Jade Lee - [Bridal Favors 03] by What the Bride Wore

brother and sister.” His voice broke slightly on the word “brother,” but it may simply have been because the air was dry. At least her mouth felt incredibly dry.
    They moved apart again, and her hand felt weirdly empty until she was brought back to him. Ridiculous, and yet, the impression was so strong. In the end, the next step was inevitable. As the dance came to its end, he smiled.
    “Please, will you join me for the supper buffet? Allow me to apologize for being tardy on the dance floor?”
    “Of course I will,” she said with a gracious smile. Because of all things, she had been taught to be gracious when a man offered to apologize. After all, it happened so rarely.
    They gathered up Wendy and her partner. Her mother-in-law waved her ahead, obviously wishing to discuss something in detail with Mrs. Schmidt. So the four spent a happy mealtime discussing everything inconsequential from the weather to the musicians. Soon Mr. Grant had them laughing at a silly story. He was speaking of a carriage race that had happened many years back. It was the kind of story that was hysterically funny, unless one thought about the dangers to horse and driver, not to mention any hapless stranger on the road. She laughed along with everyone else, but the note cut at her mood.
    He caught her eye then, and not wanting to spread her ill humor, she smiled. But he must have seen her hesitation. He must have understood that something was amiss because he frowned back at her. Or rather, he frowned, not at her, but at himself as he clearly began thinking hard.
    But then the meal was over, the musicians were tuning their instruments again, and Wendy was laughing into the eyes of her gentleman. For her part, Irene was feeling her joy return. Just seeing Wendy so happy erased any uncomfortable moments. The woman was usually so tense, always stitching or mysteriously absent. Every one had noted the dark circles under her eyes. And yet right here, she was smiling, her eyes sparkling, and the lines of care that usually pinched her brows beautifully gone.
    Disaster struck in an instant. It was so fast that Irene didn’t even see it happen. A man appeared. A gentleman she didn’t know, but that meant very little. She scarcely knew any of the men in society. But he slipped in beside Wendy and took her hand. She turned, laughing because of something Mr. Grant had said, and then suddenly her body went rigid.
    Beside her, the gentleman’s expression turned to glee. “I knew it,” he crowed. “I would know you if you wore sackcloth.”
    Wendy stood there, her mouth slowly gaping open while the blood drained from her face. For a woman who always had a tart answer ready, something was clearly wrong. Without even knowing what was going on, Irene stepped forward and firmly disengaged the man from Wendy’s side.
    “I’m terribly sorry, sir, but I’m afraid we haven’t been introduced.”
    “Oh, my name isn’t important. It’s Miss Drew’s that is so very interesting.”
    “Miss Drew is her name, and it is completely unexceptional,” Irene snapped. “Good evening.”
    With that, she walked away, pulling Wendy along. The girl moved woodenly, all her earlier animation gone. Behind them, Mr. Grant had taken up a position to block the impertinent man’s approach. Irene felt reassured with him there, so solid behind them.
    “I shouldn’t have come,” whispered Wendy. “I knew it was wrong.”
    “Of course it wasn’t wrong,” Irene said. “But there is clearly something at fault here. Who was that man?”
    Wendy shook her head. “I don’t even remember. That’s the horrible part. I don’t remember.”
    Irene aimed them straight to the ladies’ retiring room. Sadly, as it was just after supper, there were a host of women, and all were gossiping. Irene wanted to change course, but they’d already stepped inside. So with a significant look at Wendy—one that said their discussion wasn’t over yet—both ladies set about fixing their