doing. Your safety is still my primary priority. That said, it is still in the best interest of our group, as a whole, to keep the membership roster anonymous. People know we’re out there. They know we’re performing good deeds. There’s no reason to believe anyone else will try anything nefarious against us.”
“So what exactly does this mean?” Harriet asked.
“It means you are free to resume your duties, your full duties, as members of the Ladies of Virtue,” Lady Somersby said.
Tilly’s heart thumped wildly. At least something in her life was going according to plan. And now that she was to be Lady Glenbrook, she’d be able to stay in London and continue with her duties, instead of hiding herself in the countryside as her mother had suggested.
That would never have worked. Not only that, but more than likely a tarnished reputation could have put her position with the Ladies of Virtue in danger. Their goal was to never draw attention to themselves. Marrying Sullivan would save her, and she should be so grateful to him.
Their wedding was tomorrow. The real wedding, though everyone believed it was merely a formality to have the ceremony in the church. Sullivan had even managed to persuade a bishop to date their marriage license to when they would supposedly have eloped in Scotland. So according to that paper they were already man and wife.
“What will happen to her? To Lady X?” one of the girls asked.
“There are a few people who are close to locating her, one in particular”—she glanced at Agnes—“has a history with her and believes he can bring her back to London. Nothing will happen to her, per se, as she’s done nothing more than try to reveal our identities and bring an end to our work. I should certainly welcome the opportunity to speak with her. I remember Eleanor. I suspect her actions stem from a good place. So, as always, be careful out there, but fear our invisible foe no longer.”
Another wave of applause sounded through the room.
Lady Somersby clapped her hands to silence them. “One more announcement. We’ve had so many nuptials in our group as of late and it is always such a wonderful thing to celebrate. Please join me in congratulating Matilda on her own soon-to-be wedded bliss. Lord Glenbrook is a lucky man indeed.”
Tilly’s cheeks flamed, but she smiled and hoped the blush served only in making her appear in love. She endured the round of congratulations as the meeting came to an end.
Lady Somersby had said that telling their husbands was appropriate. Tilly waited until the crowd of women had thinned before she approached Harriet and Agnes. Iris was still traveling with her new husband, Lord Ashby, but there was no need to ask her this question. Lord Ashby knew of their group and Iris’s involvement. His newspaper had been the one to break the story with the information he’d received from Lady X.
“Both your husbands know about our group, correct?” Tilly whispered to her friends.
The women exchanged glances, then both nodded.
“Oliver figured it out when he found me training with Lottie,” Harriet said.
“Fletcher knows as well. In all honesty, I don’t think I’d be able to hide it from him. He’s far too observant.” Agnes eyed Tilly for a moment. “I’m assuming you are wondering if you should be forthcoming with Sullivan?”
Tilly nodded. “We marry tomorrow and I know our union will not be like either of yours, but that said, I don’t feel comfortable going into our marriage without being honest.”
“I think you should tell him,” Harriet said.
“Yes, I think I shall. Honesty is always the right choice.”
“Absolutely,” her friends said in unison.
Tilly wanted to ask Lady Somersby about ideas of how to save the orphans she’d caught stealing, but to do so would betray that she’d been working when they had been instructed not to. She decided she would save that inquiry for another day.
She was married.
Officially Lady Glenbrook.
She stood at the window of her new bedchamber, looking out on the street below. Sullivan’s townhome was in a lovely part of town, on a corner that provided them with great views of Hyde Park. The ceremony passed in a blur of spoken vows and a chaste kiss that had happened so quickly she’d barely felt his lips upon hers. He’d held her hand as they’d left the church.
That was several hours ago, and she hadn’t seen him since. Their mothers were busy preparing for the celebratory ball that would take place