“Oh, it has a lovely view of the garden,” she said as she moved to the huge picture window beside the desk.

“Yes, when I remember to glance up from my work to look at it,” he said with a faint smile that faded immediately. “But I spend a great deal of time here, dealing with that scandal we discussed earlier.”

“Well, you shall not be alone in it now, at least,” she said, turning away from the window and leaning back against the cool glass. “As your wife, I will take on your sorrows as well as your name. Perhaps I can be of some help in alleviating the troubles.”

“I’m sure you can,” he muttered, his voice rough as he turned away and moved to the sideboard, where he fiddled with the bottles of liquor despite the early hour. He didn’t pour anything, but she could see he wished to. Was it because the thought of marrying her was so…unpleasant?

She certainly hoped not.

She moved toward him slowly and cleared her throat. “I had a question for you, actually. Something I would very much like to address.”

He faced her and sighed. “Yes, you and I have a great many conversations to share, I think, considering what will happen in a few short days. We might as well begin them now. What was on your mind? I will try to be as honest as I can be and hope you will be the same.”

She bent her head at his reminder that she had not begun this at all honestly.

“It is about last night, at the party,” she said, and forced herself to look at him even though she didn’t want to. “And today, I suppose, too, when you found me in the hall.”

He wrinkled his brow. “What about it?”

“Today you said hello to me as Thomasina and last night you claimed you knew who I was almost immediately after my entrance into the ball.”

“Not almost immediately,” he corrected, though not harshly. “Immediately.”

She shifted. “Very well, immediately. You know I have lived my entire life being a bit of an anomaly. Everyone is always staring at us, the Shelley Triplets. A rarity, indeed. But I don’t know anyone who can recognize me apart from the rest. What do you do to recognize me instantly?”

He let out a soft laugh and shook his head. “You think I have some trick that keeps you all separate.”

“You must,” she reasoned. “Something even those closest to us do not know.”

“Thomasina,” he said slowly, like he was letting her name roll around on his tongue. “I could not tell Anne from Juliana to save my life. The only one I can identify without assistance…is you. I always recognize you.”

She stepped away as her lips parted in pure shock. He always recognized her? What did that mean? Was it a compliment or curse? The way he looked at her right now it didn’t feel like a curse, that was for certain. It felt like a caress. Something sweet that connected them in a way she had never dared hope for.