Jane sat next to Lucy in the second row of the quaint, stone village church for the wedding of Lady Cassandra Monroe to Julian Swift, Earl of Swifdon. The weather was glorious—cool and bright—for the ceremony that was held at ten o’clock in the morning. The vicar stood in front of the crowded pews, his white vestments gleaming and a broad smile on his face. No doubt his little church hadn’t seen this much excitement since Cass’s own parents had wed.

“She looks breathtaking,” Lucy whispered to Jane, tears in her eyes. “Look at me, I’m crying already.”

“She does look beautiful,” Jane replied in a whisper. Indeed, Cass was magnificent in a glorious white and silver-beaded gown with a long train and a matching veil. “Thank heavens, the red spot on her nose disappeared.”

“Yes, quite courteous of it, was it not?” Lucy said with a laugh.

Julian looked every bit the handsome soldier turned earl in his dashing military dress uniform.

Cass’s mother, Lady Moreland, sat in the front row. The woman nearly convulsed in a fit of joyous tears while her husband tried to comfort her.

“At least she’ll stop hating me,” Lucy whispered to Jane from where they sat in the row behind the Morelands. “I may have married a duke, but the Swifdon title is far older and more prestigious than Claringdon’s. That must be why she’s crying.”

“I resent that,” Derek said from beside his wife. Lucy elbowed him.

Jane gave Lucy a warning look but couldn’t entirely stop her smile.

“What did your mother say when you told her Mrs. Bunbury had to leave this morning?” Lucy whispered.

“Shhh,” Jane countered. Her mother was sitting just two spots away, on the other side of her father. Jane lowered her voice even further. “I told her Mrs. Bunbury had been overcome with a fit of heat yesterday and had compounded that error by eating something that did not agree with her.” Jane smiled slyly. “She’s well on her way to London by now.”

Lucy pressed her lips together and nodded. She, too, kept her voice especially low. “I’m ever so glad to hear it.”

Derek eyed the two ladies skeptically and shook his head.

It was true. Now that Mrs. Bunbury had been dispatched, Jane was happily free of her first and biggest problem. Her second problem, Mrs. Langford, remained of course, but that woman didn’t frighten her. Now that Jane knew what the widow was capable of, she intended to stay well away from her. After tomorrow, when all of the houseguests returned to London, doing so would be quite simple. Mrs. Langford might have declared her intentions toward Garrett, but if there was any doubt as to where Garrett’s affections lay, he’d proven them to Jane last night.