Page 45 of Scales and Sensibility
And it had been held yesterday morning. Was it even possible for Mrs. De Lacey to have reached this part of Somerset by the middle of last night after spending the entire morning in London? Elinor was no expert in geography…but she had a feeling of cold certainty that the answer wasno.
Elinor read the notice over and over again, but the tiny, printed words never changed. How many other people had read them?
Sir John had set off so early this morning, he couldn’t have had time to read the paper in any detail. He might well have missed that one small item of gossip, more focused on the larger news of the day. Penelope, on the other hand, wasonlyinterested in the gossip when she read a newspaper…but fortunately, she rarely did. There was a good chance that today, as she’d poured out her woes and waited for her father to hunt down her cousin, she hadn’t bothered to pick up theSpectatorfor light reading.
That only left Lady Hathergill, Gavin Armitage, Miss Armitage…and every single servant who might read this paper after Elinor.
Her hands moved before she had even finished the thought, ripping off half the page and shredding the news item into dozens of tiny pieces. It was only as the last shreds fell onto her lap that she realized her mistake.
Sir John wasn’t the only gentleman in the neighborhood who ordered theSpectator. Millie and Lucinda both came from households that subscribed to the London papers, even though their families couldn’t afford London seasons for the girls. Everyone in the neighborhood would know soon enough that the famous Mrs. De Lacey had arrived at Hathergill Hall…
…And now that Elinor had ripped up the newspaper, she had just alerted every servant in the house that there was something interesting to be read in it.
Elinor stared at the shreds and felt an uncharacteristic scream of sheer frustration build up inside her, the kind that her sister Rose—or their cousin Penelope—would have unleashed without a thought.
Only fierce willpower kept it locked inside her chest.
“Too much,” she said hoarsely. “This is simplytoo much.”
Sir Jessamyn lifted his head off the bedcover to look up at her with lazy curiosity.
“Can’t anything be easy?” she asked him. “Just for once, can’t one single thing—no!” She slammed her mouth shut, as her mind caught up with her.
No matter how much Mr. Aubrey might snarl about fairy tales, Elinor knew exactly what happened whenever she asked for help around Sir Jessamyn.
“I just wish everyone could see me differently.”
“I wish to know.What does your mother really think?
Her melodramatic impulse to scream had evaporated, replaced by cold panic. Elinor swallowed hard as she held her dragon’s golden gaze. “Don’t worry, Sir Jessamyn,” she said steadily. “I’ll be fine. Really. I’ll think of something.”
Carefully, she reached out to stroke the little dragon’s blue-and-green head. He closed his eyes and leaned into her hand.
Elinor breathed out a sigh of relief.
The shreds of paper on her lap and on the bedcover were a reminder of just how much danger she was in...
But at least Sir Jessamyn’s face hadn’t gained any new markings. Not yet, anyway.
* * *
In the end,she found only two advertisements for a governess, and neither of them was promising. One of them requested ‘a lady with a full command of the Spanish language to prepare three children for a voyage to South America,’ and the other, placed by a Mrs. G. Galsworthy, offered ‘a comfortable situation in which the delights of shared family life may well replace any vulgar monetary payment.’
Elinor had to read that second one twice to make certain that she hadn’t misunderstood. “They won’t even pay their governess a salary?!”
Sir Jessamyn, sleeping sprawled across the foot of the bed, did not respond. But after a long moment of inner conflict, Elinor gritted her teeth and made a careful note of the second advertisement’s details.
Like it or not, if she didn’t find anything more promising within the next few days, she would have no choice but to apply for the position and pray that ‘the delights of shared family life’ in Mrs. Galsworthy’s household were less appalling than she suspected.
Meanwhile, her own family was waiting. By the time she had arranged her own hair and changed her gown, they had all gathered in the drawing room along with Benedict, Mr. Aubrey, and the two Armitages. Even Lady Hathergill was in attendance. With new houseguests in residence, Sir John and Penelope could hardly keep her locked up indefinitely.
When Elinor walked into the room, for the first time that she could remember, she found her aunt sitting fully upright in a hard-backed chair instead of reclining on a couch or padded armchair. With her cheeks flushed with enthusiasm and energy evident in every wave of her hand, Lady Hathergill was almost unrecognizable. She appeared to be holding the room spellbound—or at least mute with horror.
“…And of course those coverings look utterly ridiculous!Youagree with me, don’t you?” She aimed the question at Miss Armitage, who sat beside her with blue eyes dancing and one gloved hand pressed to her mouth.
Lady Hathergill sped onwards before Miss Armitage could reply. “Vulgar and overstated, to say the least. But of course once the draper had claimed they were the latest London fashion, there was nothing more to be said. Sir John has never in his life been able to resist a—”
“Look, Mama!” Penelope said. “Mrs. De Lacey has arrived!”
