Secrets of a Wedding Night by Valerie Bowman

money, she would have to take more drastic measures. She snatched up the list of household accounts. No more buying meat at market. She slashed a line through the list. No more sugar. Or cream. Two more swift lines. No more tea. She sighed. Perhaps she’d ask Evans to reuse the leaves, first.
    She tapped the tip of the quill against the parchment, fighting the panic that always rose in her throat when she examined her finances. Annie, Evans, and Mary knew their little household was in dire financial circumstances, but only Lily knew just how desperate a situation it truly was.
    She eyed little Leopold asleep in the corner. Finding money to feed him was no small feat either, even when table scraps were his dinner. But she refused to let her beloved dog go. No, Leopold was family too, and he would no more be turned out on the streets than Annie would. But Annie would just have to stop bringing strays home, that was all. Lily sighed. She’d be powerless to deny her sister when she came home with a little, helpless animal. Very well. Now that she thought on it, tea wasn’t really necessary.
    A soft knock drew Lily’s attention to the doorway. She glanced up to see Mary curtsy. Lily smiled at her old friend. “Yes, Mary? What is it?”
    “I beg yer pardon, me lady, but ye’ll be wantin’ ta see this.” The older woman bobbed another quick curtsy. “Wait. I ’aven’t already announced this, ’ave I?” she asked sheepishly.
    Lily shook her head.
    “Come on and see then. ’Tis an impressive sight, ta be sure.” Mary pulled her mobcap down over her ears and made her way back down the hall.
    Cocking her head to the side, Lily tossed the quill onto the sad list of figures and stood to investigate. Leo leaped up from his corner to follow.
    Before Lily passed the doorway, the scent found her nostrils. Flowers. That lovely, sweet smell. But there was something different about it this time. Normally, the scent of lilies drifted through the house, but this time it was roses. Roses, lilacs, and something else.
    She quickened her step, rounding past the turn in the hallway. When she made it to the foyer—at least, she thought it had once been the foyer—she stopped, clutching at the wall.
    The space had been transformed into a virtual hothouse. Flowers lined every available nook, every conceivable cranny. An unusually alert Evans, looking both inordinately pleased and mildly annoyed at the same time, scurried back and forth from the front door, ushering in the delivery.
    Annie came rushing down the staircase, a bright smile on her face. “Oh, I know who these are from. Now, this is what I expected. Frances said her sister received a disconcerting amount of flowers from Lord Sitton, but I’ve no doubt they were a pittance compared to these.”
    Lily snapped her mouth shut, still busily scanning the colorful scene. There were roses. Gardenias. Petunias. Pretty little daffodils, tulips, bluebells, hyacinth, and lilacs.
    “It looks as if he uprooted an entire garden,” Annie said, spinning around. “What do you think, Lily? Are you sufficiently impressed by Lord Colton now?”
    Lily bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “It’s utterly ridiculous, that’s what I think. Why, the cost of these flowers would be enough to run this entire household for a good period of time, and I cannot condone—”
    “Good heavens.” Annie slapped her open palm against her forehead. “It’s a romantic gesture. Only you would think about money at a time like this.”
    Evans, who’d apparently finished his organization of the chaos, stepped forward. Clearing his throat, he handed Lily a card that was tied to a single flower stem. A lily. Just one lily in the entire ostentatious display.
    She took the card from Evan’s outstretched fingers. The words on it were written in a strong, bold hand, the black letters slashed across the parchment.
    Now you know.—D
    Lily pressed the card to her lips, hiding her slight