Chapter Twelve

A t the same time in a shop on Regent Street, Lexi stood on an upholstered oak stool and was being fitted for a light-yellow dress, almost buttery in tone, with a silky sheen. Melissa was on the stool next to her, being fitted for a similar dress several shades darker and with a neckline far too low for the bride's sister.

Lexi couldn't bring herself to care about any of it. The fabric in which she was swathed was bright, but she felt dull, not at all like the glossy textile. The air carried the dust of freshly cut fabric, mingling with the faint scent of lavender sachets tucked away in every corner, infusing the space with a subtle threat of moths as though reality would nibble at the dreamy creations. The room was a sanctuary of pins and needles where dreams of fashion took shape. Here and especially now, Lexi didn't recognize herself.

"You look lovely, dear," Mother said, brushing a tear away from the corner of her eye. "You'll be a perfect bride."

Perfect bride.

She felt the pain of a broken heart needling her worse than the seamstress's probing. Lexi caught her reflection in the mirror and bile rose to her throat. Perfection was no longer what she wished for in a match. Even though the Duke of Duncan was as handsome as a groom could be and had paid her family every respect, even procuring a special license with the archbishop's blessing. Truly, everything was perfect. Just as she'd wanted…before she met her dentist-prince.

But Lexi's chest ached from all the splendor.

As if she'd been wrapped in gold, all she could think of was the dentist-prince and his golden touch that sent delicious shivers through her body every time she thought of him. Almost two weeks had passed since she'd first seen him, and even though he'd healed her sore tooth, her heart was breaking more with every passing day that she couldn't return to him.

Lexi retreated into the chamber behind the main room; her mother was out of earshot, and Melissa appeared. She wore only a corset and stockings and was holding her day dress over her shoulder.

"I need to speak with you," she said. "Pretend to help me dress."

As usual, Lexi did as her big sister asked, but her mind wasn't on the task, and she caught her sister's hair in a button.

"Ouch!" Melissa turned around. "That hurt!"

"Yes. It does. So much." Lexi couldn't stop the torrential tears that suddenly began to flow. She was finally alone with her older sister and could express herself freely.

"Lexi, dear, whatever is the matter with you?"

Lexi shook her head, grimacing as the first wave of heaving sobs overcame her.

"Aren't you happy? Everything seems perfect!" Melissa said kindly but just made it worse.

"I don't want to be perfect anymore. I don't want any of it. Not the duke, not the golden dress."

Melissa dropped her gown, and despite her state of undress, she clutched Lexi close. How could Melissa be so comfortable in just her undergarments?

"You don't want the duke? The handsome, tall, glowering duke with the castle?" Melissa's voice was so high-pitched Lexi feared for the crystal lamp over them. Then Melissa squinted and gave her knowing big-sister stare. "What do you want, Lexi?"

That was an excellent question. An enormously weighty one with an answer Lexi didn't dare say out loud.

"There's someone else, isn't there?" Melissa's voice was low.

Lexi cast her eyes downward.

"Oh, dear sister." Melissa brushed the hairs out of Lexi's face, which had started to cling to her tears. "Finally!"

Lexi's head shot up. "What?"

"I said finally . I was beginning to think you'd just be complacent. The picture-perfect daughter. But I feared for your happiness."

"Isn't perfection the only path to happiness?"

Melissa stroked the tears off Lexi's face with the big sister tenderness that Lexi had missed since Melissa had grown up and gotten married, then widowed, and then claimed by the prince.

At least she'd had a prince to kiss.

Lexi thought of the prince-dentist when another wave of tears claimed her.

"Perfection isn't a path at all, little sister."

"What do you mean?" Lexi managed to ask through her renewed sobs.

"Like you, I used to think it was. I thought if I were perfect, life would be perfect, and I could be happy. But that's not how it works, I'm afraid."

Lexi heard the words but didn't understand the meaning of her sister's wisdom.

"I came home to buy myself some time. Needing to be here for your wedding arrangements came perfectly because I realized I had to get away."

"Why?"

"The prince is unwell, dear."

"Is he dying?"

"Oh no." Melissa waved and laughed. "He contracted a disease from his… exploits that's rather contagious. I fled the estate before I caught it. He hasn't touched me yet."

"Are you well?"

"I think so, yes. For now. But he'll want me back."

"After my wedding?"

Melissa's eyes welled up with unshed tears. "You see, what seems perfect from the outside, the palace, the balls, the royal entourage…none of it is what it seems."

"You don't want to go back?"

"Not really, no."

"But as his mistress, there's no other way—"

"Except for marriage."

"To the prince?"

Melissa shoved Lexi in a friendly, mocking gesture. "No, little sister. Of course not! Someone else. If I married to serve the country, I'd be excused. Except my reputation will prevent me from marrying, these days. Society's two-edged sword sliced my reputation in half, and I can't be both the striking mistress and a widow worthy to marry."

"And there's no other way out?" Lexi squinted, digesting her sister's dilemma and the repercussions for their family.

"I'm afraid not. But if I go back and catch what the prince and the other mistresses have, I may never bear children, even if I survive the other effects."

"Oh, Melissa!" Lexi forgot her tears. "That's terrible!" She squeezed Melissa's hand in support and received a wistful smile in return.

"Enough about me, little sister. Who's the man who stole your heart?"

"I mustn't say."

"Not even to me?"

Lexi shook her head despite Melissa's pursed lips. When her sister began to chew her cheeks, she knew she'd won; her sister must have realized she'd never get a word out of Lexi.

"Well, whoever he is, if he finally managed to catch your fancy, he must be a true Prince Charming. Don't let him get away."

He wasn't a Prince Charming; he was a Prince Jai. "How can you say this if you know I'm about to be wed to the duke?"

"Just be happy, Lexi. Marriage is not something you can undo, even if it ends. The effects will forever change your life."

Lexi's vision blurred from the tears, which now thoroughly wet her cheeks as her sister was the first to speak the words Lexi held in her heart for what felt like an eternity. "Do you not want the duke?"

"Not anymore. I did a terrible thing, Melissa. I paid the Black Widow of Whitehall to arrange this match."

"Mrs. Dove-Lyon?" Melissa's voice rose, then quickly fell to a hushed whisper. She peered toward the door as if she had to ensure they were alone. "Are you mad?" Melissa tugged at Lexi's elbow as if she could prevent her from something terrible, but it was too late. "How did you even know?"

"Ashley told me about her. In a letter."

Melissa gave a stern look. "That girl is always up to something." Crossing her arms, her sister leaned against the back of a chair and tapped on the floor with her left foot. "So, you paid her to get you a perfect husband and then you fell for someone else?"

Lexi watched the tap-tap of her sister's nervous foot for she couldn't bear to make eye contact.

"Well then. You need to give her something she wants more than to make a match."

"What do you mean?" Lexi raised her gaze to Melissa's face.

"Women like Mrs. Dove-Lyon thrive on their reputation. They need to surprise the ton with shock. It's how they drive business. Especially the Black Widow. She's the most notorious matchmaker in London. But do you think this notoriety comes from smooth transactions every time?"

Lexi was speechless. For once, the relief of finally having someone to confide in was more than she could fathom. And what was even better, Melissa's worldliness—or whatever her experience in these matters was called—might save Lexi's heart from marriage to the cold duke.

"Do you believe I can get out of this?"

"Only if someone else gets in," Melissa said with a gleam in her eye. And for the first time in days, Lexi felt her chest filling with hope.