Siren

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

“What do you think of this color?”

“Hm?” Distracted by thoughts of James and the gentle kiss he’d bestowed upon her lips when they’d parted that afternoon, Phoebe jerked her attention from the bolt of lavender fabric sitting idly in her hands to Sarah, standing before the mirror with a length of rich rose silk draped over her shoulders. “I love that color.” Phoebe dropped the lavender and rose from the chaise in the dressmaker’s modest salon. She approached the mirror, cocking her head to the side, taking in the way the elegant silk enhanced Sarah’s milky skin and raven hair. “Is there time to have a new dress made up?”

Mrs. Hodge, the seamstress, nodded emphatically. “For Miss Sarah and Captain Collins I will have this dress ready in two days’ time.”

Sarah beamed into the mirror, eyes aglow. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you! I am so very excited.”

Phoebe met her friend’s gaze in the mirror and grinned in return, true happiness rising within her. For the first time in her life the thought of marriage did not feel like drudgery or the sound of her doom. Instead a bit of Sarah’s excitement slipped into her and Phoebe hoped she might find a love match herself.

*          *          *

After several hours helping Sarah and her mother make wedding preparations, Phoebe returned home exhausted, but happy. So much had happened since she’d risen that morning from her hell raising jaunt on Jupiter to sizzling kisses with James Witherspoon. She lifted a hand to her still tingling mouth and suppressed a contented smile. He’d asked her to meet him again tomorrow and she’d agreed.

“Phoebe?” Edward’s voice echoed through the hall.

“Yes,” she called, turning toward his study.

“Come in here for a moment.”

Phoebe complied, ambling into the room. Her brother sat behind his desk, piles of ledgers stacked before him. “Preparations for Sarah’s wedding are coming along nicely. Will you be able to attend on Saturday?”

Edward dropped his quill into the inkwell on his desk and leaned back in the chair, regarding her with a cool gaze. “Reverend Alistair stopped by to visit this afternoon.”

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “I’m glad Sarah’s wedding plans kept me detained today.”

“He passed along some information I found quite distressing.”

“Does he believe the second coming is imminent?” Phoebe quipped, laughing lightly at her own joke.

Edward’s stern glare did not waver. Phoebe swallowed, her playful spirits fading. “The reverend told me that you’ve been keeping company with James Witherspoon.”

Blast Reverend Alistair! Her palms slicked. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She turned to the books lining Edward’s shelves, running her fingers casually along the spines. “The colonel was at Sarah’s engagement party, the reverend merely saw me ask him where he came by his horse.” She chanced a glance back to her brother. “You know how eccentric Alistair is.”

Edward’s blue eyes narrowed on her. After a moment he shrugged, seeming appeased by her explanation. He reached over his desk and lifted the quill, wordlessly dismissing her.

Holding her breath, Phoebe forced herself to walk unrushed from the room.

“Phoebe?”

She gulped again. “Yes, Edward?”

“Where did he come by the horse?”

“Lord Banion,” she replied smoothly.

“I see,” the duke replied, still gazing down at his ledgers, systematically tapping the end of his quill on different points of the page. Just as Phoebe turned to the study door, Edward’s cold eyes snapped upward, freezing her in place. “I will not hear tales of you consorting with him further, Phoebe. You know perfectly well why we do not socialize with the Witherspoons.”