Page 17 of The Best of Friends
But what choices did Daria really have? There was so little she was permitted to do. So little she had any ability to do.
You either make it yourself or fate makes it for you.
That would actually not be terribly different from how her life had gone thus far. Someone else was always making her decisions for her.
“Mr. Layton is here to consult for a bit,” Rose said, having closed the door once more. “I’ll unbutton your dress in the back, then you slip into the dressing room and change back into the dress you wore here.”
That was accomplished relatively quickly. Rose saw Daria fastened into her own dress and set fully to rights by the time another knock at the door announced the new arrival.
Mr. Digby Layton was something of a legend in Society. He was an arbiter of fashion, a man of impeccable taste and significant standing. He was that odd combination of tastefully elegant and somewhat extravagant. A friend of the Jonquil family since the days of the late earl, he was also privy to the true ownership of Miss Martinette’s.
“Miss Narang.” He greeted Rose with a bow. “And Miss Mullins.” He offered the same to Daria. “A delight to see you both.”
“I thought you would be at the trial today.” Rose could be abrupt in her conversation at times, but those who knew her did not mistake that tendency for rudeness.
“It has been adjourned for the day, leaving me time to acquaint you with a very significant bit of news.” He spoke in tones of secrecy but so theatrically that Daria felt certain he had come to either tell Rose something that was, in actuality, insignificant or something that was otherwise unattainable. “Lambeth Drapers has received a new bolt of silk that has the precise shimmer and texture of the sapphire silk you made your rather stunning gown from, but this shipment is in a sumptuous shade of emerald. As I know India silk is sometimes difficult to come by, I thought I’d drop a word in your ear before it is snatched up.”
“It will certainly sell fast.” Rose’s brow pulled in thought. “Daria’s maid is waiting for her, but I had intended to hail a hackney to see them returned home.”
Mr. Layton dipped his head. “With Miss Mullins’s approval, I will happily see her and her maid returned home in my carriage.”
“I would be most grateful,” Daria said. Her parents had spoken well of Mr. Layton in the past and, therefore, would not disapprove of the arrangement. That meant she couldn’t claim a point for the journey. If Toss were there, and she found she very much wished he were, he would have teased her about that, but not in the hurtful way some people teased her. His variety of teasing made her feel special and wanted. Outside of the Huntresses and Tobias, few people did that for her.
Rose disappeared upstairs, no doubt to fetch her pelisse and other things she might need to make the journey to the drapers.
Mr. Layton, with his flawless manners and knack for putting people at ease, motioned for Daria to slip from the room ahead of him. As she did, he said quietly, “Have Mrs. Beckett send for your maid to meet you at the front of the shop. I will call up my carriage.”
It was the perfect way to accomplish it all. What must that be like? To be presented with a situation or a complication and be able to sort it out quickly and in just the right way?
Daria was still pondering that when Mr. Layton stepped inside the shop from the street outside and ushered her and her maid—one of the chambermaids her parents had agreed to let accompany her—to his waiting carriage, a very elegant one, well suited to its very elegant owner. He must have been in his sixties, but he moved with every bit of the agility of the youngest of Town bucks. Her own father was only in his forties, yet he moved slowly and with an obvious air of one who preferred sitting to almost any other activity.
“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Layton,” Daria said. “I did manage a journey with only myself and my maid last autumn when leaving a house party but only because Artemis made all the arrangements and gave the driver very specific instructions. If left to me, I likely would have bungled the entire thing.”
“I suspect you are overstating the situation.” He was as gracious as he was fashionable. The two characteristics did not always go hand in hand. “But I am pleased to be of service just now.”
Jenny, the maid who sat beside Daria, watched the older gentleman with a look that could be interpreted as nothing other than absolute awe. Mr. Laytonwasquite well regarded. Mother and Father would no doubt consider his acquaintance quite a feather in their caps. And to make Tobias acquainted with him would be seen as further proof that bringing Daria to London had been a good decision.
“Would you—” She hesitated. But the thought of her parents deciding she had done all she could for Tobias and sending her home gave her the nudge she needed. “If it would not be asking too much, would you be willing to step inside for a moment when we arrive at my family home and allow me to introduce my parents and brother to you?” With the request now made, she felt rather too bold for having made it. “I likely shouldn’t ask that, and you are no doubt wondering what could have convinced me to do so. It’s only that my parents were reluctant to bring me to Town, and my brother told them that doing so would be a good idea since I could make him known to some important people on account of my being friends with Artemis and Charlie. And you are an important person. Not that I think you are only worth knowing because you are important. I certainly don’t mean that.”
“I would be happy to meet your brother, Miss Mullins. And if your parents are present, I would not object to an introduction to them.” The response was gracious, but there was something in the wording that told her the introduction, to her parents at least, was not entirely to his liking.
“You don’t have to, of course. I don’t wish to cause you any distress or discomfort.”
“No distress or discomfort, I assure you, and I am sorry to have given you any impression otherwise.”
Daria leaned forward, a little closer to him, and lowered her voice. “I have no expectation of you choosing to make my parents your friends or even people you seek out. I am not the cleverest of people, but I do know they are not always pleasant to spend significant amounts of time with.”
He leaned forward as well and dropped his volume to match hers. “Why is it you are so certain you are not clever?”
She smiled and shrugged a bit. “There is ample evidence. Likely more than I even realize or remember. My father has pointed out that I’ve a mind like a sieve. If even I can recall enough proof of my featherheadedness, then it is clearly true.”
“Do you know, Miss Mullins, I find myself increasingly inclined to make your parents’ acquaintance.” Mr. Layton leaned back once more. “Is your brother of the same opinion as they on the matter of your... featherheadedness?”
“He has a brother’s bias.” Daria couldn’t help but smile when thinking of Tobias. “He treats me quite as if I weren’t stupid in the least.”
“I suspect your dear Huntresses treat you as he does.”
She nodded. “They do. I feel more clever when I’m with them. That is a lovely thing, don’t you think? To have friends who make you feel like a better version of yourself?”
