They waited in silence. The sound of rain upon the window and the ticking of the clock were the only noises. They waited for what seemed forever. But upon inspection of the clock, it was only a quarter of an hour.
The front door opened and as if one, they all swung their gazes to the morning room door.
The sound of footsteps in the outer hall turned her blood to ice.
Was it William or someone who had come to tell her terrible news?
Unable to wait like a decorous woman should, she raced out into the hall.
William stood in the foyer in a wet linen shirt, having already handed his sopping wet coat and waistcoat to Sims.
His dark hair was about his face in wet tendrils. The white linen of his shirt was virtually transparent, clinging to his hard body.
“Thank God,” she breathed.
He lifted his dark gaze to hers, his face a mask of solemnity.
“Is Eversly dead?” she suddenly asked.
“Eversly?” Horror dawned on his face. “No, my love. Eversly is very much alive, tucked into his club, no doubt drinking himself into thankful oblivion. I did as you suggested and allowed him to send a written apology to my club. I have not seen him again this night.”
“Then where—“
“I have been walking.”
“Walking?” It was something her father might have done. “But the city is so dangerous.”
“I was out in St. James Park.” He took her hands in his. “And then I walked out of the city and back.”
“That is no less dangerous!” she exclaimed. “There are footpads and—“
He smiled softly. “Your concern touches my heart, but I had a pistol with me.”
“Oh.” She breathed a sigh of relief. There were few night watchmen to protect those traversing the streets through the darkness.
“I am not foolish with my person.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” he said, “because I have been concerned as of late that I did fall into that general category.”
She shook her head, not understanding.
“Felicity, I have gone through my life as if asleep,” he lifted a hand and stroked a lock of her hair back from her face. “I have done all the things I was supposed to do. I have gone to Eton. I have gone to Oxford. I have been a rake. I’ve learned the martial arts. I’ve taken my seat in the House of Lords. I’ve always done what is right. I—“
“Married out of honor,” she put in.
“Yes,” he agreed. “And that one act. That one act of doing the right thing?”
Oh dear. The floor seemed to open before her as if it might swallow her whole while she waited for his next words.
“Marrying you has opened a whole new world to me. A world of possibilities I never imagined because, Felicity, you have not done what society expected you to and yet you are the most wonderful person of my acquaintance. You have overcome derision, abandonment, pain. All with a kind word, a witty smile, and a generous heart. I always longed to be like the best of society. It was what I was raised for. But do you know what I wish now?”
She shook her head.
He took her hand and turned it palm up, kissing the soft skin. “I wish to be like you.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks. She could scare believe what he was saying.
“Though I know it is sudden, there is no denying my admiration for you. . . I love you,” he said and as he said it, it was like he was just realizing it, for his whole face lit with the emotion. “And I am so grateful that you and Lord Trumbold stumbled into my life that night. For if you had not, I’d still be upon the same tried and true path, never imagining that I might be more than a rake and a lord. With you, Felicity, I know I can do great things because you don’t demand that I be ordinary.”
“William,” she whispered. “Perhaps I have given you this but you, too, have given me so much. You have given me a life free of fear for even if you do choose a life of greatness, I know you will never choose a life of selfishness or cruelty. You will always think of me, your sisters, and your mother. You are a man who can be given a heart and be trusted not to destroy it.”
“And do I have your heart, Felicity?” he asked softly.
“You do,” she confessed as she threw her arms around his neck. “I have been so frightened.”
“That I would fight a duel?”
She nodded against his chest.
“But I promised I would not,” he pointed out.
“I have known so many broken promises,” she explained.
“Not from me.”
“No.”
He rested his cheek against her head. “I never should have left you in such doubt.”
“We’ve been waiting for word for hours,” she admitted.
“Who is we?”
“Come and find out!” piped Lady Melbourne from the morning room.
William groaned but he was laughing, too. “Dear God, how many people are in there?”
“Seven!” Augusta gleefully declared.
“All of your sisters?”
Felicity nodded. “And Mary and your mother.”
“Good God,” he groaned.
She gave him a rueful smile. “We were concerned.”
“Then let us go in and I will ask for pardon.”
As they entered the room, Lady Melbourne decreed, “Dear boy, I never doubted for a moment that you’d return. Eversly is a coward after all. He’d never face you on the field.”
Felicity didn’t point out that Lady Melbourne had been uncustomarily quiet for the last hour.
“And I knew,” his mother said, “that you would keep your promise to Felicity, because that is the kind of man you are.”
Mother and son looked at each other for a long moment.
“Please forgive me for behaving so badly,” his mother said quite seriously. “Your words shook me. They forced me to look at myself.”
“I love you, Mother,” he replied generously. “I always shall. And we shall always forgive each other.”
The dread that had lined Lady Marksborough’s face lifted.
Felicity’s heart lifted even higher at the reunion of the two.
“A new chapter, then?” Felicity asked.
“A new book,” her mother-in-law replied, beaming.
“A new world,” William said with awe. “For I love my wife and all is right with the world.”
“And when society drags my family through the mud?” she teased.
“We shall rise above,” he declared, taking her in his arms despite the company. “After all, we have love, Wife.”
“Why yes, we do.”
Epilogue
And so it had come to pass that one of the sisters Drake had wed and wed well. Of course, all the young ladies were pleased for Felicity.
The next morning, after what would surely become known as the infamous ball, The Scandalous Daughters Society met in Lady Melbourne’s morning room with tea and muffins.
The four remaining sisters sat and eyed each other as they realized that Felicity was no longer a member of their little club. Oh, she’d provide assistance and advice, but she was no longer simply a daughter. . . She was a wife, that thing necessary to almost any young woman who required a place in society as she aged.
Marianne grinned and quipped, “So who’s next for the noose?”
Georgiana laughed. “Oh, it shall be me! I have a plan to snag Lord Kendrick riding tomorrow morning!”
Gus sighed. “Not me. I shall be the last woman standing, I swear. Perhaps, I’ll be lucky and not need to wed at all.
Penelope rolled her eyes. “I do not see you as an old spinster, Gus.”
“Old spinster?” Gus protested. “Never. I shall be very grand, don’t you know, when I’m old.”
Penelope winked, “Oh, I think we all shall be. I can’t imagine any of us sitting in a quiet corner.”
“I saw you in a quiet corner with a man! Lord Worth!” teased George.
Penelope tsked. “You didn’t.”