“Are you certain you are all right?” Sarah asked in a skeptical voice as she held the gown out for Della.

Della nodded far too emphatically. “Yes, of course.” She would not share with her friend that she’d been in a torment of sexual anticipation for the past few hours. They were close, but Sarah didn’t need to hear of Della’s urges.

“Lord Stanbury is coming to pick me up in half an hour,” she continued, glancing at the clock. She frowned. “I’ll be ready by then, won’t I?”

She wouldn’t want to keep him waiting. Or herself, for that matter.

“If you stop fidgeting you will,” Sarah replied in an exasperated tone. The one she usually used for one or the other of their daughters.

“Fine.” Della stood exaggeratedly still, biting her lip not to laugh at Sarah’s aggrieved expression. It was far too easy to needle her friend. Nearly as easy as it was to needle Griffith, but she didn’t want to annoy him at the moment, even though that was her general philosophy.

She wouldn’t want him to cry off from their later activities because she was being aggravating.

“Fine,” Sarah repeated. She helped Della tug the sleeves of the gown down her arms, then leaned over to smooth the skirts.

Della looked down at herself, pleased that she’d splurged on this gown. Thank goodness she had some funds set aside for pretty things—what was the point of existing if there wasn’t some joy in one’s life? Which, of course, brought her back to the topic uppermost in her mind.

She really needed to stop thinking about it.

The gown. She’d focus on the gown. Not how it would feel when he removed it from her body, not how she was anticipating what his expression would be when he saw her in it. None of that.

She should try this again. The gown. It was a dark purple color, nearly burgundy, and plain except for the black lace ornamenting the hem and the bodice. It was cut low, revealing plenty of her bosom, with tiny puffed sleeves that rested just on her shoulders.

She wore a black velvet choker around her neck with a dark purple stone set in the middle of it. It tied with gold wire, and she wore a pair of gold-and-purple earrings that dangled nearly down to her neck.

Mr. Baxter hadn’t seen fit to take those items, since he knew they were paste. But they were pretty nonetheless.

“You look lovely.” Sarah’s tone was sincere, and Della smiled at her friend.

“I wish you could come.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “And have to watch you and Captain Handsome flirt the entire evening?” She shook her head. “No, thank you, I will stay here.”