Page 79 of An Unwilling Earl
Lady Crawford was an excellent conversationalist, and for the next twenty minutes or so the three of them caught up on each other’s lives. When the two women stood to leave, Charlotte was sad to see them go.
“If you need anything,” Lady Crawford said, “you just let me know. It must be hard without a mother to guide you through all of this, being a new countess and a new wife.”
Charlotte couldn’t express her gratitude in words because her throat had closed up. It’d been so long since she’d seen Lady Crawford that she’d forgotten just how kind she was.
The two left, and Charlotte collapsed back on the creaky chair, relieved that she’d survived her first callers. She would have to speak to Jacob about where to put people if they continued to come by on a daily basis. Lady Crawford warned Charlotte that once word spread that the newest earl had already wed, people would be stopping by to meet the new countess.
It all sounded so exhausting.
Mrs. Smith poked her head in, her eyes wide. “There are more.”
Charlotte frowned. “More?”
“More people. More callers.”
Charlotte grabbed the edge of the chair she was sitting in. “No.”
She looked around wildly as if she could jump out the window and run away and hide until they all left. She fervently wished Jacob were here, but she didn’t know if it was to berate him for putting her in this position or hold her up and see her through it.
“Who?” she asked.
“Says she’s Dowager Lady Armbruster.”
The Countess of Armbruster? Oh, dear. This was not going to go well, and she probably couldn’t tell Mrs. Smith to tell this woman that she was out because she probably saw Sarah and her mother leave.
“I’ll bring more tea.” Mrs. Smith disappeared, and Charlotte wanted to call after her to come back. Even Mrs. Smith’s presence would be a comfort.
A tall, elegant, absolutely beautiful woman with black hair and the lightest blue eyes that Charlotte had ever seen walked in. She didn’t so much as walk, Charlotte thought, as she glided. She was dressed in a deep purple gown, trimmed in black lace, her hair—and there seemed to be quite a lot of it—was piled on top of her head in such a way that it seemed it would all come tumbling down if she moved suddenly.
Charlotte tugged on the ends of her short hair. Compared to this woman she felt like a country urchin, still clothed in Cora’s cast-off gowns that were woefully out of style.
“Lady Ashland.” The woman’s voice was deep and sultry, but her lips lifted in what appeared to be a genuine smile.
“Lady Armbruster.”
“Oh, please, call me Nora. I have a feeling we will be seeing quite a bit of each other in the future.”
Oh, dear Lord. What does that mean? Whoisthis woman?
“Then, please, call me Charlotte.” Was that appropriate? She had no idea. “I apologize that I don’t have a formal sitting room to accept callers. Jacob, that is, Lord Ashland has used his home as an office for quite a while.”
Lady Armbruster chuckled and settled into the straight-backed chair as if she were accepted into every home like this. With an inward sigh Charlotte sat, too. This accepting callers thing was tiring.
“I know you have no idea who I am, dear. You’ve met my son, Lord Armbruster.”
She hardly seemed old enough to have born the cynical, wildly handsome, irascible Lord Armbruster.
“Yes, Armbruster,” Charlotte said. “I understand that he and Jacob have been tight friends for quite some time.”
“They met in school and have been nearly inseparable since. Quite the odd combination those two make. I couldn’t have been happier when I heard Jacob had become an earl. Although I hear he’s been quite reluctant about the whole business.”
Charlotte didn’t comment on that, feeling it wasn’t her right, and neither did she know this woman enough to suddenly spill confidences.
Mrs. Smith brought more tea in, and Charlotte poured, hoping she wasn’t making a fool of herself. Again she wondered how in the world she thought she could teach Americans to behave like English ladies when she couldn’t even do so.
But Nora either didn’t care, didn’t notice, or Charlotte was doing it correctly, so she didn’t comment.
“I came to discuss the ball with you,” Nora said.
