t flatter Lavinia’s complexion. She was pale with light brown hair, and she seemed to blend in with the light clothing. She was also round and curvy, and all the ruffles just made her look so much bigger.
“First thing we need to do is order you the most fetching gown,” Annalise said. “In fact, Caroline is taking Olivia to her modiste on the morrow. We should join them.”
“She is? How come? I thought Olivia despised fashionable clothing and had her special modiste.”
“Well, yes. But she revealed she is ready to change her mind. Apparently, she fancies a gentleman and wants to catch his eye.”
“Who?” Lavinia’s mouth dropped open.
“I do not know. She didn’t tell us. But this would be a good first step for you, too. In order for Kensington to start seeing you as a woman, you need to dress and act like a woman around him. We’ll start with the ball. I shall trick Kensington into dancing with you, and we’ll keep throwing the two of you together during all the other social events. I am sure he won’t be able to resist your feminine charms.”
Lavinia grimaced in uncertainty. “I don’t think I have any charms.”
Annalise smiled. “Trust me, you do.”
* * *
Blake had been in a dark mood ever since Annalise had returned his signet ring. It carried all the memories with it, both before his disappearance and after. His foul mood followed him for a few days, and he hadn’t been the most attentive of husbands because of it. He needed to change that. He’d promised to court her again, and he needed to do just that.
