Chapter 15 - Chapter 15

The week leading up to the Pemberton ball passed in a whirlwind of preparation that left Felicity's head spinning. Modistes arrived daily with sketches and fabric samples, shoemakers took measurements for dancing slippers, and Mrs. Hartwell supervised a parade of tradespeople delivering everything from new gloves to custom-blended perfume."This is madness," Felicity said on Thursday morning, standing on a small platform in her dressing room while Madame Laurent, London's most exclusive dressmaker, made final adjustments to what had to be the most beautiful gown ever created.The creation was a masterpiece of midnight blue silk that seemed to capture starlight in its folds. The bodice was cut to perfection, emphasizing her figure while maintaining perfect modesty, and the skirt fell in elegant lines that whispered with every movement. Sapphires and pearls were worked into delicate embroidery across the bodice, and matching jewels would adorn her hair."Madness, perhaps," Adrian said from the doorway, his voice rough with admiration, "but magnificent madness. You look like a goddess, my love."Felicity caught his reflection in the mirror and felt her breath catch. He was dressed for an afternoon call in a perfectly tailored coat of forest green, but it was the expression on his face as he looked at her that made her pulse race—desire, pride, and love so fierce it took her breath away."You approve?" she asked teasingly, though his expression made the answer obvious."I approve of you making every other woman at the ball weep with envy," Adrian replied, moving closer despite Madame Laurent's protests about disturbing the fitting. "And I approve of ensuring that every man there knows exactly how fortunate I am.""Monsieur le Comte," Madame Laurent said with French indignation, "you will wrinkle ze silk!"But Adrian ignored her, his hands coming to rest gently on Felicity's waist as he stood behind her, both of them reflected in the mirror like a portrait of aristocratic perfection."Are you nervous?" he asked softly, his lips close to her ear."Terrified," Felicity admitted. "What if I make some terrible mistake? What if I use the wrong fork or dance incorrectly or say something inappropriate?""Then I'll love you just as much as I do right now," Adrian said simply. "Felicity, you could trip and fall face-first into the punch bowl, and I would still think you were the most magnificent woman in the room.""That's not very reassuring about the tripping part," she said with a laugh that sounded only slightly hysterical.Adrian's hands tightened reassuringly on her waist. "You won't trip. You'll be graceful and elegant and perfect, just as you've been every day since I married you. And if anyone suggests otherwise..." His voice took on a dangerous edge. "Well, they'll discover very quickly why it's unwise to insult the Countess of Blackwood."Later that afternoon, as Felicity tried to distract herself with needlework in the morning room, Annie appeared with a calling card that made her stomach drop."Lady Victoria Ashford to see you, my lady," Annie announced with barely concealed disapproval. "She's waiting in the blue drawing room."Felicity set aside her embroidery with hands that trembled only slightly. She had wondered when Victoria would make her next move, and apparently the eve of the Pemberton ball was deemed the perfect time for another confrontation."Please ask Lord Blackwood to join us," Felicity said, rising from her chair."His lordship is out, my lady. He's at his club with Lord Pemberton, discussing some parliamentary matter."Of course he was. Victoria had clearly timed her visit for when Adrian would be absent, leaving Felicity to face her alone."Very well," Felicity said, drawing on her newfound reserves of confidence. "Please have tea sent in, Annie. And perhaps you could... linger nearby? In case I need anything?"Annie's understanding smile was reassuring. "Of course, my lady. I'll be just outside if you need me."Felicity entered the blue drawing room to find Victoria standing by the windows, dressed in a walking costume of burgundy velvet that emphasized her golden beauty. She looked every inch the perfect society lady, from her fashionably arranged hair to her kid leather gloves."Lady Blackwood," Victoria said with a curtsy that was perfectly correct and completely insincere. "How kind of you to receive me.""Lady Victoria," Felicity replied with equal formality. "This is unexpected.""I imagine it is. May I sit?"Felicity gestured to the chairs arranged near the fireplace, taking her own seat with the kind of graceful composure she had been practicing for weeks. "To what do I owe this visit?"Victoria settled herself with practiced elegance, her blue eyes studying Felicity with undisguised assessment. "Direct as always. I suppose there's something to be said for country manners.""I prefer honesty to games," Felicity said calmly. "So perhaps you could tell me what you really want?""What I want," Victoria said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "is to prevent you from making a terrible mistake tomorrow night.""What sort of mistake?""The mistake of believing you belong in London society simply because you wear expensive gowns and live in a grand house." Victoria's mask of politeness slipped slightly. "You may have fooled Adrian with your provincial innocence, my dear, but society won't be so easily charmed."Felicity felt a familiar flutter of anxiety, but she kept her voice steady. "And you've come here out of concern for my welfare?""I've come here," Victoria said, leaning forward slightly, "to offer you a way out before you embarrass yourself beyond redemption.""How thoughtful. And what might this way out entail?"Victoria's smile turned triumphant. "A quiet withdrawal from society. Perhaps a prolonged trip to the continent, or a return to Yorkshire. Somewhere you can live comfortably without subjecting yourself to the kind of scrutiny that will inevitably expose your... inadequacies."The casual cruelty of the suggestion made Felicity's temper spark, but she maintained her composed exterior. "And why would I consider such a thing?""Because tomorrow night will destroy you," Victoria said with vicious certainty. "The cream of London society will be at the Pemberton ball, and they've all heard the whispers about Adrian's mysterious country bride. They'll be watching your every move, waiting for you to reveal yourself as the imposter we all know you are.""And if I don't reveal myself as an imposter?"Victoria's laugh was like breaking glass. "Oh, my dear naive child, you will. It's inevitable. You'll use the wrong fork, or laugh too loudly, or fail to recognize some important personage. You'll make some provincial comment that reveals your lack of breeding, or commit some social gaffe that marks you forever as beneath their notice."Despite her efforts to remain calm, Felicity felt doubt beginning to creep in. What if Victoria was right? What if she was walking into a situation she couldn't handle?"And when you do," Victoria continued, pressing her advantage, "Adrian will realize what a mistake he's made. He'll see that you're not the refined lady he thought he was marrying, but just a merchant's daughter playing dress-up in clothes too fine for her station.""Is that what you think?" Felicity asked quietly. "That I'm playing dress-up?""I think," Victoria said, rising from her chair to pace the room like a beautiful predator, "that you've been very clever about using Adrian's guilt over your family's circumstances to secure a position far above what you deserve. But guilt fades, my dear. And when it does, he'll remember what he truly wants in a wife.""Which is you, I suppose?"Victoria's smile was radiant with confidence. "I understand his world, Felicity. I know how to be the wife of a man in his position. I can navigate society, support his political ambitions, give him the kind of marriage that enhances rather than limits his prospects.""And what of love?" Felicity asked. "Does that factor into your calculations at all?""Love?" Victoria laughed dismissively. "Love is a luxury for shopkeepers and farmers. Men like Adrian marry for dynasty, for alliance, for advantage. What you call love is simply Adrian's misguided sense of responsibility toward someone he sees as a victim."The words hit deeper than Felicity cared to admit, touching on fears she had tried to bury. Was that truly all she was to Adrian? A victim he felt obligated to protect?"I can see I've given you something to think about," Victoria said with satisfaction, noting Felicity's momentary uncertainty. "Good. Because I want you to consider very carefully whether you're prepared for what tomorrow night will bring. The scrutiny, the judgment, the inevitable exposure of your inadequacies."Victoria moved toward the door, pausing to deliver one final blow. "You know, there's still time to withdraw gracefully. To claim illness, perhaps, and avoid the humiliation altogether. I'm sure Adrian would understand—after all, he's been so protective of your delicate sensibilities."After Victoria swept from the room in a rustle of burgundy silk, Felicity remained seated by the fireplace, her mind churning with doubts and fears. Was she really prepared for tomorrow night? Was she strong enough to face the kind of scrutiny Victoria had described?She was still sitting there when Adrian returned home an hour later, his face lighting up with joy at the sight of her before darkening with concern as he took in her troubled expression."What's wrong?" he asked immediately, crossing the room to kneel beside her chair. "You look like you've seen a ghost.""Victoria was here," Felicity said quietly.Adrian's expression turned thunderous. "What did she say to you?"Felicity looked down at her hands, struggling to find the words to explain the poisonous doubts Victoria had planted in her mind. "She... she thinks tomorrow night will be a disaster. That I'll embarrass myself, embarrass you. That society will see through me immediately and recognize me as an imposter.""And what do you think?" Adrian asked gently, his hands covering hers."I think..." Felicity took a shaky breath. "I think she might be right. Adrian, what if I'm not ready for this? What if I make some terrible mistake that reflects badly on you?"Adrian was quiet for a long moment, and when he finally spoke, his voice was filled with such love and certainty that it brought tears to her eyes."My darling wife," he said, lifting her hands to press kisses to her knuckles, "do you remember our wedding night? When I told you that you were magnificent in the face of Victoria's attacks?"Felicity nodded, not trusting her voice."You were magnificent then, and you'll be magnificent tomorrow night. Not because you're perfect, but because you're real. Because you're kind and intelligent and genuine in a world full of artifice and pretense." His gray eyes held hers captive. "Victoria sees your background as a weakness, but I see it as your greatest strength. You know what truly matters in life because you've lived without privilege. You understand kindness because you've known cruelty. You value love because you've lived without it.""But what if she's right about the social mistakes? What if I do something that marks me as beneath their notice?"Adrian's smile was fierce with protective love. "Then they'll reveal themselves as the shallow, petty creatures they are, and we'll know exactly who deserves our respect and who doesn't."He stood and drew her up with him, his arms coming around her in the embrace that had become her safe harbor in every storm."Felicity, I need you to understand something. I didn't marry you to acquire a perfect society hostess. I married you because you're the only woman who has ever made me want to be a better man. Because you see through pretense to the truth beneath. Because you love me—not my title or my wealth or my position, but me.""I do love you," she whispered against his chest. "So much that it terrifies me.""Then trust that love," Adrian murmured, his lips pressing against her hair. "Trust that it's real, and strong, and worth fighting for. Tomorrow night, we'll show London society exactly what love looks like when it's genuine rather than calculated."As Felicity stood in her husband's arms, feeling his strength and certainty surrounding her like armor, she felt her doubts beginning to fade. Victoria was wrong about so many things, but perhaps most of all about the nature of Adrian's feelings for her.This wasn't obligation or guilt or misguided chivalry. This was love—real, passionate, transformative love that had changed them both in ways neither had expected.And tomorrow night, she would show London society exactly what that kind of love could accomplish.The Pemberton ball awaited, and with it, her true debut as the Countess of Blackwood. But for the first time since Victoria's poisonous visit, Felicity felt ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.After all, she wouldn't be facing them alone.