Free Magic in the Stars by Patricia Rice Page B

own.”
    “They’re the only ones old enough and available. We don’t
want any chance of matching an Ives to the younger girls! So I think that lets
our family out of the equation.” Emilia set down her teacup firmly.
    Aster sighed. “This sounded like a good idea at first. Iveston
really could use a raft of your mother’s workhouse women and perhaps even some
of Gwenna’s disabled children. And the chance to influence a powerful marquess
is priceless.”
    “I’m not averse to considering one of the younger brothers
as a husband, even if it is not Lord Theo,” Emilia admitted. “But if you intend
to hold a formal tea at Iveston for your friends, you will need help. Is it safe
to take Bree and Dee with you?”
    “If they’ll consent to help, I’ll try to stay out of their
way as much as possible,” Aster reluctantly agreed, pondering how this might be
done without her presence endangering her family. She was hoping the older
girls knew to stay out of her way as
much as she knew to stay away from them.
    Could she actually prevent the danger she saw in her charts if she was at Iveston? It didn’t seem
likely, but . . .
    Normally, she wouldn’t even consider being in the same house
as her family. But so many things rested on taking this chance! She needed to
marry off Emilia, find positions for her aunt’s impoverished women, somehow
obtain Ashford’s help for Gwenna’s legislation, and obtain Lord Theo’s
astronomical aid to improve her charts.
    In addition, if she helped Lord Theo find a wife, that would
enhance her reputation as an astrologer. Surely a matchmaker would be a
valuable commodity? If only she could foresee what trouble she might cause in
less than a fortnight!
    “I suppose arranging a house party at the last minute does
present complications,” Emilia said with a sigh. “This really is not one of
your saner expeditions.”
    “I would fare better if more of us were of an age or
personality to be managing types, or at least available on short notice,” Aster
admitted. “Still, Bree and Dee and you will give us a good chance of capturing
Lord Theophilus’s interest. Or maybe . . . if we’re really good . . . Ashford’s.”
    Emilia crinkled her nose. “I should think it would be too
soon if he’s suffering from his fiancée’s rejection as well as his injuries.
But I should like to have a look at his head. Phrenology has developed some
wonderful insights into the human mind.”
    “You would make a marvelous marchioness,” Aster insisted,
burying her anxiety in favor of a positive outcome. “But if I am to do this, we
need to organize. I have two footmen, two trained maids, and three
almost-trained maids. If you’ll bring your housekeeper, we can call on your
mother’s collection of untrained women, and possibly have nearly a dozen warm
bodies at our disposal. If we’re only preparing for an afternoon tea, we don’t
need to tackle the upper chambers, just the company rooms.”
    “You cannot expect me to organize a housekeeping crew!”
Emilia exclaimed. “I’ll send Mrs. Barnes, but you’re on your own until the day
of the fete.”
    “Emilia, I need a chaperone! Maids aren’t enough.” Aster
tried not to shout her distress. “These are Ives !
The object is to enhance my reputation, not lose it, and I most certainly don’t
want to be trapped in a compromising situation requiring marriage. It would be
disastrous.”
    So disastrous it could easily explain the conjunction of
Mars in both their charts on the part of peril! She shivered at just the
thought. No matter how much she enjoyed looking at Lord Theo, she wasn’t
crashing the heavens down on their heads for a set of manly shoulders.
    “You should re-do your chart,” Emilia said stubbornly. “If
you are any kind of astrologer at all, your chart ought to say you’re perfect
for an Ives household.”
    “Wait . . . right . . . here.” Aster marched off to her study, pulled out
the well-worn scroll, and