Chapter Eleven
“Tatiana! He did it!" Trina burst into the basement stillroom, sending the scents of dried flowers hanging from the rafters swirling around the room.
Tatiana nearly spilled the tincture of peppermint she slowly added to her potion.
She'd been confined to the house for the rest of her stay in London as punishment for the little trick she had pulled during the at-home—and received a lecture from her grandmother that had lasted no less than half an hour. Trina hadn't received any punishment, beyond the lecture, since it was her duty to find a husband and therefore needed to be seen in public.
Tatiana put down the delicate glass vial on the scarred wooden table, and then looked up at her sister. "Who did what?"
"Mr. Havelock. He proposed! And I said yes," Trina squeaked. She gripped her hands in front of her chest, as if in fervent prayer. What was she praying for? Her approval?
If so, then she most certainly had it. Happiness exploded within Tatiana, although reason soon followed. "That is, well, it's amazing!"
"I know!"
"Fast."
"I know!"
"Unexpected."
"Yes!" Trina exclaimed. Her eyes shone with a happiness Tatiana had never seen before. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked... she looked beautiful. Yes, some of the magical beauty Tatiana had given her just before that first ball still lingered. It had begun to fade, but now in its place was a true beauty. Could it be love, Tatiana wondered?
"I am so happy for you, Trina. Was that who knocked just a little while ago?"
"Yes. He came and spoke with Grandmama for a little bit—Thomas told me he was here—and then I was summoned to the drawing room. Grandmama allowed us to be alone, so I knew that this would be something important.
"He was so romantic, he did everything just right," her sister finished on a sigh.
"That's wonderful!" Tatiana pulled her sister into a tight hug. "He seems to be a very good man."
"And he appreciates that I think about things," her sister gushed.
"Yes? He is Vallen, isn't he? Is he powerful? Or not so much?" Tatiana asked, not that it made any difference whatsoever.
"He is. He has a way with numbers that is quite astounding. It's where he's made his money." Trina stopped and looked appalled. "I hope Papa doesn't mind. His cousin is a marquess, but he, himself, has no title."
Tatiana smiled at her sister's silly worries. "If he's a member of society, then I think there can be no question that Papa will approve. And Grandmama has done so already, so it should be fine."
Trina gave a laughing sigh of relief. "Yes. It's going to be all right."
And now her parents would be able to find a husband for her, Tatiana thought with a shiver.
“Cecelia has outdone herself," Lady Ashurst said, looking about Lady Southburn's salon at the crush of people. "She has always been able to coax anyone into attending her parties, but this is just..." her words petered out in a wave of awe.
After Mr. Havelock had proposed to Trina, Tatiana had finally been released from her punishment, but not without yet another lecture.
"Who is here?" Trina asked, eagerly looking from face to face as if she expected to recognize anyone.
"Who is here?" her astounded fiancé asked. "Who isn't here?"
"I take it, Trina, that all of the most influential members of society are here," Tatiana said, attempting to answer her sister despite her own ignorance.
"Not only members of society," Mr. Havelock said, "but members of Parliament, and I heard the prince might even to attend."
"The prince?" Trina squeaked. "Attend our engagement party? But why?"
"Because Lady Southburn asked him," Tatiana shrugged.
"And she did this in three days," their grandmother said, still in awe.
"It is truly amazing," Tatiana agreed. She was not only astounded by the speed at which her grandmother's close friend had arranged this "little get together" (as Lady Southburn had called it), but that she'd managed it so that Tatiana could attend before she was forced to return home.
It was quite a way to end her much too brief stay in London. Spots of pain momentarily danced before her eyes.
"I wonder what the surprise is going be," Trina said.
"Surprise?" Tatiana asked as she turned to her sister, who still looked about the room. Tatiana was grateful to Trina for changing the direction of her thoughts.
"Yes, she said there would be a surprise a little later on. I wonder what it could be."
Tatiana looked to her grandmother. She knew the secret. The smile on her face told Tatiana so. "What is it, Grandmama?"
Lady Ashurst opened her eyes wide. "Why do you ask me?" she said, feigning ignorance.
"Do you know?" Trina finally turned to look directly at their grandmother.
Lady Ashurst just shrugged.
"Of course she knows. But she won’t tell us," Tatiana said, a little annoyed. She wasn't sure she liked surprises. The last one had been her parents’ announcement that Trina would go to London to make her curtsey to society—and Tatiana would not.
And with that disturbing thought, another appeared at her elbow.
"Good afternoon, ladies," Mr. Vallentyn said bowing to them. "Haveland," he nodded to the gentleman.
"Vallentyn, good to see you," Mr. Haveland reached out his hand.
Mr. Vallentyn may have clasped hands with him, but his eyes remained firmly on Tatiana. She could feel his gaze burning into her even though she deliberately did not look at him. It wasn't easy.
"My congratulations, Haveland. You're a very lucky man," Mr. Vallentyn said, finally turning away from Tatiana. She snuck a peek. He was handsome as ever in a dark blue coat with a stunning waistcoat of blue with blue and silver embroidery.
"Thank you. I am well aware of it."
"I think I'll get some lemonade," Tatiana said, and moved away from the group as her grandmother gave an approving nod.
She needed to get away from Mr. Vallentyn. She'd sworn to get him out of her mind and to stay away from him. She was certain that, despite the fact that her sister was now engaged, she still needed to be diligent about keeping away from the man. Quite possibly she needed to be even more so, now that her parents would begin the task of finding an appropriate husband for her.
But Tatiana knew that her heart would not be safe until she stopped seeing Mr. Vallentyn every time she turned around. For that reason alone, she almost looked forward to going home.
She couldn't have him, so she didn't want to think about him.
"Let me." Mr. Vallentyn's hand reached in front of her, gently making a path for her between two people who stood back-to-back, each engaged in conversations with other groups. "Pardon us," he said to one, as the lady turned to see who needed to get by.
The woman moved and Tatiana slipped past. Clearly, her grandmother had failed to keep him from following her as well. He was nothing if not persistent!
Tatiana felt hot and hemmed. She wanted nothing more than to sprint through the room to get to the refreshments, but she could move no faster than a crawl in the packed room. Mr. Vallentyn eased the way for her—but that didn't help, since it was from him she was trying to escape.
A wide-open space miraculously opened up in front of her. She took advantage of it and dashed forward.