Touch Me

Thea nodded.

"They're both quite well placed in the ton," the other girl remarked.

Thea wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond to the comment. "They are very kind ladies."

"And talented," replied Irisa with a small laugh.

Thea smiled, blinking back moisture she dared not let the others see. She and her sister shared a sense of humor. Lady Upworth had said so, but to feel the truth of it was an amazing thing.

They chatted some more as they finished filling their plates. Thea's heart was beating so rapidly, she was sure the other two had to notice, but they did not. Thea learned that Irisa was in Town with Cecily's family as her own parents were not yet arrived for the Season. Thea could not lament that fact.

She was relieved there would be no opportunity just yet to run into her father.

"I'm sure I'll see you again," said Irisa as she turned to go with Cecily.

"I look forward to it," replied Thea, more fervently than Society would dictate.

She watched Irisa walk away with an odd sense of incompletion. This girl was her sister, but her birth had been the final act in a play that had kept Thea's mother out of England until her death. Thea had never blamed Irisa, and she had desperately wanted to meet the sister she had known about since birth and never seen.

Now she had, and she was impressed not only with her sister's charming manner, but the innate family similarities.

How incredible to feel such a sense of recognition for a virtual stranger.

She returned to her aunt's table, her hands unsteady.

Drake had arrived and sat regaling her aunt with the tale of Jacob, the blacksmith, who lived on an island but was afraid of the water.

He stood as she approached and pulled a chair out for her. She took it, still lost in her thoughts of her sister. "Thank you."

He smiled at her and filched a stuffed mushroom from her plate.

His sharp gaze swept over her face. "What's the matter?"

She could not very well share her heart's confusion where they could easily be overheard, but she wanted to tell him about meeting Irisa. But that would mean admitting she'd kept yet another secret from him, and she would have to explain the whole sordid thing—oh, it was all such a mess.

Drake picked another canapé off her plate.

"If you are hungry, get your own food," she said, still annoyed he had left her to face the torture of the musicale alone.

He laughed. "I'm doing you a favor, but if you don't appreciate my sacrifice, by all means finish your own food."

She let her gaze slide to the innocent-looking fare still on her plate. He must be teasing her. She picked up the lobster patty and took a small bite. It tasted a little different than those back home, but she attributed that to English cooking. She ate the rest of it and the remaining food on her plate to prove to Drake that she didn't for a minute believe he was helping her by eating her food.

"Are you ready to go now, dear?" asked Lady Upworth when Thea had finished.

"Yes, if we hurry, we'll be able to make an appearance at the Bickmore rout," Lady Boyle put in.

Thea's stomach sank. "Bickmore rout? I thought we were going home."

"Nonsense. The evening has just begun. You must realize that once the Season starts, you will be out until dawn most evenings."

Stay out until dawn? When would she sleep? Panic coursed through her. Being introduced to Society was going to be a horrible inconvenience.

Drake stood and helped his aunt, then hers, and finally Thea to her feet. "I'm afraid I have some things to discuss with Thea this evening. She will have to forgo the pleasure of the Bickmore rout."

Lady Boyle's eyes narrowed. "I trust it will not require locking the library door as it did the other afternoon." She turned to Lady Upworth. "These young people have no idea how their actions appear to others. Can you imagine the disaster if a servant had happened upon the locked door instea

d of me?"