Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

" I don't know why you're as twitchy as we are, Frances," Diana complained as she paced. "You've already seen her."

"Don't you?" Emily asked dryly. She was only moderately calmer, her foot tapping impatiently against the carpet of Diana's drawing room.

Normally, Frances would have blushed at Emily's wryly arched eyebrow, but she found herself beyond embarrassment. Perhaps it was a bit absurd, to feel as anxious as her friends—they, after all, hadn't seen Grace in three years, while Frances had seen Evan only yesterday, when he'd returned to formally ask for her hand a second time.

She had, of course, accepted.

"Ugh," said Diana. "I'm certain I wasn't nearly this bad when I was newly in love."

"You were worse," Emily and Frances said in perfect unison, making each other laugh.

Diana pulled a face at them.

Frances wasn't embarrassed of the word love either. It felt like a shield against her shyness. She might not be poised to make great orations any time soon, but she felt stronger, bolder, more herself.

After all, if Evan Miller thought she was worth loving, who was she to argue?

"I'm also excited to see Grace," she pointed out. "Just because I've already seen her doesn't mean I'm not pleased to see her again, you know. I've seen you two recently, but that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying your company once more."

Diana didn't pause her pacing as she made a vaguely disgruntled sound, evidently unimpressed by Frances' logic.

"But not nearly as excited as I am to see you," she went on, looking down at where she bounced baby Gracie on her knee. "Because you're different every single time! Yes, you are," she cooed.

This did distract Diana; praising her offspring always did.

"Isn't she marvelous at sitting up now?" she gushed. "Yes, you are, my most clever girl."

She bent in front of Frances to tickle the baby under the chin, which made Gracie gurgle happily.

"I've already told Frances that I shall be expecting that child to live up to her name."

Diana shot to her feet when Grace's voice rang from the doorway, Emily rising a split second behind her. Only Frances, with a cozy lapful of baby, stayed in her seat.

For two seconds, the three friends just looked at one another. Then Diana burst into tears and lunged for Grace, throwing her arms around her neck. Grace caught her as tears began to leak from her eyes, as well. Emily hesitated as if she intended to wait her turn, so as not to overwhelm their friend, before letting out a happy, wet sound and gingerly inserting herself into the chaotic embrace.

"You're here. You're really here," Diana said wetly into Grace's shoulder.

"I'm here," Grace confirmed, voice just as thick. "I missed you all so much."

From behind the tangle of limbs that was her three reuniting friends, Frances saw Evan. He met her gaze and gave her a slow, soft smile, the look of a man who liked what he saw but was in no rush. He winked, then slipped quietly away, leaving the friends to their reunion.

He wouldn't be far, though, Frances knew. He was protective like that, her love. He would protect his sister; he would look after Frances. He would safeguard her heart.

She knew it with every piece of herself.

After a long embrace with many sniffles as the three women tried to contain their happiness and relief, Diana, Emily, and Grace drew apart. Baby Gracie, who had borne the lack of her mother's attention so long as Frances made entertaining faces, found her patience at its limit. She made a demanding squawk that caused all three women turn in her direction.

Diana smiled at her daughter. She always did, every single time she looked at Gracie.

"Yes, darling," she reassured the little girl. "Mama is all right. She's just happy to see her friend Grace, your namesake."

"Right," said Grace, trying to sound stern, though the tear tracks on her cheeks somewhat undermined the effort. "Let me see this baby."

She marched with grim determination to sit next to Frances, going stiff as a board when Frances plopped baby Gracie directly in her lap.

"How do I hold it?" she muttered to Frances.

"I heard that," Diana protested, coming to arrange Grace's arms with maternal proficiency. "And she's a ‘she,' not an ‘it.' Grace, meet Gracie; Gracie, meet you Auntie Grace."

She stepped back to take in her daughter and her friend, her eyes growing wet once more.

"Motherhood has made you weepy," Grace said primly, even as her own eyes grew wet.

"Oh yes?" Diana retorted, clearly having the most wonderful time. "What's your excuse, then?"

Baby Gracie reached up and tried to grab Grace's nose in one of her chubby, clumsy fists. Grace went temporarily cross eyed watching her, then gently detached her fingers. Gracie clung, finding the older woman's hand much more pleasant to hold than her face.

"This is a good baby," Grace said decisively after clearing her throat once or twice. "Not that I doubted it," she added airily. "She has such a fine namesake after all. I will, of course, teach her how to be the best."

"Ah!" said Gracie.

"Oh, good," Grace told her smartly. "You're already brilliant. That's good. It will help in your studies in wonderfulness."

"She doesn't need to study that," Diana interjected. "She's already wonderful."

"Don't listen to your mother," Grace told the baby. "There's always room for improvement. We Graces know this. That's why we are the best."

Emily looked torn between laughing and crying.

"You've created a monster," she told Diana.

"Too bad," said Grace. "Frances said it's too late to change the baby's name; I already asked. She and I are a team now. I'm only friends with the rest of you to spend time with her. Grace and Grace forever."

Frances laughed out of pure joy.

"Well," said Diana, spreading her skirts grandly and sinking onto a settee. The effect was very regal and duchess-like, and Diana ruined it almost instantly by sprawling into a recline. "Now that we're all together, I think it's time we discuss what's most important."

Frances noted the way Grace tensed a little. But Diana, clasping her hands dramatically over her middle, did not turn to their newly returned friend. Instead, she looked at Frances.

"Frances, darling. You left for a house party without telling anyone, returned from practically Scotland with Grace in tow, and now you're betrothed? Tell us everything at once and do not spare a single detail."

Grace relaxed.

"Spare many details," she corrected hastily. "You're marrying my brother, after all. I am therefore choosing to believe that you fell in love over a single, chaste glance. Perhaps once you touched hands. That sounds like it was nice."

"Don't listen to her," Diana encouraged Frances.

"Don't listen to me?" Grace gasped, falsely outraged. She looked at Gracie. "Do you hear this, my newest friend? I am only just now returned, and this is how I am treated! Can you believe such a thing?"

Gracie gurgled, and Grace shot Diana a triumphant glance.

Emily, who had never looked happier to be the peacemaker, smiled at Frances.

"Why don't you tell us a bit, darling?" she encouraged. "Enough to satisfy Diana without horrifying Grace, perhaps?"

Frances smiled.

"Well," she began. "Of course I had no interest in going to a house party, of all the things, but my parents were immovable, determined I would find myself a husband. And when I arrive, who do I see but one Evan Miller, the Marquess of Oackley…"

Her friends bent toward her, eager smiles written upon each of their faces.