Epilogue
“So tell us about your duke, Lucy,” Mary prodded, taking a sip of her tea.
Involuntarily, she covered her face with hands. “That has to have been the most mortifying experience of my life. I can’t believe he made his friends drag him in here.”
“Wait.” Mirabelle held her tea cup an inch from her lips. “He made them bring him here?”
“Yes. And I’m glad he did. We had a lot to discuss.”
“And now?” Bridget asked. “Where do you stand?”
“About that…” She fiddled with her tea cup. “I’m truly sorry, Mirabelle. But I don’t think I’ll be staying here as long as I expected to. We’re going to get married.”
“Oh my!” Lenora clapped her hands and then squeezed her sister’s forearm. “Isn’t this just lovely? Lucy is marrying a devil of her own.”
“Not all of us can be so lucky,” Seraphina winked at her.
Mirabelle chuckled at her cousins. “You’re both just lucky you had such a good chaperone.”
A knock interrupted the ladies and they could hear two female voices at the door. Some of the conversation was muffled, but they all caught a very familiar question posed to the housemaid.
“Is this the right Greene House?”
“I really ought to paint the house,” Mirabelle murmured to the group. “I must talk to the landlord about it. Though I doubt he’ll care since I’m planning to buy it from him.”
“Have you spoken to him yet?” Lucy asked.
“Just in letters. He’s quite busy in London for the time being.”
“Well, I’ll be staying here for a little while longer. So I shall certainly join you in that effort,” Lucy replied.
“Lady Iris and Lady Violet here to see you, Lady Mirabelle,” the housemaid announced.
Lucy watched as Mirabelle stood, straightening her skirts. The two newcomers gaped at all the ladies in attendance.
“Are there really this many beautiful spinsters in Spinster Cove?” The elder of the two asked.
Mirabelle chuckled. “Actually,” she dropped her hands to her sides, “it’s only me now.”
“So you have room for two more then?”
And the smile on Mirabelle’s face was all Lucy needed to feel reassured in her decision.