Chapter 22

Perhaps the best thing about a house party was the camaraderie that was to be shared amongst the young ladies in attendance.

Alice had rarely been invited to partake in these little soirées that happened much later after the official activities arranged by the hostess, so she was extremely happy when she and her sister were joined by Scarlett in her bedchamber after the young ladies were supposedly abed.

"Do you not think it strange how one minute the Duke of Thorns is all but devouring our Alice, and then the next minute, he could not stand to be near her?" Scarlett asked them with wide eyes. "I mean, Alice, dear, surely you have taken notice of his odd behavior?"

Alice nodded and looked down, feeling the heat creep up her face.

"Come now, Alice," her best friend prodded her. "If there is something amiss with the man, you can tell me. I might be no match against a pack of Wolves, but I assure you I will set the man right if he hurts you in any way."

"He has not hurt me!" Alice spoke suddenly, drawing the surprised stares of both her younger sister and her dearest friend. She pursed her lips in frustration. "That is to say, His Grace—Colin—has not harmed me in any way."

Phoebe reached out to clasp her hand. "But you must surely feel that the way he treats you is rather… odd."

Scarlett nodded like a chicken pecking avidly on grains. "For someone who declared himself to have fallen for you with just a single glance, he is hardly acting like the besotted man that he claims to be."

"Because he is not… besotted with me, I mean."

The redhead looked at her with furrowed brows. "Dearest, whatever do you mean by that? If that Wolf has started straying before he even?—"

"Our betrothal is a farce!" Alice finally admitted before Scarlett could carry on with her spiel.

The moment she said the words, a silence descended on the room. Two pairs of eyes looked at her in shock, but Alice felt much relieved. Like a boulder had just been lifted off her chest.

Phoebe was the first to speak, although her words seemed to tumble out of her lips incoherently. "Y-you cannot p-possibly?—"

Alice nodded glumly. "Oh, yes. I was well aware of it all. In fact, I consented to everything before he went over to Brandon Estate to talk to Papa."

"Dear God in heaven!"

"I know!" she moaned in misery. "I am the worst daughter. I just thought that maybe if I pretended to have a betrothal, Papa would feel better, and then he would not?—"

Her words were cut off by a soft knock on the door. Her eyes widened as her head swiveled to see who else had come at such a late hour. A horrified gasp slipped her lips when she beheld Lady Evelyn standing in the doorway, still in her dress from dinner.

Lady Evelyn was pale as a sheet, and Alice noted a faint trembling in her lips.

"Evie!" Phoebe choked out, scrambling towards her friend. She clasped her hands with a look of genuine concern. "Your hands are as cold as ice, and you look like you have seen a ghost!"

Evelyn turned towards Phoebe with a faint smile. "I lost."

It was at that point that a sinking dread seeped into Alice. Judging from the young woman's reaction, she must have seen or heard something extremely shocking for her to behave so.

"You… you heard?" she muttered weakly as Phoebe led Evelyn to the sofa where she and Scarlett still sat.

Evelyn nodded with a slight smile. "I suspected as much."

Alice felt shame wash over her. When she had agreed to the farce with Colin, she had not met Evelyn and Lady Wellington yet. She had thought that it would be the hardest to lie to her family, especially when she saw how ecstatic her papa was with the Duke's proposal.

She never took into account that she would have to lie to people like Evie and Lady Wellington, who had been nothing but good to her.

"Oh, Lady Evelyn, I am so sorry!" she moaned in abject misery.

To her surprise, Evelyn only let out a soft laugh and reached out to squeeze her hand in reassurance. "Oh, do not fret about it, Alice. My brother has been up to far worse shenanigans, so I already expected he would pull something like this."

"How did you figure it out?"

Evelyn wrinkled her nose. "Well, Colin likes to think he is extremely smart, but he never really told us how the two of you met, and whenever I ask him about you, he only gives me such vague answers or dismisses me totally."

"So, he is not a very good liar either," Scarlett scoffed.

"True." Lady Evelyn's eyes twinkled. "But I could tell that something was underfoot, especially since Grandmama has been pestering him to find a duchess for the past year or so."

The redhead let out a choked laugh as she fell back on the pillows. "Well, it is rather comforting to know that it is not only us young ladies who are compelled to find suitable matches whatever the cost!"

Phoebe shot her a wry glance. "I am quite certain that your brother has been hearing the same thing from your mama as well."

"Yes," Scarlett replied with a casual wave of her hand. "But with him always away on business, her focus have fallen on me, sadly."

Alice smiled at her best friend. The line of her suitors banging on her father's door practically stretched out to the street outside their estate. Scarlett certainly did not lack prospects, but she could not settle on a single one of them, much to her mother's dismay.

Alice turned towards Evelyn with a worried frown. "What else gave it away?"

If Evie could figure it out on her own, then Alice was certain others could as well.

"I suppose it is because I have some idea of your first meeting with my idiot brother." The young lady's eyes sparkled and some of her earlier gloom seemed to have been dispelled. "Colin might be awful at making up stories on the spot, but the staff at the estate are completely honest with me. I spoke with the maid who chased you at Blackthorn Estate, and I made her vow that she would not tell a single soul!"

Alice let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you so much!" she breathed. "But… why would you do that? I mean, surely you must be disappointed with me for colluding with your brother…"

"Because you seem like a truly nice person, Alice, and I did not want to ruin our friendship before it could even start," Evelyn told her warmly, a genuine smile on her face. "And ever since you came, my brother has been a lot more tolerable to be around with."

"Somehow, I cannot believe the latter part of what you just said."

The young lady laughed and shook her head. "I have to admit that he does take some getting used to. His temper has not always been the best since… well, since…" she trailed off, and that same haunted look surfaced in her eyes once more.

Alice reached out to grasp her hands, and she seemed to jerk in surprise. Evelyn had not even noticed how tightly she had clasped her hands together.

"Is something amiss, Lady Evelyn?"

Evelyn shook her head with a lot more fervor than was necessary. "No. Not really. And please, just Evie will do. After all, we are all friends now, are we not?"

The three young ladies all smiled at her in support.

"Naturally." Phoebe beamed at her gently. "So, if something is bothering you, you can always tell us, and we will always do our best to help you. That is what friends are for."

Evie smiled at them gratefully. "Well, I have never really had close friends, and you know how overprotective Colin can get…"

"Oh, I am well-acquainted with the feeling!" Scarlett sighed as she flipped her hair back dramatically. "I have an older brother as well, and he can get absolutely domineering at times. Sometimes," she confided with a mischievous smile to Evie, "you just need to show a little more force."

Colin's younger sister was decidedly more reserved than her older brother, and she smiled shyly at Scarlett's suggestion. "Perhaps I shall do just that," she replied warmly. "In any case, it was just… well, the Duke of Ashton and I came across something in the library while we were searching for the treasure."

Phoebe nodded. "It must be something important."

"Oh, yes. Well, to our family at least," Evie mumbled. "It might… change a lot of things, but nothing is really certain for now. He already promised he would look into it though…"

The he she is referring to must be the Duke of Ashton.

Alice looked at Evie in concern, but she could sense that the younger lady was not willing to be more forthcoming. If it involved something in their family, then perhaps Colin might also want to get involved.

But if the Duke of Ashton is already on the case, then he might also tell him about it… whatever it is.

"A fake betrothal and family secrets resurfacing." Scarlett grinned. "I would have to say that this must be the most exciting house party I have ever attended! And to think that the activities have barely begun!"

Evie laughed lightly. "Oh, Grandmama will be so happy to hear that. She has been dropping hints and saying that she has a lot planned for all of us. I have to warn you, though—she can certainly be devious!"

"Oh, so that is probably where Colin got that from," Alice muttered under her breath.

"Grandmama would be even more pleased to hear that, although I doubt my brother would." Evie giggled.

The four of them spoke for a bit more before Scarlett let out a soft yawn behind her hand. Her eyes fluttered sleepily as she smiled at her newfound friends.

Alice was feeling slightly better, even after all the confusion of Colin's sudden exit. Truly, there was nothing like the company of true friends to soothe the ache of one's heart.

"Well then, I suppose it is high time we all retire to our respective rooms," the redhead announced with a grand smile.

"That is true." Phoebe nodded. "I heard there will be a picnic tomorrow, and maybe even more games."

Evie let out a little laugh. After a few minutes of soaking in the camaraderie, she looked to be in much better spirits than when she had first entered Alice's bedchamber.

"Knowing Grandmama, there are bound to be some games," she agreed. "I suppose I should get some rest. I would not want to come in last again!"

The other young ladies laughed as they stood up, and Alice accompanied them to the door. Just as she was about to close the door to her bedchamber, Evie managed to lean in.

"Just so you know," she whispered, "my brother is staying in the rooms right across yours."

Alice was taken aback. As the head of the household, should he not be occupying the master bedchamber? One would think that he would naturally have the largest suite to himself, since it was his home.

"You have to understand that he does not like staying in the rooms our father used to occupy," Evie added in a more somber tone. "And most of the rooms in the guests' wing are already assigned to the other guests."

"Oh."

The younger lady flashed her a mischievous smile and winked at her. "You may do what you will with that information, Alice. Good night."

"Err… good night to you, too, Evie."

After she had closed the door behind her late-night guests, Alice found herself leaning against it, her heart pounding heavily in her chest. Memories of what transpired earlier in the study flooded her with heat, weakening her knees until she sank to the floor. Her hands curled into her nightclothes as she felt warmth rising up to her cheeks.

Colin was staying in the rooms just across her own. Would he come to her after everything was quiet and everyone had left?

She bit her lower lip and shook her head at that. Such fanciful thinking! Even if he was so daring, he would probably not attempt something so scandalous right under his own grandmother's nose. And with his impressionable sister under the same roof at that!

But then again, they had gone much further than what could be considered proper when they were in his study…

No, Alice decided as she climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her body as she buried her face in her pillow.

He is not coming. You have seen how he all but scampered away just earlier.

Still, her thoughts made for a restless night that had her tossing and turning well past midnight as she glanced at the door countless times, wondering if he would ever walk in.

And if he ever did, what was she supposed to do about it?

Nothing, she realized with startling clarity.

In fact, she might even welcome his advances.

When it came to Colin Fitzroy, she had—thus far—displayed a startling ability to lose all of her senses—common or otherwise.

She sighed as she turned once more in bed. Somehow, that did not feel so very bad at all, losing one's mind to a man.

Or a Wolf, a sly voice whispered in the back of her head.

By the time she finally fell asleep, it was well past midnight, and even then, her dreams were full of a certain ravenous Wolf making a delightful meal out of her.

Little lamb, indeed, he had called her. She found that she was starting to like that nickname, for all she pretended to dislike it.