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By Wednesday afternoon, Amelia had received two more letters and discovered that waiting for the messenger was becoming an occupation. She had managed her ordinary affairs. She had answered invitations, spoken with her housekeeper, and listened to a lengthy explanation from her seamstress about the advantages of a particular trimming. She could not recall the trimming’s color.

She could recall every word of Dominic’s latest reply.

Dear Amelia,

Thursday is arranged. I enclose the box’s particulars. I shall wait there, unless you would prefer I call for you. I have noted the word immediately and intend to hold you to its implications. I shall wonder, as instructed, with a diligence that will surprise anyone who knows me.

I have also noted your demand that I make you laugh discreetly. I shall do my best. You may be assured that I shall not ask you to leave before the performance ends. I intend to earn the invitation that follows it.

I accept your terms. I will admire my companion, sit close enough for her to feel my warmth, and whisper discreetly. You will know if I have succeeded at the second and failed at the first.

Yours, with considerable restraint,

Dominic

P.S. I am sorry the ribbon has been disobliging. It was entirely cooperative in my presence. Name the amends, and I shall make them.

Amelia did not know what to expect from his letter. He was flirtatious and…well, a gentleman. He still let her make all the demands. She liked that. She disliked how much that small consideration affected her. Gentlemen had asked what she enjoyed on plenty of occasions, then continued speaking before she could answer. Dominic had given her consideration in a letter, with all the time she needed to answer.

She took up her pen.

Dominic,

I shall meet you in the box. I can find it, provided your directions are more reliable than the ones you gave yourself while blindfolded. I have always enjoyed music. I particularly like the moment when the room settles, and everyone must stop speaking long enough to listen. It is one of the few times a room full of people can be persuaded to hold perfectly still, and I find I like the effect it has on a gentleman.

My husband generally found someone with whom he could discuss something more important than whatever was happening on the stage. I grew accustomed to hearing portions of performances and supplying polite answers during the rest. I should like to hear this one properly.

You need not spend the evening silent. I suspect that would distress us both. You may whisper, provided the words are wicked enough to be worth the trouble. But I'd like you beside me when it ends, close enough for me to feel your warmth and hear what you thought. Do consider your material carefully.

Amelia

P.S. As for amends, I am still deciding. I'll bring the ribbon on Thursday, so you two can discuss it directly. I should warn you that it has very strong opinions.

She examined the paragraph about her husband. She had not intended to offer a confidence. It was hardly profound, merely a recollection of evenings less pleasant than she’d hoped. Yet she had spent years making such disappointments sound inconsequential.

She was tired of doing that. Dominic had asked what she wished. She had answered. His reply arrived the following morning.

Amelia,

Then we shall hear it properly. I had prepared a speech on whispering, and I find I must revise it. I shall listen to every note, and when the room settles, I shall be as still as anyone in it. Nothing in that theatre will be more important than the person beside me. I mean to prove it by paying attention to everything else. I shall be beside you when it ends, and I will have an opinion ready. I warn you it may be a poor one.

Dominic

She read it three times. There was no jest beneath them. No suggestion that she expected too much, and no attempt to make her regret mentioning her husband. Dominic had understood what she wanted and agreed to give it.

Amelia folded the letter carefully and set it with the others. Then she looked toward the clock. By this time tomorrow, they would have spent their third evening together. She did not know whether he saw it as the completion of an agreeable arrangement or had begun considering what came after.

She could ask. The thought unsettled her enough that she turned immediately to the matter she could arrange. She sent him one final note.

Dominic,

Your last reply is entirely satisfactory. Since you have been so agreeable, I shall tell you something more about my contribution to our evening. When you return to my house, there will be no cards or sandglass. You need not win anything before I permit you to enjoy yourself.

I intend to keep you for the rest of the evening. You may assume that I have considered how I should like to occupy it.

Amelia

P.S. Arrive at the opera wearing whichever cravat you can best afford to lose.