Page 25 of Bad Luck Bride

She smiled. “If it is wrong, I don’t care. Miss away.”

“Heartbreaker.”

With a laugh, she pulled her hand free and left the box, joining the stream of people making their way to the lobby. She made use of the ladies’ withdrawing room, and though it did not take as long as she’d implied to Wilson, the first warning gong had just sounded by the time she returned to the lobby, signaling only ten minutes until the end of intermission. She started back toward the wide, sweeping staircase to return to her seat, but she’d barely taken three steps in that direction before she heard an airy feminine voice behind her calling her name.

“Kay, my dear!”

She turned to find a tall, slim brunette in burgundy velvet coming toward her, just the person she needed to speak with.

“Delia?” she cried in happy relief. “I thought you were in Paris.”

Before she could say more, however, she was engulfed in a soft wave of delicate French perfume and enveloped in an affectionate hug.

“I just got back a few days ago,” Delia said as they drew apart. “And it’s been an absolute whirlwind since I stepped off the boat. I shot a letter off to you at once, but of course, I didn’t know you were already here in town. If I had, I’d have already called. Oh, Kay, I have so much news to tell you. For one thing…”

She paused and took a deep breath. “I’m engaged.”

Kay laughed. “What, again?”

Delia made a face. “Don’t tease. I suppose it is in rather bad taste, my marrying again, having been widowed three times in my life already, but that man is impossible to resist. Speaking of Calderon,” she added, glancing around, “I wonder where he’s got to. He went off to order sandwiches and champagne for my box, and—”

“Calderon?” Kay interrupted in dismay, hoping she’d heard wrong. “You don’t mean Lord Calderon, who you had to work with at the Savoy?”

“The very same.”

“But—” Kay broke off, shaking her head, trying to assimilate this bit of news. “Last time we spoke, back in January, you told me how awful he is. You couldn’t stand him, you said.”

“I know, I know,” Delia replied, holding up her hands in a helpless gesture. “What can I say? It was all true at the time, but he wore me down, Kay.” She gave a deep, rapturous sigh. “He absolutely wore me down until I just couldn’t hold out against him any longer.”

In other circumstances, Kay might have laughed at such a declaration, for if anyone were prone to wearing anyone down, it was Delia. But at this moment, she didn’t feel much like laughing.

“I don’t know what to say,” she murmured at last. “And if you’rehappy, of course I’m happy for you. But I confess, I don’t feel inclined to like your Lord Calderon very much. Not today, anyway.”

“Goodness, I know Simon drives me mad on occasion—which is probably why I adore him so much—but what’s he done to you? And I didn’t even know you’d ever met him.”

“I haven’t, but I learned just this afternoon that he’s friends with Devlin Sharpe. Did you know that?”

“Well…” Delia paused, shifting her weight, tugging on one diamond-bedecked earlobe, a gesture she was always inclined to do when caught out.

“And while we’re on the subject,” Kay went on in the wake of her friend’s guilty silence, “why didn’t you tell me Devlin is the one who took the Pinafore from me?”

Delia grimaced. “Found out about that, did you?”

“I did. What I want to know is why I didn’t find it out from you.”

“I wanted to wait until I could present you with an alternative. I thought that might take the sting out of it, so to speak.”

“When I found out, it was quite a shock. And now to find out that you’re engaged to his best friend, the man who helped him take it. And you didn’t tell me any of this? Really, Delia! You should have told me.”

“I know, I know. My mistake, but surely, his friendship with Sharpe is no reason for you to dislike Simon, I hope? We all have friends our other friends don’t like, and we tolerate it. If we didn’t,” she added, laughing, “I’m sure we’d have no friends at all!”

“Delia, this isn’t funny,” she chided. “Especially since it’s clear Lord Calderon is the reason I don’t have the Pinafore Room. He canceled my reservation and gave it to Devlin, didn’t he?”

“What?” Delia’s amusement faded at once, and she shook herhead vehemently. “No, no, you’ve got the wrong end of the stick there. The whole thing was just a muddle between Simon and me, as I already told you. I assure you, dearest, it wasn’t deliberate in any way. We each reserved the room and forgot to tell the other. But there’s nothing to worry about now anyway, because we’ve got an absolutely divine alternative for your wedding banquet, big enough to seat everyone.”

“You do?” Kay blinked, taken aback, her frustration fading. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Yes. It’s all arranged, I promise you.”

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