Opening the other boxes, Emily found silk stockings, petticoats, gloves and, last, a pair of fine kid-leather slippers.

Never had Emily owned a pair of shoes as fine as these. She touched the leather, marveling at its buttery softness. Unable to resist the urge to try the shoes on, she was dismayed to find them too small. She could squeeze her feet into them, but the toes pinched her.

It was just as well. She could not attend the musicale, even wearing the new dress. It would only make Stephen more aware of her shortcomings. The earl mistakenly believed that if he gave her a beautiful dress and brought her into his world of affluence, she would metamorphose.

He might clothe her in the gowns of a future marchioness, but inside she felt like the same Emily. No one would forget her family’s scandal, and they would be quick to shun her.

And what if she happened upon Lord Rothburne? The marquess despised her.

No, that wasn’t right. She was nothing more than dust to him, something to be ignored and swept away. Only now, when she threatened his son’s future, was she a danger.

It chilled her to think of it. She didn’t fear her husband, but Lord Rothburne’s power was far greater than Stephen’s. If she attended the musicale, she would invoke his fury.

She dismissed her maid and sat down, touching the gown with her fingertips.

If only…

Stephen drummed his fingers against his thigh as the Yarrington daughters performed, one by one. He’d waited for over two hours, and there was still no sign of Emily.

He never should have agreed to go on without her. She’d claimed she needed more time to alter the gown he’d sent. Now it seemed she had no intention of coming.

He was barely aware of Miss Julia Yarrington’s rendition of Mozart’s Sonata in C upon the piano, to great applause. Beside him, Miss Hereford sent him a quiet smile. He didn’t return it. Though he would not humiliate her by avoiding her, he could not encourage her thoughts of marriage.

And what of his own? Emily claimed she’d wanted a new beginning. He’d invited her to attend, as a way of becoming better acquainted. Though she’d protested the event, he’d believed she would succumb to the temptation of a beautiful gown and an evening spent together.

Instead, she’d lied, remaining at home. This wasn’t the old Emily he was used to. She’d never been frightened of anything, a daredevil who had called him a coward when he wouldn’t climb upon the roof of her father’s house.

When had she changed? What had happened? He’d heard the whisperings about the family scandal surrounding her father’s death. But had that truly been enough to transform her?