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going to enjoy this. “I will be happy to pay for anything you deem appropriate for my bride to be.”
    His mother rose and surprised him by placing a kiss on his cheek. He stiffened at the unexpected contact.
    “For your father’s son, you are a very generous man.”
    Anthony’s good mood vanished with her words. He rose to leave.
    “I shall leave Melissa’s fate in your hands. I have seen to the other particulars. You will know the invitations to accept once news of the wedding becomes public.”
    “You will be expected to escort her to many of the balls. It would look peculiar if you did not.”
    Anthony gave his mother what he hoped was a dazzling smile. “I am looking forward to the prospect of squiring my wife through the vivacious
ton
immensely.”
    If his mother believed that she was sillier than he thought.
       Lady Wickham watched her son leave her room with mixed emotions roiling in the pit of her stomach. She gave a satisfied smile. Anthony must never know she thought Miss Melissa Goodly was precisely the woman he needed.
    She’d been watching and assessing Miss Goodly since the beginning of the Season, and she liked what she saw. The young lady knew her own mind. Miss Goodly did not simper, flirt, or preen to attract a man, even though her brother faced financial ruin. Melissa remained composed while Lord Norrington paraded her before elderly widowers, hoping her obvious earthy charms would entice an offer of marriage.
    The Countess of Wickham shuddered at the realities of life. Miss Goodly’s own brother would sell her innocence to a decrepit reprobate simply to save his own skin. She smiled to herself. She was pleased to have been able to set Richard down the right path. Although she’d never have foreseen how quickly or how expertly Richard managed to accomplish what she never thought she’d ever see in her lifetime.
    Anthony married.
    She stood and let out a nervous breath. Her plan couldhave gone terribly wrong. She’d suggested to Richard that Miss Goodly was the type of woman who would be the making of his brother. Bless Richard; his quick thinking had done the rest.
    She moved to her writing desk and drew out a piece of paper. She would write to Selby and ensure Wickham Manor was ready for her return immediately following the wedding. She didn’t want there to be any distractions in Craven House; they deserved time alone.
    She paused in her writing. Miss Goodly was not only intelligent, refined, and selfless, but also beautiful. What convinced her that this match would be Anthony’s salvation, however, was Melissa’s charming disposition.
    Melissa had a very kind heart. Her goodness was evident in the friendships she kept and the work she did for the Ladies Freedom Charity, a charity that raised money to buy slaves their freedom and then found them paid employment.
    The Countess knew that would strike a chord with Anthony. Once married, once alone at Craven House, how could Anthony not succumb to Melissa’s many charms—both physical and spiritual? At least Anthony would have someone by his side. Someone who might come to love him—if he let her.
    If Melissa’s quiet strength and beauty couldn’t rattle her son, then no woman could and her husband would have won.
    The Countess’s smiled faded. She’d die before she let that happen. Her son had been hurt enough. She was going to do everything in her power to make this marriage a success.
       Cassandra wanted to slap the triumphant smile off Christopher’s face as he lay panting beside her. As usual, he had not satisfied her.
    Probably because she was still angry with herself.
    Her plan had not worked. Why, oh why, had she tried to play a game with Lord Wickham? If she’d simply let him seduce her straight into her bed, the first night they’d met, she would not be in this situation.
    As if reading her mind, her lover said, “Do not look so upset, Cassandra. You’ll still be able to take Wickham as your lover. A man like him