Cassie bustled back in with an extra blanket.
“Much to my surprise, I was able to get this one out of the closet without doing too much damage.” Cassie frowned down at Millie. “Why are you so red?”
“Doesshe look red?” Eliza asked innocently.
Cassie pressed a cool hand against Millie’s brow. “No sign of fever.”
“Not ill,” Millie managed.
“No,” Cassie agreed. “But you are quite flushed. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the shock and fear you suffered tonight resulted in illness. I wish you had let the doctor examine you before he left.”
“Iam not supposed to be ill, only Harbury.” Millie reminded. “I’m so sorry I’ve put you both—and Lady Sarah, too—to all this trouble.”
“Twaddle and bilgewater. Besides, I think Lady Sarah thrives in chaos. She always knows just what to say.” Eliza kissed Millie on the forehead. “Now, I’m going to go downstairs. Remember, choose the option most likely to bring you happiness. Andno matter what happens, you will always have a home at Ravenswood.”
“And Harbury Hall.”
“You see?” Eliza grinned. “Cassie and I are willing to fight over you.”
Millie rolled her eyes, although she appreciated the offers.
As Cassie and Eliza conferred in low tones just outside the door, Millie considered everything Eliza had said. She hadn’t the vaguest notion what would bring her happiness, but she did know the “talk” had left her intrigued.
And, just as stumbling up against Neville in the yew maze had unlocked bodily heat she hadn’t known any man could inspire, his expression as he’d gazed back at her over his shoulder in the stables had sparked a yearning she couldn’t suppress.
An inexplicable tenderness had blossomed in her chest.
A tenderness she’d only ever felt for her sisters.
Love?How could she know?
So much had changed in the last twelve hours. She’d begun the day feeling lonely and disoriented. Then, she’d been subjected to Willard’s manipulation and assault. Next, after summoning all her courage and wit to escape, she’d found brief shelter in Neville’s embrace.
Her heart stuttered anew as she thought of his response to her request to be properly kissed—yes, ma’am.
Now, after Eliza’s enthusiastic, if somewhat alarming, description of marriage bed pleasures, how was she to resist this sudden inner demand formore?
“Shall I blow out the candles?” Cassie asked.
“Not quite yet.” Millie delayed. “What did Eliza mean when she said Lady Sarah was always good in a crisis?”
Cassie smoothed the coverlet. “Sarah once saved Eliza from scandal, too. Last Season, on the night of the Harbury ball, I borrowed Eliza’s shoe buckles without asking.”
“No!” Millie teased. “You broke the most solemn of sister rules?”
“Yes, well, I paid for my sins. Apparently, the buckles meant something to Adrian because, when he saw them, he looked up at Eliza as if his whole world had just tilted. Later, Eliza explained that when she’d first met Adrian, she’d given him a false name, but she had been wearing those buckles. Up until the moment he saw me wearing them, he hadn’t realized Eliza and the woman he’d met and felt a connection with were one and the same.”
“How…awkward.”
“I tell you, I would have fainted dead away if Harbury gave me a look as heated as Adrian gave Eliza—and in a public place, too!” Cassie shuddered. “Immediately, Sarah whisked Eliza off on some made-up errand, and then Harbury covered the whole thing with a joke—a bad one, at that—but a crisis was neatly averted.”
“Well, I’m glad I’m not the only Wainwright Sarah has had to save.”
Cassie chuckled lightly. “We’ve had our share of scandal, haven’t we?”
“Enough for a lifetime,” Millie agreed. “Although Harbury was the one who pulled you into a dance, you bore no fault at all.”
“I must say you’re handling your scandal better than I did mine.” Cassie sighed. “No weeping and gnashing of teeth from you.”