“Celia,” Lady Darby warned under her breath. “It is most unseemly to refer to your suitors in such a manner.” She flashed a helpless smile as Ivy choked back her own giggle. “Excuse my daughter, Lady Ravenswood. You are friends, so I know you are accustomed to how she speaks her mind even when it is not proper.”

Ivy leaned in, breaking off the connection between Celia and the impossibly arrogant Gabriel Rose. She hugged Celia tighter this time, her voice low with sympathy and understanding for the trials all young ladies endured in their search for a suitable husband.

“Perhaps you should adjust your hunting techniques, sweet friend. And look for a frog among princes.”

CHAPTER 2

“Shall I tighten these ribbons, miss?”

Celia turned so her maid could lace the corset up a bit tighter. “Thank you, Katie. My dress is there on the bed when you are ready.”

“I’m glad you are wearing the blue silk,” Lady Darby said from her perch at a walnut wood vanity table. She attached a pair of teardrop-shaped diamond earrings to her earlobes. “It is lovely with your coloring. A gentleman shall find it difficult looking away once he sees you.”

Celia lifted her arms so the dress could be lowered over her head. She waited until the fabric was settled around her before addressing her mother. “I’ll have none of your matchmaking, Mother. Promise you will refrain from negotiations, deal makings, and comments regarding the size of a man’s estate. Or lack thereof.”

Lady Darby smiled. “There are no men in attendance lacking qualifications as husband material. But I shall refrain from remarking on any particular one. As with your brother, I hope you find your happiness in your own manner. But I would be remiss in my parental duties if I did not guide you.”

Celia bent and kissed her mother’s cheek. “You hide your schemes well, but I realize how you push us into making the correct decisions.” Her tone held a note of exasperated affection. “It worked with Tristan and Violet. You dangled her before him like a ripe apple until he could not help but notice her.”

Lady Darby’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “I admit a tiny bit of matchmaking, but your brother’s decision was his own. And it was the correct one to make. I only endeavor to do the same for my dearest daughter.”

“Well, do not endeavor too hard,” Celia smiled.

Her mother reached up, patting Celia’s cheek in a show of affection. “Of course not, darling. We both know you will make your own choices. With or without my interference.”

Celia felt his presence before she saw him. Gabriel Rose had a way of filling a space without saying a word. Oh, the man carefully lurked in the shadows, but it was difficult ignoring how the air shifted and changed when he was in the vicinity.