“Absolutely. That affair is all the talk. I wouldn’t dare not go. You no doubt received an invitation. You should attend.”

“I’m not in the mood to be accosted by every mama in attendance.”

“You will never find happiness if you keep yourself cloistered away. Honestly, Matthew, you must get on with things. You’re all of twenty-seven and our family has a tendency to have difficulty breeding—if you delay much longer, you might not get your heir.”

“I’m not in want of a brood mare, Sylvie.”

“I didn’t mean to imply you were, but surely with a bit of effort, you could find a woman well suited to you, more suited than Elise, say.”

Saved from having to comment on his sister’s assertions when the butler arrived to announce that dinner was served, he followed the couple to the formal dining room with every bit of silver perfectly aligned. Suddenly he had an intense urge to be sitting on steps outside a raunchy theater, eating a meat pie, and wiping crumbs from an incredibly delectable mouth.

Fancy didn’t open her shop on Sundays. It was a day of rest, although she seldom rested. That morning she’d attended church with her mother and then helped prepare a lovely meal. All her siblings, except for Beast, and their spouses were gathered elbow to elbow at the long oak table that dominated the room in the small dwelling in which they’d all been raised. As the family had increased in size, so her siblings had replaced the table, but it was time for a bigger one, especially as soon, with luck, Fancy’s husband would be joining them for the monthly Sunday luncheon when they gathered to catch up. It seemed of late, their lives were all going in different directions and so they made a point of not losing touch with each other.

“Two more nights, my love, and then you step from this drab world into a fancy one. Are you nervous?”

Fancy gave a light, staccato laugh. “I wasn’t until you mentioned it, Mum.” She’d been striving very hard not to think about the upcoming ball, about how everything would change. Although yesterday morning’s delivery had gone a long way to keeping her thoughts occupied.

“Are you going to wear the white frock with all the pearls?”