Page 88 of An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
“It’s been a good long while since I’ve heard you speak so passionately,” she said softly. “You care for her a great deal.”
Leaning forward, he placed his forearms on the railing and gazed out into the darkened gardens. “Before I met her, I judged her as harshly as everyone else did. As I came to know her, she defied all my expectations. She is not cowed by life, by circumstance. She’s incredibly strong and resilient, devoted to family. You’d like her.”
“You’ve always had admirable taste so I’m certain I would.”
Straightening, he faced her. “How much do you adore me?”
Reaching up, she brushed the hair back from his brow. “Abundantly. What do you require of me?”
He didn’t know if he’d ever known anyone more generous. “You and Father haven’t hosted a ball in years. I know he is no longer comfortable in crowds, and I feel like an utter ass for asking but if you were to host a ball, all of London would come. And if you were to invite Lady Landsdowne, welcome her in to your home, it might go a long way toward Society accepting her again.”
“You want to see her accepted.”
He wanted her to see that she could be received again, that she didn’t have to be an outcast here in London, that she didn’t have to return to New York to gain the happiness she deserved. “She’s a remarkable woman who’s been unfairly judged.”
“Do you love her?”
He looked back out over the gardens. What he felt for Tillie couldn’t be condensed into one word, one emotion. It encompassed every feeling he’d ever experienced. It scared the bloody hell out of him at times. The only thing that frightened him more was the thought of losing her. “I need her to know I can make a place for her here.”
“And if she doesn’t want this place?”
Turning back to his mother, he saw the profound sadness and immense knowledge in her eyes.
“I didn’t want it,” she said quietly. “I didn’t want to be part of the aristocracy, to move about in this world.”
“Yet here you are.”
“Yet here I am. Love can be both wondrous and wicked in turn.” With a tender smile, she gently patted his shoulder. “You shall have your ball and your lady shall have her invitation.”
A week later, sitting behind her desk, Tillie stared at the vellum envelope she held gingerly between her fingers, her name written on it in precise and delicate script.
“It’s not going to explode,” Gina said impatiently. She’d been curled in a nearby chair going through the most recent invitations she’d received when she noted the one addressed to Tillie and handed it over with a great deal of excitement.
“I’m certain it’s a mistake... or some sort of prank.” All invitations had ceased arriving after she’d been caught with Griggs. Her eventual divorce had cemented no pen ever again scratched her name across a vellum envelope. Yet here it was, when she’d never thought to see it again—at least on this side of the pond.
“Open it,” Gina urged. “See who it’s from, at the very least.”
Picking up the letter opener, she was surprised to see her fingers trembling, just a little, just enough to be embarrassing. It was ridiculous to place so much merit on a scrap of paper. Once she’d made use of the opener, she pulled out the embossed invitation. It was for a ball, hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Greystone. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen any mention of them hosting an affair. The same script that adorned the envelope prettied up a personal note.
My dear Lady Landsdowne—
It would please our family greatly to welcome you into our home.
The Duchess of Greystone
She stared at the words. Read them again. The invitation was truly for her.
“You’ve gone as pale as someone who’s seen a ghost,” Gina said, snatching the vellum from between her fingers and reading it. “Oh my God. This is wonderful! You’re being welcomed back into Society.”
“I’m being welcomed into one home.”
“But it’s a start. You’re going of course.”
She couldn’t imagine it. Walking into a ballroom. All eyes would be upon her. The guests would stare in silence and then the whispers would start. Just as they had at the theater. The duchess might welcome her, but others would turn their back on her. She shook her head. “No.”
“Why ever not?”
“I’m occupied that night.”
