While the beginning of the night had been disheartening with all the poor choices she’d been faced with as prospects, the night had seemed to pick up and become much more exciting and hopeful with Daniel’s arrival. He had certainly seemed a far more pleasant prospect for a husband. She still tingled in spots when she recalled his kisses.

As if his arrival were some sort of happy harbinger, there had been a couple more pleasant prospects afterward. Lord Garrison had certainly been handsome and charming, but she still found Daniel more attractive, perhaps because of those kisses. There had been at least two more men after him who had been—if not handsome—at least passable and pleasant. Any one of the three would do as a substitute if Daniel chose not to marry her. But they would be second best and Suzette was too anxious about his eventual response to enjoy the chore of weeding out further men.

Besides, the sparkle had seemed to go out of the night after she’d spotted Dicky and Daniel leaving the ball, and Suzette had decided she’d just rather go back to the townhouse and crawl into bed. The sooner she was asleep, the sooner the next day would come with her answer from Daniel. At this time the next night she might even be on her way to Gretna Green with him.

If that wasn’t the case, however, Suzette was very aware that she would have to attend the Hammonds’ ball to choose her substitute husband, and while Daniel had assured her that he would talk to Dicky and convince him to let the girls attend the Hammonds’ ball, she wasn’t at all sure he could manage that. Not that she was particularly worried about Dicky. She planned to attend the ball whether he liked it or not and there was little he could do to stop her. He might have full control over Christiana as her husband, but he wasn’t hers and she had no intention of bowing to him and his whims. But she suspected if she was forced to do that, Christiana would pay for it in some way and she didn’t like the idea of that at all. Perhaps rather than simply walk out and openly going to the ball, she should sneak out to attend it.

Suzette grimaced at the necessity. Truly, Dicky would have been doing them all a favor had he stayed dead, she thought for the umpteenth time that night. It made her cast a pitying glance Christiana’s way, for she was the one who would now have to continue to put up with the horrible man’s critical and controlling ways, and—from what Christiana had confessed that day as they’d packed Dicky in ice—her marriage thus far had been a nightmare.