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Annalise nodded again, put on her radiant smile, and proceeded to the sitting area.
“And how are you, ladies?” she asked brightly.
“I am incredibly well. Thank you for asking,” Olivia answered with a broad grin.
Olivia’s cousin just offered a polite smile as she sat with her hands demurely folded on her lap, handkerchief in hand.
Helen, Olivia’s cousin by marriage, was a frail, slight lady, with a pale complexion and big brown eyes. She wore all black since she was in mourning for her recently departed husband. He had died only a little over a week ago under bizarre circumstances, and this was the first outing Helen had been on since his death.
Helen was obviously still in pain, but Olivia was determined to help her cousin rejoin the world.
Lavinia conceded that for the first outing after a great tragedy, a quiet nuncheon with a few lady friends was a perfect choice. But she could not imagine how Helen must have felt at the moment. Losing the man she loved was not something to easily get over.
Helen looked like a ghost. Lavinia had never noticed her much before, but looking at her now, she wondered if she had suffered long before her husband’s passing. But who was she to pass judgment? Nobody would suspect the turmoil of Lavinia’s life, and here she was, sitting during a nuncheon, pretending to be content.
“How is married life, Olivia?” Annalise asked, and Lavinia turned toward her newly wedded friend.
“It is incredibly, surprisingly fulfilling. I didn’t think I would enjoy it—”
“You didn’t? Why not?” Annalise asked with a chuckle. “You seem rather fond of your new husband.”
“I am… It’s just…” Olivia suddenly turned a slight shade of pink. “I was not used to sharing a room with another person. And I have a… Well, I am used to doing things one way, and he—let’s just say that the adjusting period wasn’t easy.”
“You share a room?” Lavinia asked, aghast. Didn’t the viscount and viscountess have their separate chambers?
Olivia blinked up at her and then turned to Annalise. “Is that wrong? My parents also share a room. I thought—”
“It isn’t wrong,” Annalise said with a soft smile. She turned to Lavinia and repeated firmer, “It isn’t wrong. Blake and I share a room, too. I mean, I have my own chamber, but I only go there to change my clothing.”
Lavinia frowned. Was that common? She turned toward Helen. “Did you and your husband share a bedroom?”
Helen blinked and shook her head. “No.”
“Oh.” Lavinia was more confused than ever. What was the difference? And why would one want to share a room with one’s husband when one had a perfectly spacious chamber of her own?
“It is simply a preference,” Annalise said as if reading her mind.
The butler stepped into the room and lightly knocked on the doorjamb. “Her Grace, the Duchess of Kensington,” he announced with a flourish.
Everyone’s heads turned toward the door while Lavinia’s insides tightened. She found it difficult to breathe.
Caroline, their mutual friend, entered the parlor room with a smile on her face. She was as composed as ever, dressed in a beautiful midnight-blue gown, an intricate coiffure adorning her head.
Caroline had always been a fashionable lady. But now that she was a duchess, her appearance seemed grander. She looked almost like a queen.
Annalise threw a worried gaze toward Lavinia before getting up to greet her new guest. This was the first time both Lavinia and Caroline were present at the nuncheon since the day Caroline had announced her betrothal.
That day was one of the worst days of Lavinia’s life.
The reason for that was simple. Lavinia had been in love with Dane, the Duke of Kensington, for as long as she could remember. They’d been friends for a long time, but just a few months ago, Lavinia had decided to try to make him see her in a new light. Not as a friend, but as a woman and a potential wife.
But all her dreams had shattered when Caroline announced that she was betrothed to the duke.
Lavinia had pleaded with Caroline not to go through with the marriage. She had even told her why. She had confided in Caroline about her feelings, hoping that would change her mind. But Caroline had married him, nonetheless.
This decision had created a rift between the women. And they had not occupied the same room together ever since.
Annalise had been a good friend of Caroline’s, and although she was prepared to plead with Caroline again to change her mind, Lavinia had insisted that neither she nor Olivia meddled.
