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Lettie’s
only brother had waved away the attention, not wanting to say a word.
    She rode the tide of emotion that swept her up and down
throughout the morning and into the early afternoon. Ferd had disappeared into
the crowd and when she had started to miss him, he turned up at her side.
    “Ferd,” she whispered. “It feels as if this is the first
time I’m getting married.”
    “Me too,” he said with a boyish smile. “Come, you need to
meet my great aunts.”
    “I thought I’d met everyone in the kingdom.”
    “Not everyone. My aunties seem to think the world revolves
around them. I don’t think they would mind if you greeted them as Your
Highnesses.”
    “Then I shall.”
    Ferd charmed them, which reminded her how he always seemed
to dance with the dowagers at ton functions and how he never seemed
interested in the younger, single women. He also managed his mother and father,
mostly keeping his mother from becoming overly excited when a punch bowl was
dropped on Lettie’s hard wood floor.
    Her mother hung on Ferd’s every word, but since Papa had
died, Mama had loved male attention no matter the source.
    By late afternoon, most of the guests had departed. Ferd had
removed his jacket and had retired to the billiards room with Randall
VanLandingham, the Duke of Pelham, Charles Standifer, the Earl of Archer, and
Edward Chase, the Earl of Redding. They were the gaming sort who could never
pass up a competition, not when the stakes were high and the occasion so worthy
of celebrating.
    It was finally an opportunity to slip away and change from
her wedding dress. She had her lady’s maid search for a more comfortable pair
of shoes as well.
    When she returned to her guests, they seemed to have
congregated in small groups and Lettie visited with them all, her first chance
at intimate conversation the whole day. She supposed that was why Ferd remained
closeted with his friends. His brothers had also made their way to the
billiards table and the noise and shouting penetrating the walls of the room
indicated much merriment and drink.
    Knowing men, there would also be myriad suggestions for Ferd
once he was ensconced with her. She suspected he would be red from one ear to
the other.
    Her mother and Lady Ford had also relaxed, no longer
bothered by the slightest mishap or worried that it would be the thing to ruin
the day—“Just ruin it,” as Mama had said several times. Mama was without her
shoes. Lord Ford had found a chair in the corner and he snoozed in spite of the
activity occurring about him.
    The servants shuttled throughout the rooms—warming tea,
filling sweet trays, sweeping up after one child or another stomped on a
biscuit and spread it around the room.
    Lettie wondered if they forgot the purpose of this
auspicious occasion. The crowd lingered until the children finally started to
fall asleep in laps. Had a honeymoon been planned, they could be well away from
the noisy and inconsiderate family that cluttered her rooms and couches. She
wanted to shoo them out the door or at least ensure they were secure behind
closed doors so she could have privacy with her husband. She was mildly
surprised that Ferd’s friends had not carried him up the stairs to his
bedchamber, such was the revelry in the billiards room.
    When the house grew silent except for the occasional shout
from that quarter, Lettie made her way to her room where her lady’s maid had
prepared a bath. She had picked out a perfect pink gown with a see-through
rail. It displayed her body very well.
    All was ready in Ferd’s room. His belongings had arrived in
the morning and the servants had hung his clothes, laid out his shaving
utensils and shelved his private books.
    She opened the door between their rooms and found her bed,
pulled the blankets to her chest and left one candle burning.
    Lettie did not see Ferd again until the next evening at
supper.

Chapter Two
     
    Ferd’s great aunts were up early the next morning, so he
breakfasted with