“We should go,” Mary said forlornly—as though she were the lamb that had been sacrificed on the family altar, when in truth, the only thing she’d lost was a night at home reading her beloved books.

Sophie grabbed her reticule and shrugged to herself. She’d already made her choices, and wishing things were different couldn’t make it so. Neither could blaming her sister, for it wasn’t Mary’s fault that she’d been so sheltered. “I’m ready,” she said, striding out of the bedchamber.

Mary followed on her heels as they glided through the hallway, down the staircase, and into the foyer, where Sophie stopped in her tracks. The silver tray on the side table held a single envelope—and it was addressed to her.

“I wonder when this arrived,” Sophie said. A shiver skittered down her spine as she picked it up and examined the outside, which simply read: Miss S. Kendall.

Mary winced guiltily. “I’m sorry, Soph. A footman dropped it off a couple of hours ago. I happened to answer the door and, in the rush to prepare for the ball, I forgot to mention it.”

“That’s all right,” Sophie said breezily. “It’s probably from Fiona or Lily. Why don’t you head out to the coach and tell Mama and Papa I’ll be along momentarily?”

Mary bobbed her head and hurried outside, leaving Sophie alone in the foyer. She had a sinking feeling that the letter had something to do with her journal, and the possibility that someone might use it to expose and eviscerate the Debutante Underground made her gut clench. Hands trembling, she opened the letter.

Dear Sophie,

I must talk with you. I’ll be at the shop between four and seven o’clock. Meet me there if you can. Make certain no one follows you.

R.

Oh no. Reese needed her, had waited for her. She detected the urgency in his words, but she’d missed the chance to see him, and now she didn’t even have time to pen him a quick note.

She wished she had some inkling of what he wished to discuss. He’d known that her engagement was going to be announced at the ball tonight, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he wanted to try and dissuade her from going forward with it.

If that was the case, it was best that she hadn’t met him. Because where Reese was concerned, she was weak. She’d thought that once she’d said goodbye to him, she’d feel a sense of finality and peace. Instead, she missed everything about him, from his dark allure to his quiet thoughtfulness to his gruff charm. If she’d met him earlier that afternoon, and he’d begged her to run away with him to Gretna Green, well … she wouldn’t have been able to resist him.