dare speak up and you would be left looking a complete fool!”
“We aren’t the only ones who feel this way,” Cathy said, thinking of her sister-in-law, Lucy. “Maybe we should have some faith in them.” She’d wanted to involve Lucy more, but the others had vetoed it most forcefully. The wife of the Marquis of Westminster simply couldn’t be trusted; her husband’s job was to neutralise any threats to the Dukedom and stability of Society. Everything they had done and planned to do could easily be interpreted as such. Hell, threatening the stability of Society was what she wanted to do most.
“It’s too much of a risk,” Charlotte said. “I know you think me cowardly, but I can’t be seen to do anything like that in public. I daren’t risk my husband realising the curse he put on me is broken. Women offering an opinion risk being cursed into silence too.”
“Which is exactly why we need to encourage a separate court,” Margritte said. “To give women the confidence to speak—”
A knock on the door stopped her from saying any more. Cathy listened to the rhythm. “It’s Will,” she said to Margritte, who had already stood, ready to dash to the mirror and make her escape to her hiding place in Jorvic.
Cathy turned the key and admitted Will. Carter, her bodyguard, gave her a polite nod before she closed the door and locked it again.
“Good evening,” Will said with a warm smile. The slight blush that crept across Charlotte’s cheeks didn’t escape Cathy’s notice. If her handsome husband was aware of the effect he had on some women, he never showed it.
Margritte curtsied and returned to her seat as Natasha and Charlotte greeted him politely.
“I trust you’re ready, my love?” Will asked with a smile. There was no hint of their previous argument. Cathy marvelled at how different he was from the other men of Nether Society. Yes, he’d been angry with her, but he hadn’t put an end to these meetings and was still willing to support change. Whether they would ever agree on how to achieve that was another matter.
“We were just discussing a potential court for the women of Londinium,” Cathy said.
“Oh, yes,” Will glanced at Margritte as if he knew of it already. “And are you going to announce it this evening?”
Cathy frowned. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why not? Margritte and I discussed it at length earlier this week.”
Will was helping to keep Margritte safely hidden away from his brother. As far as the rest of Oxenford and those in the know in the other Nether cities were concerned, she was still locked in the tower in the reflection of Oxford Castle. They must have discussed it when he delivered the Shadow Charms.
“I think it will be less controversial than your first statement to the court,” Will continued. “I’ve smoothed the feathers you ruffled and made sure no one got the wrong idea.”
“And what idea would that be?” Cathy asked, folding her arms.
“That you want to encourage wives to go behind their husbands’ backs.”
Cathy suspected Margritte had deliberately gone behind her back to persuade Will to support the idea before their meeting.
Will misinterpreted her scowl. “Don’t worry. We can discuss the best way for you to announce this court for women in the carriage on the way to the tower. I think if you put it to the room in a certain way, no one will be concerned.”
“Don’t you mean ‘if I tread carefully around the men’s feelings, none of them will try to stop me’?”
Will leaned forwards and kissed her forehead. “Darling, there’s no need to be so prickly about this. It’s just good diplomacy.”
Cathy sucked in a breath, feeling her latent rage rise up at the way he was managing her. So often lately she felt as if Will treated her like a feverish child, one to keep quiet and soothed with a cold compress, lest she work herself up too much. This wasn’t the time to make a scene, though. She had to pace herself and work out a way to bring him round, without showing the others how strained things were between them. Bloody hell, was this what Margritte had meant when she’d said that being Duchess was about presenting an image?
“Now, if you’ll excuse us, ladies,” Will said, “we have a court to prepare for.”
Cathy kissed them each on the cheek. “Be careful,” Natasha whispered in her ear.
Sod being careful, Cathy thought as she left. Since when did that achieve