Chapter Five

After plans were made and talk of modistes and ball gowns subsided, Augusta excused herself and made her way upstairs to the room she shared with Delphi. Hours had passed since Delphi's withdrawal from the parlor and a flicker of apprehension coursed through her. Who knew what the future held, or if anyone on the widow's eligible bachelor list would suit?

Forced marriages or marriages of convenience did not take personal opinions into consideration. Tsking, she ascended the stairs to the second floor, beaten down by a row of rotten luck that seemed to prevail in their lives.

Were she and Delphi doomed to marry men they did not love, let alone care for? Nevertheless, Lottie's revelation that she'd played a masterful part in bringing Thenie and Kilverstone together was a beacon of hope. Perhaps her cousin's connections to Whitehall and the black widow's powers of persuasion would be worth the agony and suspense.

Still, questions riddled her mind. What awaited them at the Claremont's ball? Or should she and Delphi take matters into their own hands and invent a more industrious plan?

She paused at the landing, frustrated by what had befallen her. Their lives had changed when Lord Boothe accused Thenie of kissing another man after eavesdropping in Mrs. Beaumont's library. Turning fiction to fact, Thenie had kissed Kilverstone at Vauxhall after losing a bet in a game of truth or dare. None of it made sense. Why would Thenie take risks like that after Boothe's betrayal?

Bracing a shiver, she continued up the stairs. She'd been daft, believing her assumptions. Poor Thenie! The way they had given her grief made her feel extremely small and shallow. Their beloved sister had been ready to sacrifice everything for them and almost had, despite their mean-spiritedness. She had spent her entire life outwardly admonishing their father's frequent absences and archeological trips to the continent, only to be spirited away to Athens with Kilverstone to experience similar adventures. Unlike Augusta and Delphi, who abhorred mummies and muck and were content to remain on English soil.

She had to admit. One thing still confused her. How had Kilverstone won Thenie's heart in so short a time? Was it possible to love a man at first sight? And was this blush Augusta experienced, every time she thought of the man in Hyde Park, a prime example?

The difference was, Kilverstone had had one thing in his favor—Lottie.

"Pfft." Love made people do the strangest things. "It's a miracle men and women became betrothed at all."

She rubbed her stomach and shook her head. It was best not to form expectations. A woman's primary goal in life had to be security. Good looks, character, and opinion mattered little. Though a good horse, a sturdy stable, and a wide expanse of land were especially fine.

Sighing, she moved down the corridor until she arrived at the door to the bedchamber, she shared with Delphi, eager to reveal her discoveries. So as not to disturb her sister, in case she was sleeping, she entered quietly. Dim light shone from the fireplace, making it hard to see if Delphi was already abed.

Odd thing, that.Candles were always lit after dark for their use.

A chill prevailed in the air. Hugging herself, she realized the draperies on the opposite side of the room were blowing in the breeze. Quickly going to the window to let down the sash, she turned, expecting to see her sister reclining on her side of the bed.

The counterpane was untouched.

"Delphi?"

She recalled the look on her sister's face as she'd fled the parlor, a piercing agony taking hold. Deep in her bones, the sharp and steady bond they shared dimmed. And it was this connection that warned Augusta that Delphi was in trouble.

She swallowed hard, alarm bells ringing in her ears. Fearfully, she retraced her steps, conjuring plausible explanations for her sister's disappearance. "Delphi?"

A moan, almost too inaudible to hear, reached her ears. But heard it she had.

"Delphi?" Frantic now, she skirted the bedstead, discovering her sister lying on the floor and struggling to rise. "Oh, Delphi! What has happened? Are you hurt?"

"I hardly know," her sister replied as Augusta helped her to stand. The floorboards creaked beneath their feet, the ominous sound filling her with unease. "I felt overly warm." She pointed to the windowpane. "I opened the window. I woke up on the floor... helpless to do anything."

"Shhh," she said, struggling to guide her to the bed. "Save your strength. I am here now. Whatever you need, I will provide it." Hugging Delphi close, she coaxed her gently onto the mattress. "Do not worry. I shall ring for Mama. She will send for an apothecary."

"No!" Delphi grabbed her arm, squeezing it painfully, her strength surprisingly strong for one who was so incapacitated only moments before. "I beg you. Do not tell anyone."

"I cannot do that." She blinked, her heart sinking into her stomach. "Something is terribly wrong with you, and you mean more to me than life itself." Surely Delphi did not expect her to lie about something as important as this? "I could not live with myself if anything happened to you. You cannot keep this from Mama anymore. She must know. She needs to know."

"And she will." Delphi smiled weakly. "I promise. I will tell her... once I am more myself."

"But that is the problem. You are not yourself. You have not been yourself for a very long time."

Panic seized her. What if Delphi never recovered? She worried her bottom lip. Deep down, she understood keenly that her sister's illness was very serious. How Delphi expected her to hide this latest episode was beyond her. Previous attacks had not been this severe, which was why she hadn't rushed after Delphi when she'd left the parlor earlier in the day. Else she would have known not to allow her sister to retire alone.

"Promise me," Delphi pleaded.

A surge of warmth gripped Augusta. "I do not know if I can."

"Yes. You do."

Delphi's passion to finish the Season had blinded her, but it did not diminish Augusta's prevailing sense of devotion to a most beloved sister. And yet, how could her request be denied? "This doesn't feel right."

Delphi inhaled deeply, a raspy sound mounting Augusta's anxiety. "I am well. You will see. The air was stale and I—"

"Opened the window," she finished for her calmly.

"Yes." Delphi patted her hand. "You understand, don't you? I opened the window, spun around too fast, and simply lost my balance. That is all. It could happen to anyone." The wan smile she provided offered no reassurance. "Now. Tell me. What did you and Mama... and Lottie decide on the list?"

Changing the subject only delayed the inevitable, and talking about something else prevented Augusta from delving deeper into the symptoms Delphi had had other times before.

"No decisions have been made yet." The half-truth soured her tongue. The Black Widow of Whitehall had decided nearly everything for them, whether they liked it or not. Shocking! "What I mean to say is, we will decide the outcome of this matter together."

"And how are we supposed to do that? The list is very long and—"

"Lord and Lady Claremont are giving a ball and the gentlemen on the list will be there." Astonished, Delphi struggled to rise to her elbows, but Augusta pressed her back to the pillows. "First, we must remain calm, for there is nearly a week to prepare."

"What do you propose?"

"Well." She paused, searching for the perfect answer. The fastest one rolled off the tip of her tongue. "We could always challenge our prospective suitors to a game of Truth or Dare."

"Augusta!" Delphi's laughter led to a coughing fit, filling Augusta with instant regret.

"I am sorry." She quickly raised Delphi to a sitting position and patted her back. "I could not resist."

"P-Perhaps... Thenie knew the right of it. Perhaps that would be a good way... to learn the truth about our husbands-to-be before each wedding takes place. The diversion... certainly worked for our sister."

"I cannot disagree," she said, struggling to sound hopeful. Guilt over how they treated Thenie resurfaced. "Oh, Delphi. I fear we have been too hard on our sister."

"I agree," she said.

But Delphi did not know the full truth of it. "I confess, Thenie's conclusion that it would be far easier to kiss a man and rate any level of attraction—or lack of it—rather than marrying and discovering that you have absolutely nothing in common, has merit."

"That is my fear," Delphi said sadly, refusing to recline as Augusta attempted to ease her onto the pillows a third time. "I cringe at the idea of marrying a man I do not know."

"Many of our sex have had no choice and survived to tell the tale."

"But we do," she said in a broken whisper. "Have a choice. Where is the list?"

Augusta withdrew the foolscap from her corset. "Here."

"Good." Delphi snatched it from her, none-too-gently. "We could enlist the aid of one of the servants to uncover information about the gentlemen after we narrow down our choices."

The clandestine idea had merit. "As I told Mama and Lottie, Lord Glanville is out. Do you really want to live with a man who drones on and on about the weather all day? Life with Lord Symondes would be a continual bore. He is ever into his cups and drones on about his recurrences of gout. And I do not think I could stomach Lord Howard's conceit."

"The list is meticulous. Why, the names of every eligible gentleman known about Town are recorded here. And then, there is Mr. Quinton Prendergast." She snickered. "Was anything else said about him?"

The best part of being a twin was knowing they agreed on almost anything. "All that was mentioned is that he is a man of means, earning an income of ￡3,000 a year."

"How does a man without a legacy earn such a sum? Is he a merchant?"

She bristled, mulling over how to answer that question, knowing that risky ventures frightened Delphi to her core. "I believe he is a... speculator."

"Speculation!" The word was playful, but the unspoken meaning was not. "Papa does not approve of gamblers." Delphi wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Or untitled gentlemen. That is curious. Why is his name included?"

"It is wrong and a waste of time to presume what Papa thinks, Delphi," she said not wanting to bring up the Black Widow of Whitehall's involvement.

"But—"

"Let's not dwell on it any longer. The reality is we do not have a choice."

Delphi forced a smile. "We will do this together then. We shall join forces and make marriage work for us. Not against us."

"Yes." Perspiration beaded on Delphi's brow. She brushed the back of her hand there, caressing her face. "And to start, we must be honest with each other."

A shadow of annoyance crossed Delphi's face. "Always."

"Which means you must tell me the truth. You are not well and I must know what, exactly, is wrong."

"I—" Delphi closed her eyes as if to stave off a knot of dread. When at last her lashes parted, Augusta felt the earth give way underfoot. "I cannot put a name to it."

A spasm shot through the pit of Augusta's heart. The nagging fear that she might lose her sister refused to be stilled. She glanced away, tears welling in her eyes. She struggled to remain positive, needing to uplift her sister's spirits, as well as her own. "Surely what you are feeling will pass. It has before."

"For brief periods only." Delphi lowered her eyes, the hollows appearing darker than ever before. "I fear... I dread I may not be able to finish the Season, Augusta."

"You... may not—" She could not believe what she was hearing. Every cell in her body raged against the possibility. "Do not speak like this. We are sisters. And no matter what happens, we will always be there for each other."

"But if I cannot. I mean to say... I fear what will happen to you."

"Nothing is going to happen." She had no intention of leaving Delphi to the whims of Fate. "We will always be by each other's side."

"You cannot know that. We must marry." A chilling, black silence surrounded them. Delphi squeezed her hand affectionately. "Fate... has other plans."

"Curse Fate!" Augusta cupped her sister's face between her palms. "You must recover." There could be no alternative. "I need you. We have never been apart," she said, struggling to suppress her tears. "I will hear no more. This is intolerable."

How could she exist if her other half was gone?