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It was no use.

While not everyone in the room looked her way, the moment she lifted her gaze, it was as though Sebastian was a lodestone. They looked right at each other for a long moment, even though he was speaking with the Duke of Grafton. It was the monkey jumping from Grafton’s shoulder to his head that distracted Sebastian, pulling his focus away from Mei and allowing her to breathe again.

Which was when she realized there were several other eyes on her, all taking in her reaction to Sebastian’s reaction to her entrance. Tiffany was looking back and forth between her brother and Mei, as was Gregory, who was at her side. Staring straight at Mei with a contemplative expression on her face was Astrid, which made Mei inwardly groan.

Rose shot her a look as well, almost of exasperation, as if to ask if she was serious. Johanna had her back to Mei, currently, but Mei was certain that if Rose knew, then Johanna knew. Likely, their entire group of friends knew now.

“There you are.” Kalina slid her arm through Mei’s, pulling her forward into the room. “Come sit with me.”

“For someone who did not know you were going to be a duchess, you certainly have no problem being as bossy as one,” Mei murmured grumpily, making Kalina snort.

“Be happy it is me and not the dowager,” Kalina replied, nodding her head toward the corner where the Dowager Duchess of Clarence was seated with the other older ladies. Just as Kalina implied, though, her gaze was following Mei and Kalina across the room, alert and interested. The same dowager who had shown Mei the mostly unused back room and then Sebastian there after her. The same dowager who had admitted she considered herself a bit of a matchmaker.

“How does she know Sebastian proposed?” Mei whispered, horrified, only to be jerked to a halt as Kalina nearly tripped over her own feet. She managed to catch the other woman.

“Sebastian… what?” Kalina stared at Mei, clearly flabbergasted. At least she’d whispered the question so no one else overheard, but…

Blast.

Mei had assumed Tiffany, or perhaps Sebastian, had told the others everything, but apparently not. And then she had to go and open her big mouth. Pressing her lips together, she shook her head and started dragging Kalina over to the window. There was no one seated there, by some strange stroke of luck, which would give them more privacy.

Thankfully, most of the room was not paying attention to them. Just her friends. And Gregory. And Gregory’s mother. And Sebastian. The monkey was staring at her now, too, for some reason. But the rest of the guests were oblivious as far as Mei could tell.

They were all engaged in their own little dramas. Lord and Lady Alexander had their heads bent together with Mr. and Mrs. Fenley, all of them with their eyes on where Lord Owen was sitting with Miss Fenley. The elder Fenley brother was seated with them, looking bored but dutiful, as he was basically ignored by the enamored couple.

Simon Fenley had been caught in some sort of odd contest between Lady Darcy and Lady MarcyAnne and looked absolutely terrified to have a lady on either side of him, each vying for his attention. If Mei was not already grappling with her own problems, she would have felt compelled to rescue him, but unfortunately for him, she had Kalina to focus on.

Lord Hayworth and Lady Juliette were speaking with the Duke of Northumberland and Lady Isabella, appearing to be two happily settled couples. Mei did not think it would be too long before Northumberland proposed, if he had not already… and she was beginning to think that Lady Isabella would say yes. Which would surely cause a bit of consternation among the ton, but not much, as Lady Isabella was very much considered a tragic figure.

No one would dare denigrate her, not after all she’d been through. In fact, that she’d caught the attention of two Dukes of Northumberland could make her a cause célèbres among Society. Most would applaud him for elevating her to the position the previous duke had intended.

None of these things was enough of a distraction for Mei, though, as Kalina pulled her to the side, but it was reassurance that everyone else was occupied for the moment.

“What do you mean, Sebastian proposed?” Kalina asked in a hiss.

“Shh,” Mei replied, even though Kalina’s question had been barely audible. Kalina glared at her. “I… I thought Tiffany told you, and that’s why you wanted to talk to me.”

“Tiffany knows?” Kalina’s head swiveled around, and Mei grabbed her arm.

“If you did not know, what did you mean?” Mei wanted to know. Because why else had Kalina wanted to speak to her and referenced the dowager?

“You have been in your room all day!” Kalina frowned at her. “We were all concerned, of course. The dowager more than most, although I do not understand why. She said that your grandmother asked her to look after you, and I believed she was worried about your health. Now, I assume that is not the case?”

Mei’s health. Ha.

It made entirely too much sense that her grandmother had been in touch with the dowager duchess. She could only imagine how that conversation had gone, what with her grandmother’s determination to see Mei married off. Why the dowager had agreed to try to set Mei up with Sebastian was a mystery. If she had, indeed, done such a thing.

But it was not difficult to see the machinations in the older woman’s actions now that she knew.

“The dowager… she… blast.” Trying to find the words was as difficult as saying them out loud. “There’s a room here that almost no one uses, in the back. She showed it to me, so I might have some time to myself, but then Sebastian came there, too, and… well…” Her voice trailed off as her cheeks heated in a blush.

“I knew it,” Kalina’s dark eyes flared. “I knew there was something going on between you. Nathanial told me no at first, but then the other day he stopped contradicting me, even though he would not confirm anything.”

“Well, I do not know anything about that.” Though the idea that the other dukes knew she and Sebastian had become lovers was daunting. Did all of them know? Or had Hereford guessed? Had more of them guessed?

She wished she could run back to her bedroom and hide under the covers and not come out again. Ever.

Certainly never have to face any of the dukes ever again.