Delia was so shocked by what she heard that she nearly dropped her wine glass. "What?" she asked, her voice a small, bewildered sound in the quiet drawing room.
Eric leaned forward, his playful expression gone, replaced by the look of a serious businessman. "We need to expand our plans," he said, his voice low and firm. "As you can see from today, there are a lot of circumstances aligned against our marriage. My mother's disapproval, your family's scheming, the social gossip… Our status and our social differences are the main factors everyone will use against us. So, we need to try another angle."