Chapter 262

Lily was caught in a dream, like a glistening dewdrop suspended on the length of a shimmering strand of spiderweb at dawn. She felt the magic of this day infusing her with strength and hope. All around her the wedding guests talked and laughed, the sounds of their gaiety filling her heart with an intense warmth.

And yet part of her felt like a fraud. She was not truly free to be herself. She was not Lily Wycliff, after all, but Lily Linley. She was not free to act as though she knew all their guests by name, even though she did. As Tom, she'd met most of them, but she was supposed to be a stranger in Charles's world. She couldn't forget to play the part.

And then, of course, there was the specter of Hugo lurking in the back of her mind.

"You seem a bit dazed, my dear." Violet, Charles's mother, joined her in one of the few semi-secluded spots in the large dining room of Charles's townhouse.

"I think you're right," Lily confessed. She smoothed down her pale-blue skirts, even though