“What is the meaning of this?” scratched Mother’s voice from the hall behind her. “Who are you speaking to at this ungodly hour?”

“Their Graces’ footman, Mother.” Philippa stepped away from the door so that Jackson and his ducal livery were visible. “Chloe has just invited me to a ladies’ breakfast and charity outing.”

Now that she said the words aloud, she realized just how much she needed this opportunity to escape her ordinary life, if only for a few hours. One more day locked in her bedchamber to avoid hearing Mother’s endless stratagems on how to best capture Captain Northrup, and Philippa would go out the window just like Tiglet.

“A breakfast?” Mother said dubiously. “At this hour?”

“Is nine o’clock too early or too late for breakfast?”

“It’s appalling,” Mother answered. “Proper morning calls shouldn’t begin until at least one o’clock in the afternoon.”

Philippa refrained from pointing out that the ton’s afternoon morning calls were a contradiction in terms. Her mother might be silly, but she wasn’t alone. Philippa was the odd one who wanted the world to make sense.

She handed her mother the invitation. “You said never to insult anyone with a title. Won’t a duchess’s sponsorship reflect well on our family?”

“Very well,” said Mother after she’d finished reading the letter. “Summon the carriage. I won’t have you arriving on foot like a pauper.”

“Their town house is across the square from ours.” Philippa pointed through the open door. “Look. You can see it from here. Surely I can walk two hundred yards without anyone thinking we’ve lost our fortune.”

“The orphanage is not inside their town house,” Mother said triumphantly. “If you walk, you must walk right back here after the breakfast.”

“You want me to tell a duchess in front of all of her guests that my mother gave me permission to eat her food but forbade me from acts of charity to others?”

“Augh!” Mother tossed the letter back toward Philippa. “You bluestockings always have an answer for everything.”

“Oh, leave her be,” came Father’s voice from the stairs. Only his slippers were visible. “This will prove there’s no bad blood between their family and ours. Philippa has always done as expected, even when she’d rather not. She’s a good daughter and will not embarrass us.”

Philippa sagged with relief.

“She didn’t land the duke,” Mother said petulantly.

“She’ll make up for that with Captain Northrup,” Father responded. “Go with the footman, Philippa. He’ll see that you arrive safely. The duchess can deliver you to the front door after your charity outing.”

“Yes, Father.” She accepted a pelisse and bonnet from Underwood and hastened from the house before her parents could change their minds.

Jackson escorted her across Grosvenor Square, into the Faircliffe town house, and out through a rear door, where an unmarked carriage was waiting.

“W-what?” Philippa said.