The Unlikely Lady (Playful Brides #3)(11)

“And we must plan what we’ll say to Mama when she arrives next week looking for Mrs. Bunbury,” Jane continued.

Cass tugged at her long hair. “What exactly do you intend to do?”

Lucy’s eyes lit with the mischievous glee they always did whenever she was explaining one of her schemes. “The idea is that if Jane has a chaperone who doesn’t exist, she might go to the circulating library or an intellectual salon instead of making calls and attending parties. There would be no one to contradict her assertions about where she has been.”

“But how will you ever keep up the charade back in London?” Cass asked.

Lucy tapped a finger against her cheek. “Admittedly, we haven’t thought it through much more than that. We were merely worried about this house party at present.”

“Yes, one problem at a time,” Jane said.

“However, Jane and I intended to devote a good portion of the next week to coming up with the solution to the problem,” Lucy added with a resolute nod.

Cass ran her hands down her sleeves. “Your mother thinks you’re here with Mrs. Bunbury, Jane?”

Jane nodded. “I was able to leave the house with Eloise, but Mama insisted she be introduced to my new chaperone when she arrives next week.”

“Don’t worry, Jane. We’ll think of something,” Lucy assured her.

“You two always do.” Cass turned her head from side to side in the mirror. “Perhaps I can wear a veil over my face for the next few days until this spot goes away.”

“The veil will just draw more attention to it.” Lucy turned to Jane. “You arrived here successfully, didn’t you?”

Jane nodded. “I did, indeed, arrive successfully. I agree about the veil.”

Cass sighed and backed away from the looking glass. She turned to her friends.

“Cass, you are not to worry yourself on the matter at all,” Lucy said. “You are the bride and it is your wedding party. Jane and I will handle the Mrs. Bunbury business.”

“That’s right,” Jane agreed.

“Did you tell Garrett about Mrs. Bunbury?” Cass asked.

Lucy shook her head. “No. Not yet.”

Cass’s eyes widened. “You plan to?”

Lucy smoothed her skirts. “With Garrett, it’s best to admit to things. He has an unfortunate habit of finding out eventually, and it’s better for everyone if he’s in on it from the first.”

“Yes, he did help when Owen arrived at the house party last autumn,” Cass admitted. “But still, even though it’s my wedding week, I want to help with Jane’s situation. It will keep my mind off my nerves, and my mother. And my spot.” She pressed at the offending bump again with the tip of her finger.

Jane tugged at her lower lip. “I’ve been thinking … Perhaps we can have Mrs. Bunbury write Mama a letter and tell her she’s come down with an illness and had to leave. She can add that she is quite certain I should despair of making a match. Perhaps we can convince Mama to abandon hope when it comes to my marital prospects.”

Lucy wrinkled her nose. “I’m not certain your mother would take one woman’s word for it, Janie, dear.”

“And a woman she hasn’t met at that,” Cass added.

“You’re right.” Jane paced across the rug. “Perhaps Mrs. Bunbury could commence a campaign of letters on the subject, begging Mama to desist in her attempts to marry me off lest she become the laughingstock of the ton.”

“Better,” Lucy conceded, pacing in the opposite direction, “but it still lacks a certain … something.”

Cass tucked a blond lock behind her ear. She stared out the window. “You could always involve yourself in a scandal. Your mother would be forced to keep you behind closed doors. If it were bad enough, that is.”

Jane stopped pacing. “Scandal?”

Cass turned her chin to her shoulder and laughed. “I was only teasing.”

“No. I liked it, quite a lot actually,” Jane said.

“A scandal,” Lucy echoed, her unusually colored eyes twinkling.

Cass twirled to face them. “Oh, Lucy, no! Don’t get that look. No scandals, please.”

“What sort of scandal would it have to be?” Jane asked, her attention riveted to Lucy.

“No, Janie. No scandal! Certainly not at my wedding. Please,” Cass begged.

“We would never dream of doing anything to disrupt your wedding, Cass, dear,” Lucy said. “But after the wedding…”

“Yes?” Jane prompted, certain she had the same twinkle in her own eye.

Cass rushed to stand between them. “Oh, Jane. Being a wallflower is one thing, but a scandal is quite another. And I—”

Jane patted Cass on the shoulder. She and Lucy needed to plan this alone. Poor, anxious Cass had enough to fret over. “Don’t worry. It won’t be a hideous scandal, just a small, effective one.”





CHAPTER SEVEN

“You shall be a beautiful bride,” Garrett told Cassandra that evening over drinks before dinner in the drawing room. He bowed over the hand she presented to him.

When he straightened up again, he scanned the room. Miss Lowndes watched him through narrowed eyes. Miss Lowndes was always watching him through narrowed eyes. If she was paying him any mind at all, that was. He inclined his head toward her and her scowl deepened. Just as expected, he’d annoyed her simply by smiling at her. Ha.