Thank you to all of my readers for reading my story, and to my reviewers especially for taking the time to let me know what you think. A special thank you for all of you who took the time to read my one shot last time – your feedback was awesome.

Without further ado…Enjoy.

BPOV

"Bella, come on!" Alice tugged on my arm, breaking me out of my trance.

I looked up to find her and Rose staring at me. I didn't ask where we were going. I already knew. We had been going there for as long as I could remember. It was our sanctuary within our London townhouse. We raced up the stairs and down the hall of the East wing. Bursting through the double doors at the end of the hall, I whirled around and waited for Rose and Alice to enter. I was always the quickest.

They entered only moments behind me, and we all dropped down into our usual chairs. We were in our personal library. Father had allowed us to decorate the room to our taste several years before, and thus it was perfect for us. There was an enormous fireplace at one end, in front of which were the designated chairs we were now seated in. Across the room at the other end were three large, mahogany desks. All the walls of the room were fitted with bookshelves, which were all jam-packed with books. It was our library, our study, our sanctuary. We spent most of our spare time in here, reading, reflecting, and catching up with our correspondence and learning.

I tugged on my riding boots, pulling them off, and tucked my feet up under me in my chair. I also unbuttoned the well-fitted coat of my riding habit – I knew we would be in here for a while if Alice had a say in it, and I wanted to be comfortable.

"That was the best day of my life" Rose began, gazing into the fire.

"How is it that we are so comfortable around them? And having just met them too?" I asked incredulously, my eyes searching out Rose and Alice's.

Rose turned her head away from the fireplace to look at me. After a few moments she simply shrugged, "They're it."

"They're it" I echoed, trying to grasp her meaning.

"So much for our season" Alice quipped in, and we all burst out laughing, the euphoria of our realization hitting us full force.

"Do you think they feel the same way?" I finally broke in, hesitantly.

"If they don't yet, they will by the time we're through with them" Alice replied, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"We need to start planning then don't we" Rose broke in.

We slowly smiled at each other. "Planning is our specialty" I added.

We are Swans, after all.

EPOV

I woke up early the next morning, needing to get an early start on my day. Quickly donning morning wear, I made my way down to the breakfast room. Entering, I glanced about for my steward and close friend, Jacob. Spotting him on the far side of the room preparing his plate, I settled into my seat to have my coffee. I wasn't much of a breakfast person.

"Good morning, your grace, I trust you slept well" Jacob spoke, settling into the chair to my right.

"Your humor is irritating Jake. Stop 'your-gracing' me" I retorted with a searing glance.

Instead of being frightened, he laughed "I beg your pardon, Eddie, I thought as we were in town it may be more suitable"

"You thought no such thing so stop lying" I answered, sipping my coffee, "You only sought to annoy me – and you're doing a good job by it. You know I also detest that nickname"

"Ah, well then I better stop. Wouldn't want to ruin your morning" Jacob answered, his mouth full of food. When he had finally swallowed he continued, "Would you like your update?" He asked, his eyes full of mirth.

"I thought you would never ask" I replied, leaning back into my chair, my eyes focused on Jacob. "And I would ask you stop laughing at me"

"Oh, I would never dream of such a thing Edward. Especially not with the tasks you have assigned me with" He replied, thoroughly enjoying himself by this point.

"Enough. Were the flowers delivered?"

"First thing this morning"

"And the dresses? Did you find out the colors?"

"Yes, I was finally able to. Bit of sweet-talking on my part, let me tell you. Took their maid Sylvie for a stroll. She's quite taken with me…" Jacob trailed off, in his own world.

"Ahem" I cleared my throat intentionally

Snapping out of his reverie he continued. "Also, three packages arrived this morning from your tailor"

"Three? Already?" I asked, surprised. "But I just ordered them yesterday"

"Ah, yes well, only one is for you. The other two are for Emmett and Jasper"

"Talking about us already?" I looked up to see Emmett and Jasper walk in the breakfast room. I inwardly groaned.

"Can't you two eat breakfast at your respective houses?" I asked, exasperation evident in my tone.

"Why, cousin dear, when we could eat off of you?" Emmett replied, a grin on his face. "We weren't all blessed with a duchy"

"Oh, as if that makes a difference" I threw back, "since Jasper is richer than you and I combined"

"Very true cousin, I am." Jasper commented, laughingly " My motto? Frugality. And what better way then eating off of you?"

I rolled my eyes, knowing that all my complaints would be to no avail. They had been breakfasting with me as long as I could remember. The ritual of teasing one another about it was just a family custom. Who knew why we kept up with the pointless ritual.

"Anyways, back to business" Jacob broke in, "The colors of the girls' dresses. Lady Alice will be wearing silver. Lady Rose will be in yellow. And Lady Isabella will be in cream"

"Alright, good work. We need to scour our wardrobes and try to find something to match them" I spoke up. Jasper and Emmett nodded their consent to the plan.

Oh, and those packages that were delivered for you three this morning. Shall I bring them to you?" Jacob cut in.

"Yes, you might as well. I wonder what they could possibly be" I replied.

Jacob swiftly went to retrieve the boxes. He returned moments later. Handing me mine, I looked down at it and saw the letter attached. Breaking it off, I looked up to see Emmett and Jasper waiting for me to read it. I opened it and read aloud:

Dear Sirs,

To wear to our ball tonight. I wouldn't want all my hard work to go unseen at such a grand affair. Consider it a gift from us.

Yours,

Lady Alice

"What in the world…" I muttered, and opened up the box. Inside lay a waistcoat of a deep blue satin, with embroidery in a cream color thread. A note attached instructed me to pair it with a shirt and cravat of cream instead of white. I turned to Jasper and saw he held a waistcoat as well. It was lavender and had embroidery of silver thread. In Emmett's hands was a waistcoat of a deep wine color, with yellow thread accenting it. They looked to be just as confused as I was. None of these were the ones Lady Alice had designed for us at our tailor's.

"Oh, isn't that just clever…" Jacob stood behind us, looking at the contents of our boxes.

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked, sensing Jacob's amusement.

"The waistcoats! They were designed for this evening" He answered, his tone implying daftness on our part for not understanding. "These match the exact colors of the girls' dresses" He finally concluded, when we weren't able to figure it out.

"You mean, she did all the work for us?" I asked thunderstruck. We had asked Jacob to find out the color of the girls' dresses so we could try and match our clothing to theirs as best we could. It seemed like Lady Alice had known exactly what we were planning.

"Oh, they're good" Emmett finally broke in, sending a meaningful glance in my direction. "We obviously need to up our standards in the planning department"

"Yes, it seems we do" Jasper mused, staring out the window. "We will just have to brainstorm. Should have known they would be different"

"Figures" I muttered, still staring down. "I still can't believe they gave these as gifts. Why, they must have cost a fortune!"

Jasper smiled slowly, and finally looked up at us. "We'll just have to repay them later. When they're ours"

BPOV

I couldn't believe it. It was an unnecessary extravagance, and yet. And yet he still sent them. I gazed at yet another bouquet, fingering the satiny leaf of a sunflower, and leaning in to inhale the fragrance of jasmine. The note had been brief, and to the point.

Ensuring you smile…

Forever yours,

Duke of Northampton

It was an exact echo of the note from yesterday. Oh my! It finally hit me. Since I said I liked them so much and that they made me smile, he was going to send them to me, every single day. I gazed at the bouquet, a silly grin spreading across my face. My eyes filled with tears, and I shook my head back and forth, willing them to go away. I couldn't have puffy eyes for my ball! Taking a last whiff of Jasmine, I turned slowly to find myself brought to a standstill. Rose and Alice stood right behind me, identical, sneaky smiles spread across their faces. I tried to get by them, but they just blocked my way.

"Sunflowers…"

"…and jasmine"

"Again, hm?"

They stepped in closer, their smiles growing even larger, if that were possible. I stepped back, wary, unsure of what they were planning. A second later my curiosity was appeased because they jumped on me and started twirling me around the floor of the atrium. Laughing, I joined in, and in moments we were skipping around, twirling and laughing from the sheer joy of it all. We must have been too caught up in our own world to hear the knock on the door, or Swinson answering it. Still dancing, I had just been spun into a twirl by Rosalie when I looked up. I came to an abrupt halt, hearing the gasps from Alice and Rose too. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I stared, mortified, in front of me.

EPOV

"Do you think this might come off a bit too desperate?" I asked, gazing out of the carriage window.

"We have a perfectly legitimate excuse" Jasper responded, counting the reasons on his fingers. "For one, we need to thank them for our gift. Secondly, what kind of gentlemen would we be if we didn't drop by and check if we could be of any assistance in helping prepare for the ball this evening? Thirdly…"

"Enough" I broke in, "if you keep going your excuses will turn even more ridiculous."

Subdued, Jasper also turned to gaze out the window. "Well I guess we do seem a bit desperate, but what can we do?"

"Yea, what can we do?" Emmett felt the need to add his own two pence in. "We miss them" He whispered the last part, afraid to admit it.

"It's a bloody travesty too" I mumbled, irritated at our foolishness. "we just met the chits and here we are already missing them enough to make excuses to visit on the day of their ball…when we clearly will be seeing them already this evening."

Jasper and Emmett agreed in their silence. A few moments later, the carriage came to a stop in front of their townhouse.

"Here goes nothing…" Jasper muttered, as we walked towards the front door. I knocked and stepped back to wait for Swinson to answer. I glanced down to make sure my cravat was still intact. I looked back up just as Swinson opened the door. I stepped into the atrium, and froze. Behind me I heard Jasper and Emmett suck in a breath.

In front of us was the loveliest vision I had ever seen. The ladies were dancing around the middle of the room, oblivious to the fact that we had just arrived. They were twirling one another around, their carefree laughter carrying across the room. I stood mesmerized by the image. At that moment Lady Rosalie caught Lady Isabella's hand and sent her into a twirl. She whirled around twice, crossing the floor, on two feet, and then lifted one and completed the last two whirls on the tip of one foot. She was breathtaking – as graceful as a ballerina. An instant later she looked up. Oh no. She froze, her eyes widening and her breath catching. Beside her I saw Lady Alice and Lady Rose come to a standstill as well. The mortification was evident on their faces. Lady Isabella's face turned red from her signature blush. Time seemed to stand still as we all gazed at one another, they in shocked mortification, and we in shocked pleasure. Only Swinson seemed unperturbed, amused even.

"That was incredible" Emmett finally spoke up, his awe evident in his tone and expression. It broke the ice and in moment we were all laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Swinson led us into the drawing room, and went to fetch tea. I sat on a chaise with Lady Isabella, unable to keep away from her now that I finally saw her again.

"We wanted to come and thank you for our gift" Jasper began, grasping Lady Alice's hand in his.

"Gift?" Lady Rosalie looked up at us confused.

"Oh, that would have been me" Lady Alice jumped in, a huge smile on her face. Both Lady Isabella and Lady Rosalie turned to her confused.

"Well, remember when we all walked out of the tailors shop, but I ran back in for something?" Lady Alice began, speaking to the girls, "that when I ordered three waistcoats for the gentlemen" she glanced up at us smiling "as a gift from us to wear tonight"

"Aw, Alice, what a great idea!" Lady Isabella spoke up, "Thank you for doing that on our behalf"

"Yes, and thank you even more from us, my lady" I joined in, looking at Lady Alice, "it was the nicest gift we have received in a long time"

"You are very welcome, your grace. It was our pleasure" She replied modestly.

Swinson entered with the tea at that moment, and the ladies were preoccupied with the tea try for a few minutes, giving me a chance to stare at Lady Isabella without her noticing. She was garbed in a simple pale green morning dress, with her hair pulled loosely together hanging over one shoulder, still slightly disheveled from her dance. She looked even more beautiful if at all possible, in her disarray. I accepted my cup of tea from her, and continued to gaze at her over the rim of my cup. She sat next to me, sipping her tea, deep in thought as she gazed into its depths.

"Ladies we don't want to detain you today, knowing you have much to do in your preparation for this evening" Emmett began once he had finished with his cup of tea and twelve tea biscuits. "Is there anything at all we can do to be of help to you in your work for this evening?"

"Thank you so much for your offer, my lord, it is so kind of you to ask. However we are all set with our preparations for this evening, there is not too much left even for us to accomplish" Lady Rosalie replied, gazing up at him.

"In that case we shall leave you ladies to your work" Jasper spoke rising. The rest of us followed suit. Walking out to the main hall, the ladies stood by us as we donned our greatcoats and hats.

Taking Lady Isabella's hand in mine, I quickly placed a kiss on it while gazing into her eyes. It seemed I couldn't get enough of her.

"Until this evening, my lady. I've been looking forward to this evening the past two days, since I will finally be able to hold you in my arms again" I murmured softly, aware that I was shocking her, and yet not being able to control myself.

To my surprise, instead of getting offended, she blushed and smiled up at me. "That makes two of us, your grace. It is neigh impossible to find a dance partner of your caliber"

"Is that so?" I mused out loud, smiling at her comment. "In that case, I'll have to make sure I'm your dance partner often tonight." I continued. "I wouldn't want you to suffer with second best on your special night" I gently traced my finger down her cheekbone, staring into her eyes the whole time. Realizing what I was doing, I abruptly broke myself away from her and walked out, before I lost control of my senses. My mind and body engaged in a tug of war of the senses. Shaking my head, I decided one thing was perfectly clear. I would have to make her mine, and soon.

The ball is next! I promise! I know it seems that a whole lot goes on in their lives in such a short period of time, but really, what else do they have to do than entertain themselves? Hope you enjoyed it! Drop me a line (pm's and reviews accepted!) and let me know what you think thus far :) Thanks so much for reading.