Page 16 of Stolen By the Duke of Ice
“But how did he figure it out?” Celine demanded.
“He saw Penelope Lovelace’s latest manuscript in the carriage when he escorted me to your house.”
Dahlia recounted the series of events that made up the past night, ending with the scene that the dinner party attendees witnessed.
“What is to happen now?” Helena gripped Dahlia’s arm. “Are you really to be married?”
Dahlia let out a long, heavy breath.
“Yes, he was here earlier today to speak to Papa. We are to be married. Even Mama said there is no other way. Well, she did suggest first that we all move to the colonies.”
They stayed silent for a moment until Celine suddenly spoke.
“You, the Duchess of Ice! I would never have thought!” she said laughing.
“Celine, it’s not funny,” Helena reprimanded her friend, hiding a laugh of her own.
“Come off it, Helena; you know it’s a little funny!”
“It is a little funny, I admit,” Dahlia said, and all three burst into giggles.
“But seriously, Dahlia, how do you feel about it? I mean, you had always planned not to marry, had you not?” Helena continued.
“It’s not so much that I did not plan to but more that I had no inclination to unless it was tothe one.”
“Well, I must say that you have caught quite a man; the Duke is definitely one of the most eligible bachelors of theton!” Celine cleared her throat. “And despite us making fun of him, he does have superior qualities which, I will venture to say, most ladies are well aware of.”
“We never would have guessed that you felt that way towards the Duke. The way he is described in your books! Now you shall be marrying the hero of your stories!” Helena added.
“But, indeed, it isn’t like that at all!”
“What do you mean?” Her friends asked at the same time.
“Peter Thornscroft is most definitely notthe one!”
“The one?” Celine’s eyebrows raised in question.
Dahlia looked down, a little embarrassment still lingering but needing more for her friends to understand the contents of her heart, she proceeded, “The one—the love of my life.”
“I beg your pardon?” Celine blinked. “Have you been hiding a lover from us?”
Dahlia laughed.
“No, silly. I mean theideaof the love of my life. The one man who shall be my life’s companion.” She hugged herself at the thought. “The one man who will place me above all else, who is perfect for me in every way!”
Celine and Helena leaned forward, listening intently.
“The one man who shall listen to me when I need to be heard. Who will tell me about the world, about places that I have never been to—and then take me to see those places?—”
“This sounds very much like the plot inThe Duke and the White Ship,” Celine said, eyebrows still raised.
“—the man who will rescue me from danger?—”
“Ah, did not the Duke…?” Helena shrugged at Celine’s look.
“—the man who proves that chivalry is not mere show, not just gallantry but actual commitment. He isthe one. The love of my life.”
“The man who willofferyou marriage?” Celine ventured.
