Vow of Deception (The Ministry of Curiosities #9)(10)

"So many rules!" I perched on the window embrasure and stared across the lawn. "Who can and cannot dismiss staff, who speaks to whom and when. What to eat and drink, and when. How will I remember them all?"

"You'll grow into your role, my dear. Until you do, I'll help you. Just think how lucky you are."

"I know I am, and I'm grateful to you."

"Many young brides have to put up with a mother-in-law who still rules the house. You have the best of both worlds. You get the benefit of my wisdom, yet you are the unchallenged mistress here."

I laughed. It wasn't quite why I thanked my good fortune. "You're right, Lady V. Thank you for all your assistance with the wedding preparations."

She patted the sofa beside her. "Come sit by me. I've got an idea for your gown. Have you thought about a bow on each sleeve?"

"The gown is almost finished. I can't change anything now. The dressmaker would skin me alive."

"Tosh. Of course you can change anything, and right up to the day. It's your right as a bride to have exactly what you want."

"I do have what I want. I love my wedding gown."

"Wait until you see this." She plucked a periodical from the embroidery basket at her feet. "It arrived this morning from Paris." She flipped pages until she came to the one she wanted. "If you'd been away any longer I would have sent a request to the dressmaker on your behalf."

It was fortunate I'd come home when I did. The bows on each of the capped sleeves on the dress in the picture were excessive. "I think I prefer it as it is."

"No bows?"

"No bows."

She sighed. "Very well. Now, what about the guest list?"

"What about it?"

"Do you really need to have Lord Gillingham?"

"He's married to Harriet, whom I consider a friend."

She whipped out a copy of the seating arrangements from her basket. "Then he cannot sit next to me."

"But you're such a good conversationalist, Lady V. Your charm and wit are second to none, and you always know the right thing to say. You're comfortable talking to people from the upper classes. Imagine if I sat him next to Gus!"

"Flattery won't work this time, my dear. I can't sit next to him because he's much too small."

I spluttered a laugh. "What has that got to do with anything?"

"We'll look ridiculous seated beside one another. No man likes to feel small and weak, and no woman likes to feel like a giraffe. You'll have to put him next to his wife. She's the only one who'll put up with him. Besides, it's her fault he'll be at the wedding at all."

"So be it."

"With any luck, he'll come down with a sore throat and won't be able to come."

"Or perhaps he'll simply think of an excuse and let his wife come alone."

She scoffed. "I doubt he'll do that. Your wedding will be the event of the year, and he'll want to be included. Everyone is already talking about it."

"Who?"

She waved her hand. "All my friends. Several have requested an invitation, and of course I've had to tell them it's extremely exclusive. Or I will, at the last moment. Until then, I'll enjoy their luncheons and teas and other attempts to pander to me."

"Why is everyone so interested in us?"

"Mr. Fitzroy was highly sought after, at one time. His air of mystery, his good looks and wealth made him popular when I first arrived back in London. You were away at school then. Those girls who didn't need or care for a title threw themselves at him at every opportunity. When he went off the market, several wanted to claw your eyes out."

I stared at her.

"Seth is still popular, of course," she went on. "If only he would attend more parties, he'd have his pick of girls. Some of them are even heiresses. Of course, he'd have to secure them quickly, before their parents remembered why the Vickers name has mud attached to it." She sighed. "His father ruined everything for poor Seth. Do you think you could bring him back for me so I can kill him again?"

I threw my head back and laughed. She did not join in. "Oh. You're not joking. Lady V, you do know people only die once?"

"Can't you banish his spirit to hell?"

"No!"

"Somewhere similar, then. A place where there's fire and brimstone and horrid diseases. And ugly women. That would be his kind of hell." She patted my knee then used it to push herself to her feet. "There must be books in Mr. Fitzroy's library about banishing spirits to hellish places. Reading up on it will take your mind off the upcoming wedding."

"I don't need to take my mind off it. I'm looking forward to it."

She picked up her embroidery basket and rubbed her back as she straightened. "That reminds me, we need to have a talk before your wedding night. But not today."

Thank God for that. It wasn't a conversation I wanted to have with her, ever. Considering what I'd seen while living on the streets, I suspected I knew more than she did about the things a man and woman could get up to on their wedding night.

I went to the kitchen to speak to Cook but he was busy barking orders at his assistant while basting a leg of lamb and stirring the contents of a pot. "Find me later and we'll discuss wedding food," I said to him.