Hitched! by Jessica Hart

Author:Jessica Hart [Hart, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781460303771
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

Everyone had taken the Edwardian theme to heart. I’ve no idea where they got their costumes from, but they all looked ravishing. The men wore white tie and tails, while the girls were in a dazzling array of evening gowns, out-peacocking each other in long gloves and jewels that glimmered at their throats and in their ears.

Guess who was odd one out? My dress was very simple, made of sage-coloured silk with short sleeves that draped and an elegant neckline that left rather more of my shoulders exposed than was advisable in the draughty dining room. Still, I had nothing like the flesh on display in some of the other dresses. Saffron herself was dazzling in a midnight blue beaded creation with narrow straps and a deep V at the back. It was the perfect foil for her bright blonde hair, and Roly couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Next to my sister, I looked like the poor relation I was, but at least I had the satisfaction of knowing that my dress was genuine. Roly had suggested that I look in the attics, where I found whole trunkfuls of clothes, and Mrs Simms, whom I was recommending for canonisation, helped me alter it. It did the job of making me invisible, which was exactly what I wanted, and I was able to slip away to the kitchens and check that everything was under control there without anyone noticing.

Roly had taken away the heavy red ropes that normally kept the public away from the furniture in the long gallery. I was nervous about people dropping their drinks or breaking some of the spindlier looking chairs, but he waved aside my concerns.

‘The rooms were built to be lived in,’ he reminded me. ‘It’s great to see the house being used the way it was meant to.’

Saffron was the sparkling centre of the party, in her element as the focus of attention. I was pleased to see her looking so happy. We had decided in the end to drop the idea of the Mr and Mrs quiz. Saffron had been able to answer so few of the questions we’d planned that I was afraid it might turn out to expose a ghastly distance between the two of them. But for tonight at least Jax was the perfect fiancé, looking darkly handsome and dropping hints about being in the running for the next James Bond.

‘Everybody! Everybody, listen up!’ I was about to slip back to the kitchen—I knew Mrs Simms was worried about her lobster bisque—when Saffron swooped down on me and enfolded me in her scented embrace. ‘Come with me,’ she said, and dragged me to the centre of the room where she proceeded to make an extravagant speech thanking me for the party, and telling me that I was the best sister in the world.

I was touched, but wished that she would stop. I was bright red, and I could see some of the guests looking at each other and

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