Silence, and then Sarah whacked Della on the arm. “What do you mean, accidentally kissed him? Did you mean to whisper something in his ear and your mouth accidentally collided into his?” Sarah’s voice let Della know that her friend did not actually think that occurred. “Did you like it, at least?”

“Oh yes,” Della said. “It was tremendous.”

Sarah blinked at Della’s enthusiastic tone. “Well. So there is that, at least. Did he like it?”

Della thought about how he had caressed her, how he had kissed her so thoroughly that she still felt the ripples of pleasure flowing through her body. “Yes.”

“And . . . ?” Sarah prodded.

Della winced. “Well, I might have suggested we have an affair.”

Sarah’s sharp inhale was about the reaction she expected. “Good for you!” her friend cheered, which was absolutely not what she had expected.

“Good for me?” Della repeated. She leaned forward to place her palm on Sarah’s forehead. “Are you feeling quite well?”

Sarah swatted her hand away. “I’m not feeling as well as you are, apparently, but yes. I think it’s a wonderful idea. As long as . . .” she said, her words trailing off as she made a vague gesture in the air.

“No, of course not,” Della replied hastily. She did not want to have another child, even if its father was Lord Captain Handsome.

“Then it’s wonderful,” Sarah concluded, settling back in her seat with a smile of satisfaction.

“But why? I mean, shouldn’t you be warning me about doing something so reckless and scandalous?”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “As though I could stop you from doing any such thing. You are the most recklessly scandalous person I know, and also the person I love most in this world.” She shrugged. “This adventure will keep you from doing something even more reckless, I imagine.”

Della felt her eyes widen. “What could possibly be more reckless than embarking on an affair with a sea captain–viscount?” She shook her head. “I wish he were just a sea captain. It would make things much simpler.” And might also make it possible for them to have a future together, although she wouldn’t share that judgment with Sarah. If her friend so much as suspected that Della wanted more—not that she did, she assured herself—she would go to extreme lengths to see to Della’s happiness.

But Della knew Society much better than Sarah did, and though they might accept her initially because of the novelty of Lord Stanbury, eventually they would realize that they could not stomach seeing the duke’s most disgraced daughter in a respectable position. It would be a relief to everyone when she and Lord Stanbury revealed that they were no longer engaged.