Page 5 of Assisting Lord Richmond
Mr. Northcott had been pleasant and personable and was an excellent dancer. And there had been none of those confusing shivers when he had pressed his lips to the back of her hand. He might do quite nicely for her, she thought with a nod. But she needn’t make up her mind after her first ball, she assured herself. Besides, none of the gentlemen had even called on her yet, so she ought not get ahead of herself. She would keep her list and perhaps add to it in time.
Just as she put away her quill, a maid was at her door to tell her she had a visitor. Lady Constance? Why would she be calling? Ellen quickly checked her appearance in the mirror. She hadn’t paid too much attention to her toilette that morning. Were her curls all where they ought to be? She frowned over her imperfections but refused to allow herself to be intimidated by the pretty visitor before following the maid from the room.
Lady Constance was waiting for her in the front receiving room with a maid waiting with her. She and Ellen had been introduced the night before, but Ellen hadn’t gained the impression that her visitor had been all that friendly toward her. In fact, she had heard whispers of Lady Constance’s penchant for gossip. This did not bode well. Curtsying, Ellen wondered and worried why the woman was there.
“I do hope you don’t mind my tuning up unannounced,” the girl began in an earnest manner. “I forgot that I was supposed to ask you when you are at home to visitors. But I thought I’d take a chance and see if you might be available to go strolling in the Park with me.”
“Oh, what a singularly good idea,” Ellen exclaimed, fighting the urge to clap her hands as she reminded herself that she was a mature young lady of Society now. “It is one of the things I miss the most being away from home. I would love to go for a walk with you.” She stopped for a moment and pulled a face. “My apologies, my lady. Ought I to have offered you some refreshments first?”
The guest uttered a small tinkle of laughter. “Absolutely not. I have arrived unannounced, you needn’t offer me anything. And truly, I would much rather go for a walk than anything else. Even though I danced quite a lot last night, I still feel restless. Or perhaps it is because I danced so much last night that my feet just cannot bear to be still today.”
Surprised by the seeming friendliness of the other woman, Ellen couldn’t help but agree. “How delightful, then,” she said. “Let me just let my mother know. I shall then grab my spencer and my maid, and we can be on our way.”
Within minutes the two young women were arm in arm, walking briskly through the crisp fall day. Their maids became acquainted and did their best to keep up.
“Now tell me, Lady Eleanor, what are your thoughts after your first ball? Are you thrilled to be here, or do you wish you could run home to Somerset?”
Ellen threw her head back and laughed at the question. “Are those my only choices? To be honest, I cannot quite decide between the two. I feel a little bit of both. What about you? Did you love it?”
Lady Constance trilled a laugh and shook her curls, making a curdle of envy grow in Ellen’s heart that she quickly tried to stifle. “I am one of those strange creatures who doesn’t wish to wed right away. I am not in a hurry to trade my large dowry to become some gentleman’s possession. I think this is the one time in my life when I will feel the most independent. I want to savour it for as long as I possibly can.”
Ellen stared at her in wonder. “Do you truly feel independent? As a debutante, we must follow a myriad of rules, else we’ll be ruined. Besides, I have absolutely no desire to tarry in this in between era of my life.” Interrupting herself for a moment to curtsy to a couple she had met the night before, Ellen carried on as though there had been no pause. “Since it has been decided by my family that I am of the age to marry, I wish to get on with it. So while the idea of making such a monumental decision scares the life out of me, I have no desire to wallow in it.” Realizing that perhaps she had just insulted the other woman, she hurried to turn the topic slightly. “And the thought of risking scandal makes me feel as though I shall break out in hives. So while a part of me wishes to change my mind and run home to Hanley House and remain a schoolgirl a while longer, I shan’t. And only you and my maid need ever be privy to by momentary cowardice.”
Another trill of laughter came from the pretty lady, making Ellen begin to wonder if she ought to have accepted her offer of friendship, but then Lady Constance tightened her grip on Ellen’s elbow as though to offer her an embrace. “You and I are going to be great friends, I am determined on it. So I do wish you would change your mind and join me in remaining a debutante for longer. If I cannot convince you to do that, I shall just have to ensure you wed a peer, and then you’ll have to come up for the Season anyway so he can take his Seat.”
Ellen wasn’t too sure about the other woman’s reasoning. While the ball last night had been delightful, she wasn’t certain she wished to be a part of the social whirl on a regular basis. Just this visit with Lady Constance was revealing to her some of the pitfalls of the Season. Gossip and knowing who’s who wasn’t really to her taste. Well. Only one of the gentlemen currently on her list was a peer, and she had already been considering removing him from that list anyway. There was, of course, the untitled gentleman who clerked for Sunderland, but Ellen hadn’t even written him onto her list because she thought a clerk’s wife might not be to her taste either.
“Do you think the Season would be quite different if you weren’t a debutante?” She could hear the tremulous tone in her voice and cringed but didn’t retract her question.
“Indubitably.”
Ellen stared straight ahead, not meeting her friend’s gaze. Nodding to another pair they encountered upon the path.
“In what ways would it be different?” she asked after clearing her throat in order to put a little more strength into her voice.
“Well, for one thing, the decision would be over. You wouldn’t be in the Marriage Mart. I would think it would be far more enjoyable. I intend to enjoy this Season, so it isn’t the same for me. But for a serious girl like you who doesn’t want to prolong the experience, you aren’t really going to enjoy yourself to the full. As a wife, you won’t be subject to all the rules and risks of scandal. And you can just pick and choose which entertainments you wish to accept rather than the ones most likely to land you an eligible bachelor.”
Finally, Ellen laughed and relaxed in her new friend’s company. “Very well, then. Let us search out a peer for me to set my cap at.”
Horror filled her as the words left her mouth, as if she would even think of setting her cap at anyone. Even though she had happily made a list of eligible gentlemen, that was a far cry from actually beginning a pursuit. But she managed to keep her lips shut and didn’t retract her words. She was almost certain Lady Constance would take them as the jest they had been intended, and making much over them would only make it worse. But it still filled Ellen with discomfort, and some of the shine had been removed from the day.
“What about Richmond?”
Ellen blinked. “What of him?” Suspicion filled her.
“He might be the perfect match for you.” Lady Constance said it in a tone as though she were explaining it to a young child, making Ellen laugh despite not enjoying her condescension.
“I think it’s too soon for him to be thinking to wed after losing both his brother and his father. Besides, he has been friends with my brother since they were young boys. That might be much too strange. He’s practically family already.” Ellen hoped the shaking of her head wasn’t too vigorous. Keeping her gaze shifting around their surroundings, she hoped her smile was merely pleasant as she could feel Constance’s sharp gaze examining her profile.
“All the better, I’d say. None of this awkwardness that would come from wedding a veritable stranger. And even if Richmond thinks he’d rather put it off, now that he’s the only one left, he does not have the luxury of doing so, unless he wants to see his family’s estate fall into the hands of some long distant cousin or perhaps revert to the Crown. It could be considered that you’d be doing him a favour by setting your cap at him.”
Ellen laughed again despite her continued discomfort. “I’m not certain he would see it that way, but I do see what you are saying. But never mind Hugh, who else should we consider?”
“Hugh, is it?” Lady Constance asked pointedly while arching her perfect eyebrows at Ellen, but then she laughed and turned the subject slightly. “Well, I did see you dancing with him last night, so it cannot be so very uncomfortable for you to consider him, can it?”
Ellen shrugged coolly, though her cheeks warmed in a contradictory fashion. “As I said, there are many reasons to consider other options. You are the one who was set upon this topic, you must have some other ideas.”
“Well, there are any number of eligible gentlemen, really. Perhaps we ought to start with considering what you think you would like to see in your mate? Are you determined to find a handsome gentleman?” With those words, Constance wiggled her fingers in a wave at one who was passing by, and Ellen prayed fervently he hadn’t heard her. “Or wealthy? Or powerful? Do you want a husband who has no mother so you needn’t worry about a mother in law? What do you wish for?”
