Page 56 of Cold November Rake

P.P.S. Chocolate is perhaps the first food of your sketches I do not wish to try. It tastes like mud with sugar stirred in. I prefer to drink coffee, and I hear Italian coffee is quite strong. Try sketching that the next time.

The Duke and Duchess o' Tyrone are delighted tae attend the event," the duchess announced, adding a card to the acceptances pile.

The morning room table had vanished beneath a drift of cream-colored envelopes, and the duchess was sorting them into two piles—or rather, a towering heap for the regrets and a single card, from the Tyrones, for the acceptances.

"Viscount and Viscountess Gage, delighted," the duchess said as she moved two more cards to the regrets pile and set the Gages' card atop the Tyrones'.

Two acceptances.

Temperance's stomach tightened.

"If the Gages have accepted, it is possible that the Ashtons and Vanes will too, since Baroness Ashton and the Countess o' Vane are Viscount Gage's sisters. That family is large and tight-knit. Still, we need tae send a servant tae wait at their townhouses for their arrival. Then we can call on them in person and remind them about our evening party."

Temperance didn't answer. She didn't know how to respond, because thus far, the only two acceptances had come from the most scandalous couples, whose names she knew well from the gossip sheets. It seemed as though they were the only ones unbothered by Temperance's flight right after the wedding. Or perhaps they accepted the invitations in hopes of witnessing more scandal.

"Mr. Lucien Drake is going to attend." Temperance held a card out to the duchess.

The older woman pshawed. "I assume he is attending as a favor tae my son, but it doesnae matter as long as he is there. As notorious as his reputation is, a bachelor is still a bachelor. He will still attract young debutantes vying for his heart."

Temperance doubted a man of Mr. Drake's notoriety would draw any respectable family. And respectable families were exactly what their pitiful pile of acceptances lacked.

"Nae word from the Clydesdales," the duchess said under her breath. "They are close tae the Duchess o' Somerset, so they will, nae doubt, pass through here on the way tae her house party. But they live far away and might nae have received the invitations yet. It would be nice if they attended. They are the most respectable o' the bunch."

Ah, the duchess had realized the type of crowd they were drawing, and the kind they actually needed to quell the scandal.

"Ohhh, the Landens have accepted the invitation. Finally, a family nae attached tae scandal."

Temperance snapped her head up. "The V-Viscount Landen? Accepted?"

The duchess set the card on the pile with a grin. "Aye, this is a good sign. Nae everyone has turned away from us yet, though we need more acceptances than that."

Temperance's entire being went numb.

Daniel.

Daniel, the Viscount Landen, and his wife would attend.

Why did he accept the invitation to the intimate evening party?

To see her?

She had kept up with his life while in isolation. She knew they had three sons. Both he and his wife had fulfilled their duties: an heir, a spare, and one more child.

While Temperance...

She felt a pang deep in her soul. Grief for the life she might have had.

Things had only just begun to turn in her marriage. She had finally started to see glimpses of the teasing, kind, and warm husband she had married.

A husband who wanted to share his nights with her, though that arrangement was not without its difficulties.

But they were moving forward in their married life.

She pressed a hand to her belly. Perhaps she was with child.

Her heart gave a flutter.

And now Daniel was coming to their home.