Page 75 of From Unwanted to Duchess
Did she love him? She loved that he was passionate when he wanted to be. She loved his sharp wit, and she admired his kindness to his servants. But he was so withdrawn. Did she even know him?
Yet, on the other hand, she had kissed him. She hadwantedto kiss him. And the truth was, she wanted to kiss him again.
“How does one know if one is in love? Is there a sign? Some unmistakable feeling?”
The three sisters chuckled.
“Your stomach will be full of butterflies,” Charlotte explained. “A most peculiar fluttering sensation.”
“You will think of him at random hours, whether you want to or not,” Marianne chimed in.
“He will vex you to the tenth degree, drive you to distraction, and yet your body will still seek him out. You will constantly want to be in his presence, even if you tell yourself that you don’t want to,” Charlotte said.
“You may find yourself dreaming about him,” Marianne added. “In ways that would make you blush to speak of them.”
“Yes,” Evelyn concurred, “and sometimes in ways that are most shocking.”
Charlotte chuckled and nodded her head. “Indeed. And by the way, your face is turning red. Red as a peony, you are. I can see that most of this has already happened to you.”
“Do you dream of him?” Evelyn asked slyly.
“I—That is—” Frances stammered.
“She does!” Evelyn crowed. “Look at her face!”
“Hush,” Marianne said, laughing. “You’ll embarrass the poor girl to death.”
Frances looked down.
It was true. Just last night, she had dreamt about James, about how he had come to her and lay beside her. They hadn’t done anything, hadn’t even kissed, but he had held her, and it had been so beautiful and so perfect. A most improper dream, and yet so sweet.
Maybe she was in love with him. Maybe this was how being in love felt?
“Regardless…” Marianne pointed her chin toward the door, where James had just appeared. He had stopped to visit Aunt Eugenia on the way here, while Frances had come immediately to meet up with her cousins.
Now he made his way toward them.
“Your Grace,” her cousins greeted in unison, curtseying.
“Ladies,” he replied with a bow. Then his eyes found Frances. “You look lovely this evening.”
She felt a blush creep up her neck. “Thank you.”
Her cousins then turned around and scurried away.
“They did not have to leave on my account,” James said.
“I do not think they left on your account. They left to find their husbands. The first dance of the night will start in a minute.”
“Oh yes,” he said. “Do you wish to dance? If you would do me the honor.”
She looked at him, her eyes wide. He was asking her to dance?
Frances hadn’t been sure how the evening was going to unfold. She assumed that she would spend most of the time with her cousins, and he would spend time with their husbands or with whoever else he knew here.
“I suppose,” she replied.
He offered his hand, and she took it. They made their way toward the lineup, her cousins and their husbands glancing at them with smiles.
