Page 84 of Lady Waldrey’s Gardening Almanac for Cultivating Scandal

James

He folded the letter, addressed it, sealed it with an abundance of wax, and waved it in the air to cool.

CHAPTER 25- CANDACE

From Where the Birds Sing: A Gardening Primer-

Perseverance is the best teacher. If a plant fails to thrive under certain conditions, it may grow well just across the garden. As a beginning gardener, one must feel free to experiment. Move the plant and see whether a new situation might make it bloom.

Two evenings later, servants lit torches near the front door of Devon Manor before the guests arrived. Even though the dinner party would be small, with only four of them in attendance, Candace was determined that the table be no less fine than anything she’d set in London.

She’d ordered six courses and no fewer than three desserts; the household staff was excited at the prospect of the inevitable leftovers from the splendid spread. In preparation for after-dinner entertainment, Candace instructed that a mahogany card table covered in rich green felt be moved closer to the marble fireplace in the drawing room.

At seven, Candace and Vera sat in the front parlor. Candace couldn’t keep from smoothing the emerald velvet skirt of her dinner gown. She’d examined herself carefully in the full-length mirror in her room until convinced that she couldn’t possibly look better.

Her gown was off-the-shoulder with only a wide band of sleeve around each upper arm. Even with the modest sweetheart neckline, it exposed a great expanse of cream-white skin. She’d paired it with long lace gloves in the same color. Hortense had swept her hair into an elegant arrangement that left several perfect red curls swept forward over one of her bare shoulders.

Long emerald drops hung from her ears, complementing the emerald-and-diamond necklace clasped around her throat. The set had been a gift from Percy last Christmas. He claimed he wasn’t good at giving gifts, so he left the choosing to the discretion of a jeweler in London. The result was that both of his sisters thought he was very good at giving gifts, indeed.

Candace didn’t know why she was so fidgety—she’d arranged this dinner for Vera’s benefit, not her own. In contrast, Vera didn’t seem nervous at all. She looked stunning in her blue silk satin dress. It had a square neckline and a tight bodice that enhanced her pleasant curves. Candace had lent her a pearl-and-diamond necklace and dangling pearl earrings. She didn’t think she’d ever seen her friend look more lovely than she did tonight.

She swallowed back an irrational wave of jealousy. This was what Candace had wanted—for Vera to look as beautiful as she was, for her friend not to be hidden away under thick layers of unflattering design and fabric.

Vera deserved to be happy. There was no one more deserving, in Candace’s opinion. James could make Vera happy. He would, she was certain of it. After all, what woman wouldn’t be happy married to someone as kind and thoughtful and steady as the Duke of Canterbury?

I certainly would be.

Candace shook the idea off as quickly as it landed. This evening wasn’t about her; it was about Vera and James. But even as she reordered her thinking, she had to smother her regret.

“The Baroness Winthrop,” Benson announced from the doorway.

Jacqueline breezed into the room. “Ladies, you both look radiant this evening.”

She wore slim-fitting black breeches beneath a billowing taffeta overcoat that might have passed for a gown at first glance—if there hadn’t been a great slit up the middle to allow for easy movement. Candace supposed she should have been shocked—a lady in trousers at a formal dinner party? It was a scandal by every stretch of the imagination.

Yet, Candace wasn’t scandalized—the baroness was just being herself. Jacqueline wasn’t trying to be shocking or garner attention with her ensemble—not in the least. She always wore pants, so why would this evening be any different? Besides, the long coat had a certain daring appeal, with gold-threaded flowers stitched over a stark black background.

Candace rose and greeted her with a friendly kiss on the cheek. “So glad you could make it.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” She turned to hug Vera, then held her at arm’s length. “What a stunning dress! It’s nearly worthy of your beauty.”

Vera flushed and laughed. “Between you and Candace, I’ll soon be so full of myself I’ll be impossible to be around.”

“His Grace the Duke of Canterbury,” Benson intoned.

James smiled at each of them. “London must seem drab at the moment, because the loveliest ladies are here in Devon.”

“You flatterer,” Candace said. “Come, join us.”

She stood stoutly between Jacqueline and Vera after her invitation so they’d have to make room for James. When he stood next to Vera, Candace forced herself to smile.

“How is Arthur?” Vera said after greetings were shared all around.

“He’s enjoying his own formal dinner party with Mrs. Fitzgibbons and Mrs. Taylor. They were sitting down to eat as I was leaving.”

“How delightful,” Jacqueline said.

Candace smiled as the comfortable grouping descended into pleasant conversation, though she was torn between appreciation for James's politeness in his attention to the other ladies and irritation that he wasn’t only speaking to her. She kept an eye on the mantel clock, and when it was the appropriate time, she encouraged them to go through to the dining room.