An Affair Without End by Candace Camp

my pride. I knew you wouldn’t notice a skinny, orange-headed girl otherwise—and better by far to be reviled than ignored.”
    He studied her for a long moment, and this time Vivian turned her head away.
    Silence stretched between them, broken finally by Vivian’s saying, “Ah, we are at your house. I’m sorry—I hope you did not wish to go somewhere else. I did not think to ask you.”
    “This is perfect. In fact, you should come inside. Fitz and Eve and the girls arrived yesterday evening. I am sure they would all love to see you.”
    A smile lit Vivian’s face. “As I would love to see them.”
    Eve, the earl’s new sister-in-law, was Vivian’s oldest and dearest friend. Widowed and penniless, Eve had been the perfect choice for a companion for the Bascombe sisters, the Earl of Stewkesbury’s American cousins. She had, like Vivian, been charmed by the forthright, engaging young women. In turn, Fitzhugh Talbot, the earl’s handsome half brother, had been even more charmed by Eve, and they had been married three months ago. The couple had spent six weeks on their honeymoon on the Continent before they returned to the Talbot family estate, Willowmere, and Vivian had not seen her friend since the wedding. It had been an equally long time since she had seen Lily and Camellia Bascombe.
    Apparently someone had been watching out one of the front windows, for Vivian and Oliver had hardly stepped into the foyer when the sound of running feet came from upstairs.
    “Vivian! Vivian!”
    As usual, the first one down the stairs was the ragged black-and-white dog. Pirate whirled and jumped around them in ecstasy until Stewkesbury made a quick gesture with his hand, upon which the animal let out one last yap and dropped into a sitting position, watching the earl with bright eyes, tongue lolling from his mouth in a way that made him look even more absurd.
    An instant later two young women hurried down the stairs toward them. Lily, slightly in front, was the prettier of the two, at least in the most conventional sense. Her light brown hair was arranged in an attractive cluster of bouncing curls, adorned with a blue ribbon, and her blue eyes sparkled. She had a rosebud mouth and a strawberries-and-cream complexion, and her lively personality shone in her face. She wore a blue spencer that matched the color of the pattern in her sprig muslin dress.
    Her sister Camellia was obviously as disinterested in style as Lily was attentive to it. Her dress lacked frills and furbelows, and she wore no ribbons or other ornamentation. Her dark blond hair was braided into a single long plait and wrapped around her head in a simple, easy-to-manage style. Her gray gaze was level and without artifice, and though her features were even and attractive, some said that a firmness about her mouth and chin detracted from her feminine beauty.
    “Vivian!” Lily cried again as they rounded the staircase, throwing out her arms as she trotted down the last few steps. Vivian rushed forward to hug her, then turned to hug Camellia, as well. All the while Lily chattered away happily, “It’s so wonderful to see you! It’s been deadly dull since you went home. Aren’t you happy to be in London? I love it here; I don’t think I shall ever want to leave.”
    “You might give poor Vivian a chance to get a word in,” suggested an amused voice from the top of the stairs, and Vivian looked up to see her friend Eve coming down the stairs.
    “Eve!” Vivian went up to greet the woman, hugging her, then standing back to examine Eve’s stylish dress. “You bought that in Paris, didn’t you? It’s so utterly au courant!”
    “See?” Lily said in a triumphant aside to her sister Camellia. “I told you Vivian would be able to tell the difference.” Turning to Vivian, Lily explained, “Cam said she couldn’t see why Eve’s Parisian gowns are any better than the ones we have.”
    Vivian laughed, linking arms with Eve as they came down the last few steps to