Caro spied Henry across the garden and quickened her steps. Beside her, Fanny slanted her eyes toward her mistress, wary.
“Fanny,” Caro chided, “don’t look at me like that.”
“One night,” her maid grumbled. “I leave you alone for one night, and you go off cavorting with that man.”
“You’re overreacting. Nothing happened.” This was not entirely accurate, of course, but her maidenhead was intact, so it was near enough to the truth.
Fanny grabbed Caro’s arm and hauled her behind the trunk of a pear tree as Henry came into view. Caro saw the distracted smile on his face and found herself smiling back. She recognized that expression.
It was the same one she had worn for the past twelve hours, after all.
“‘Nothing,’ my wig,” Fanny muttered. “’Tis only one thing that will put such a shyte-eat
