It started the day after Miles discovered Devlin at the breakfast table. The marquess had made the decision that the sooner these two were married the better, seeing as how they could not seem to avoid inviting scandal. Some expressed surprise, others expressed boredom at what they had already suspected. And some, like Lady Ashby, were bitterly cruel and catty with their remarks. “Is it not wonderful for Lady Blythe that she has finally found someone who will have her?” Lady Ashby was overheard asking someone at the theater that evening. Blythe would be the first to agree that it was wonderful indeed. Devlin, on the other hand, would be sorely tempted to remind Lady Ashby that he certainly hadn’t wanted her. And of course, Blythe had many callers during those three weeks as the banns were read in church every Sunday. Old friends and acquaintances came with genuine wishes of happiness, gossips came to ferret out if perhaps there was a reason for the speedy engagement, and others came simply because it was bound to be the wedding of the year and they wanted to guarantee their place at it.
