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“Good morning,” Mei replied, doing her best to pretend a cheerfulness she did not feel. ‘What’s good about it?’ was what she really wanted to say. But it was not Jocelyn’s fault Mei was in a terrible mood. No, it was Mei’s own fault, and she was going to have to live with the consequences of making silly, humiliating assumptions.

“Breakfast is set up in the dining room, or I can bring a tray to your room,” Jocelyn informed her.

The temptation of having a tray sent up was overwhelming.

It was also a terrible precedent to set, and she knew it. For one, she did not want to alarm any of her friends who would be expecting to see her this morning. She’d attended one of Astrid’s house parties earlier this Season, and they knew very well that she came to breakfast every morning. Missing out on breakfast meant missing out on observations of the company, observations that could be useful to her later.

The chances that someone would come check on her, worried and wanting reassurance, were very high. Possibly multiple someones. It would be far easier to lie to her friends and pretend that nothing was amiss if she did not divert from her usual patterns of behavior. Not coming down to breakfast was close to announcing ‘there is something wrong’.

She would have to brazen her way through it.

Besides, Mei knew from past experiences that usually the first awkward encounter was the worst. Once she got past facing the duke for the first time, everything would be easier. Waiting would only make the anticipation worse.

“I will go downstairs,” she said, trying not to sound as reluctant as she felt.

Dragging herself from her bed, she allowed Jocelyn to pick one of her English-style day gowns—a striped forest-green and cream chintz with a high neckline that was trimmed with cream lace. That would make Astrid happy, as it was one of the gowns she’d helped Mei choose.

That it was more form-fitting than the aoqun was something that could not be helped.

It was also armor, in its own way. Perhaps it would even allow her to blend in more with the other ladies rather than standing out. The aoqun did make it clear she was not one of the tonnish ladies without even needing to look at her face, intentionally, but today, she might feel safer if she was not a sparrow among the peacocks. Being part of the crowd had its own benefits.

Jocelyn brushed through Mei’s hair before twisting it up and pinning it in place. Looking at herself in the mirror, Mei was pleased to see that none of her inner turmoil showed in her expression. All she had to do was steel herself to face the duke, pretend that last night’s discussion had not ended so dismally, and move forward.

If he wished to dismiss her from her role as matchmaker at this point, at least she knew she’d acquitted herself well when it came to choosing likely prospects for him. Even if she had been presumptuous about his attraction to her.

And she would swear there was an attraction. But perhaps it was not as strong on his side as it was on hers. Or perhaps he had more self-control when it came to the desire to act upon it than she did. It was also entirely likely that he had decided not to act on it because he knew his sister and their friends would be displeased if he made a dishonorable offer.

So, she need not have rejected him, and yet…

Well. She would do better at keeping her composure for the rest of the weekend. Last night she’d run mad. The key would be avoiding another situation where they were alone together.

“There,” Jocelyn said, sounding pleased as she slid one final pin into place. “That should hold up.”

“Thank you, Jocelyn,” Mei said, turning her head this way and that. It did look quite lovely and felt more secure and had taken far less time than it would have to do on her own. “You did a wonderful job.”

Jocelyn beamed at her in the mirror. At least she had made one person happy this morning.

Getting to her feet, Mei forced herself out of her room, leaving Jocelyn to make up the bed and tidy up. She forced herself to take each step down the hallway, doing her best to ignore the way her heart was beating a little faster, her breath coming a little quicker, as she moved through the house.

Voices floated down the hallway from the dining room, where the doors were currently open to admit the guests as they arrived. Mei stiffened and straightened her spine. Though she could hear the rumble of deep voices interspersed with higher ones, it was impossible to tell if the Duke of Bolton was already in there.

She came to the doorway and paused, taking a moment to look around the room. Both Astrid and Tiffany looked up and smiled in greeting; they were obviously keeping an eye on new arrivals. Miss Fenley and her family were all in attendance, as were Lady MarcyAnne and her mother, out of Bolton’s prospective brides.

The Duke of Hereford and his wife were seated with Tiffany and the Duke of Clarence. Astrid was with them, but the Duke of Ormonde was not.

And neither was the Duke of Bolton.

Mei did not know if she felt relief at his absence or annoyance that she was going to have to wait even longer to get their first interaction over with. After all the anticipation of walking to the dining room, feeling as though doom was hanging over her head, it was almost a letdown to find that the source of her apprehension was not even present.

“Are you waiting for something?” The amused question, almost whispered across the back of her neck, made her leap nearly ten feet in the air. Mei spun in place, her heart racing in her chest, hand pressed over it, to glare at the bloody man who was causing her such consternation.

If the world were fair, she would be able to shriek at the Duke of Bolton for sneaking up on her and startling her so. But the world was not fair.

“Your Grace! You startled me.” That was the closest she could come to scolding him.

“My apologies, Miss Hu.” He bowed his head, still watching her closely. Mei felt a flush of warmth that seemed to start in her toes and travel all the way up to her cheeks in a matter of seconds as he looked at her.

“And I must apologize as well, for blocking your way. Excuse me.” Trying to keep her exterior serene, even as she was dying on the inside, Mei glided as quickly across the floor as she could to an empty seat between Mr. Simon Fenley and Kalina, Duchess of Hereford, who smiled in delight at her.