Chapter Two

M rs. Patience Moore stared in the mirror at the face looking back at her. Her maid had arranged her brown hair in a pleasing enough coiffure, but it was her hazel eyes that were her best feature… or so Patience had always thought. Not that it should matter. At the age of one and thirty, she was so far on the shelf that a permanent layer of dust had settled. She had held very little hope that she would marry again. That was, until her dear friend Cassandra Vaughn made a deal with the Widow of Whitehall.

Patience never asked Cassandra the amount she paid to see their other two friends happily married. Moriah and Josephine were both now marchionesses. Who would have ever thought that two members of their Wicked Widow's Club would now be respectable ladies within the ton ? But Cassandra had made that happen for them with the help of Mrs. Dove-Lyon and now it was Patience's turn. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves for what the evening ahead might reveal.

Fastening the earbobs to her lobes, she stood smoothing down the fabric of her light-green dress. Picking up a light shawl, she at least looked like she was ready for whatever the night had in store for her at the Lyon's Den. She left her bedroom closing the door behind her. It was as though she just closed off a part of her old life—and perhaps this wasn't too far from the truth as the memory of her first husband flitted through her mind. She had been so young and in love. She never expected to become a widow in the early years of her marriage.

Her hand slid down the well-polished mahogany banister as she descended the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she went to stand at the entrance to Cassandra's parlor. The lady was holding back the sheer curtain and staring out into the darkness of the night.

"Is everything all right, Cassandra?" Patience asked watching the lady let go of the fabric and plaster a fake smile on her face. Something was troubling the woman, but Patience wasn't sure what the issue might be.

Cassandra gave a light laugh, but it sounded strained even to Patience's ears. "Everything is perfectly fine. Never better."

Patience raised one of her brows. "How long have we been together, Cassie?"

Cassandra went to a table and poured herself a sherry. "Long enough, I suppose."

"After ten years, I think I should know you well enough to know when something is troubling you," Patience replied shaking her head no when Cassandra silently offered her a drink.

"Ten years? Has it really been that long?" she murmured until she all but folded herself into a nearby chair.

A memory flickered in Patience's mind… They had become friends the day Cassandra had come into her family's mercantile. A bond that began with a friendly conversation as though the two women had known each other a lifetime. Patience had been completely innocent to Cassandra's lifestyle until the lady one day confessed she was the mistress of an earl. Patience never told her parents knowing she would never be allowed in the woman's presence ever again. But Patience would never judge the woman, and she would sneak away whenever she could to join Cassandra and talk about their day-to-day lives.

Their lifestyles couldn't have been more different and yet a sisterly bond had formed that Patience never could explain. There was something about Cassandra that made Patience wish she had experienced even half of the excitement that seemingly filled Cassandra's life, even if society might frown on the fact that she wasn't married to the man she professed to love. Perhaps this was why Patience had jumped at the chance to marry so young. She thought she would be seeing the world by following her husband to his assignments. The reality had been far from what she had hoped for.

Patience remembered joining Cassandra one day for a walk in the park. Patience had not realized it at the time but Cassandra began following none other than Neville Quinn, Earl of Drayton, and Lady Gwendolyn Worthington as they, too, walked the pathways on that sunny day. Cassandra had kept her distance, shielding herself from view behind the trees. But Patience would come to learn that Cassandra's heart had broken that day when the couple stole themselves behind another tree and began to kiss. That was the day Cassandra knew for certain that there was no hope the earl would return her affection in kind. Not that the earl hadn't been generous when he left Cassandra a huge settlement after their affair ended. In fact, he had been so liberal that Cassandra never had to take another lover again, unless she wished it. But while money could make her comfortable, it couldn't make her happy—not when she could see the love that she'd wanted given to someone else instead.

"You've come a long way since your days with Drayton, Cassie. Look how much better you've made our lives by helping those of us who were in need," Patience reminded her gently.

Cassandra raised her green eyes toward Patience. "You were never in need of my help, Patience. Your reputation was only ruined because of your association with me."

"You were my friend and needed me. I wasn't about to let you wallow away alone in self-pity because of some man. Besides, I had nowhere else to go after my husband died. My family wouldn't take me back—not after I'd disobeyed them by marrying against their wishes. It was kind of you to take me in."

A half snort, half laugh left Cassandra's lips. "I made so many bad choices in my life, but I've tried to change that over the years by helping others who were forced into the same situation."

"My point, exactly. Moriah and Josephine would never be accepted back into Society without your help. And to have each of them married to a marquis! Why, who would have ever thought such a miracle could happen?"

"It wasn't just me. Don't forget the role played by Mrs. Dove-Lyon. Without her matchmaking business, we might all still be sitting here together in this very room." Cassandra sighed apparently lost in thought.

"But she wouldn't have acted without your generosity. Let's not forget the huge sums you paid her. And now you're doing the same for me," Patience replied patting her hair. "I don't know how I'll ever repay such a kindness."

"I never asked for Moriah or Josephine to pay me back for Mrs. Dove-Lyon's fee nor will I ask such from you." Cassandra reached over to take Patience's hand. "You didn't deserve to have your reputation smeared just because you stood by me all those years ago when you returned to England after your husband died. There was nothing wrong with you marrying a military man and traveling with your husband while he served our country and your parents should have understood you loved him and not ostracized you for marrying against their wishes. It was purely selfish on my part to take you in when they refused to let you back into the family. You deserved better than what being associated with me got you."

Stuart … Patience closed her eyes in remembrance of a man she had fallen in love with. He had been on leave when he strode into her parents' mercantile store on a warm spring day. His uniform had been spotless, and his blond hair had become tossed from the wind. He had been in the process of pushing back an errant lock when Patience bumped into him while carrying a stack of books. They tumbled from her hands and with a cry she had knelt to pick them up. The gentleman offered to assist her, and she raised her head to stare into the gaze of a man whose smile reached his hypnotizing blue eyes. She had been struck at first sight and their romance had practically happened overnight.

They had married shortly thereafter much to her parents' regret. They had wanted her to take more time, but Patience knew what was in her heart. Even when her father swore he would disown her for marrying a man she barely knew, she still decided life with Stuart would be far preferable than the boring existence she led back then. Besides, what need had she of her father's approval when she would have her husband to provide for her? She'd been so young, so na?ve. She hadn't realized the terrible risks of being a soldier's wife.

Life in the midst of a war was hard and she did her best to keep herself occupied when he was on the front. She never thought after one battle, that she would be asked to help the doctors with the injured. She had seen more blood and gore than any lady should see at such a young age. Somehow, she had managed and even became skilled at nursing the injured. A month later, her own husband was laying on one of the gurneys. With one look, she saw there was no hope for him. As she watched, his expression went blank and empty as his life drained away. And still she'd stared into those eyes that would never look at her with love again.

"Patience?"

She shook herself from the memories of her past and remembered how this whole conversation began. "I'm fine. The question is, what is troubling you?"

"I was just thinking that this place will be lonely without you," Cassandra said giving her a weak smile. "I will miss your friendship."

Patience waved her hand in the air. "Whatever are you talking about, Cassie? I'm not going anywhere except to the Lyon's Den with you tonight."

"Yes… but tomorrow will be a new day when we set into motion your return to polite Society."

"Bah! I was never in Society, and you know it. I was a shopkeeper's daughter and then a soldier's wife. I hardly rubbed elbows with the ton ." Patience stood and went to the window taking up Cassandra's original position, feeling unsettled at the idea of rising to a level of society she had never known before. Maybe this plan wasn't such a good idea after all. Pulling back the drapery revealed nothing but the darkness of the night. She let go of the material as it floated back into place.

Cassandra also stood and rang a bell. When a servant came to the parlor entrance, she asked to have her carriage be brought to the front from the mews. "You leave all the arrangements to me. My plans haven't failed yet, have they?"

Patience snapped open the fan dangling from her wrist. "You know that I trust you more than anyone, but do not forget that I am different than Moriah and Josephine. They at least had connections and grew up within Society. If you and Mrs. Dove-Lyon think you'll fetch me some titled lord, then you both have been tipping one too many sherries."

Cassandra gave a laugh. "We shall see…"

Patience followed along as Cassandra whisked her into the foyer, helped her don her pelisse, and took her arm as they went down the walkway to the waiting carriage. She could only wonder what the night at the notorious Lyon's Den might bring her.