The Princess & the Pea by Victoria Alexander Page A

intimidated by this rather illustrious gathering. She does not strike me as having that flighty exuberance of so many young Americans."
    "No, not at all." Millicent said thoughtfully. It did seem extremely odd. Cece's behavior since they'd returned from Paris last week had been quite restrained, nothing at all like the young woman who'd originally sailed into her breakfast room in eager pursuit of follies. Cece was now extremely subdued, preoccupied and positively listless.
    Emily, on the other hand, seemed to have undergone a transformation quite as dramatic as her sister's. She was far more animated, enthusiastic, even downright chatty than before their trip. Millicent wondered if perhaps Emily's behavior was an attempt to distract the older girl from whatever it was that seemed to prey so heavily on her mind.
    Millicent had, of course, mentioned her observations to Phoebe. But her friend had just shrugged helplessly and explained that she had long ago abandoned trying to understand the children she had given birth to. Either of them.
    Phoebe's behavior, as well, had been a bit unusual. She seemed somewhat pensive and reserved, as if here in England, memories buried in the past were abruptly fresh and vivid. Millicent was not surprised. Returning to the scene of emotional turmoil, no matter how long ago, would surely give anyone pause.
    It was not as if Phoebe and Henry were unhappy with each other. On the contrary, the private glances exchanged between the two were more than enough to make Millicent sigh with envy.
    "I believe Jared should meet her." Olivia said, steely determination underlying the ofthand tone of her voice.
    Millicent brightened. An interesting suitor might be just what Cece needed to shake her out of her doldrums. "A wonderful suggestion. Although," she paused thoughtfully, "now that you mention it. Emily had asked if he would be here tonight."
    Olivia raised a brow. "Really? Have they met?"
    "I don't believe so." Millicent shook her head. "Emily simply asked if the Earl of Graystone frequented gatherings of this nature. Apparently a friend of Cecily's from Chicago is acquainted with him."
    "Chicago?" Olivia frowned in concentration. "Of course; I remember now. The buxom blonde with the annoying giggle."
    "I gather she did not meet with your approval?" Millicent said dryly.
    Olivia shrugged. "She would not have been a good match for Jared. But this one ..." Her considering gaze returned to Cece, and Millicent's followed.
    Cece did meet Olivia's prime requirement for a daughter-in-law: a sizable inheritance. In that need, the Grayson family was not alone these days. Millicent was more than grateful that the economic conditions that left so many of England's venerated families tottering on the brink of financial disaster had not touched the fortune amassed by her late husband.
    But for Olivia to seriously consider Cece as a wife for Jared was to pursue more than a mere heiress: it was to court disaster. Once the child snapped out of the strange mood she'd been in, Olivia would surely consider her anything but suitable.
    "You will introduce them for me, won't you?"
    "I should like nothing better." Millicent suppressed an impudent grin. She'd been friends with Olivia for years, and even though she loved her dearly, she could well see the other woman's flaws. Prominent among them was a simple fact of Olivia's nature: She was something of a snob, especially where her sons were concerned.
    In spite of her best efforts, Millicent's grin slipped out. If Olivia settled on Cece as the next Countess of Graystone, she would get far more than she bargained for.
    And just what she deserved.
    Cece smiled politely at the young men surrounding her and murmured an occasional appropriate comment. She had no idea exactly what they said and cared even less. In spite of her love of excitement and the unexpected, Cece White was nothing if not well trained.
    Under other circumstances the glittering ballroom, handsome, formally