Page 18 of An Offer for a Spinster
“Why should that matter?”
“It does matter, and you know it. Let’s not talk of that right now. You danced with Lord Barwood twice, that’s rather scandalous.”
“It’s not scandalous so long as we don’t dance together twice in a row,” Katherine chuckled. “Come on, who didyoudance with?”
Elizabeth winced. “Well, I didn’t dancemuch. I did dance with Timothy Rutherford, though.”
The prickles ran down Katherine’s spine again. “With Timothy Rutherford? I didn’t think he was dancing.”
“Oh, he didn’t. Not much, at least. But we were talking – heisa pleasant gentleman – and I think we were both rather bored. I know this will shock you, but I askedhimto dance, can you believe it? We were in a quiet corner, and I guessed he wouldn’t be the man who’d swoon at it. So, we stood up together. It was quite thrilling, I can tell you.”
Katherine bent her head, pouring out another cup of tea. “Do you think you’ll make a play for him?”
“Don’t be so mercenary, my dear, it doesn’t suit you. Now,Iwant to hear whether Lord Barwood has called on you.”
“No, not yet,” Katherine said, adding a lump of sugar. “I’m sure he will, though. He left his card here this morning.”
“Do you think you’ll make a match with him?” Elizabeth asked, eyeing her over the rim of the teacup.
“Oh, goodness, I don’t know. I barely know the man. He is rather nice, though. He’s rich, and so am I. Or so I will be, when…” she faltered, her sentence trailing off, and Elizabeth thankfully didn’t press for an answer. They sat for a moment or two, sipping tea in companionable silence.
“Mother wants me to marry,” Elizabeth said, matter-of-factly. “You know my parents spoil me terribly, of course, but there’s no getting around the fact that I’m hardly a debutante, and I must get married, sooner or later. This Season is rather my deadline.”
“Mine, too,” Katherine admitted. “I just… I just worry, that’s all. What if I pick the wrong person?”
“You’ll have more choices than me,” Elizabeth pointed out wryly.
“Let us separate the wheat from the chaff of the Season together, eh? Oh, before I forget, I must tell you something I learned last night. Timothy Rutherford is an admirer of L. Sterling.”
That made Elizabeth sit up straight. “Oh, really? I know plenty of gentlemen who read Sterling’s novels, but they rarely admit it.”
“Yes, I sat next to him at supper, and we talked about it the whole time. You know, I’ve known Timothy Rutherford for years – at a distance, of course – and I never knew he enjoyed novels so much. He made the evening very pleasant, when I wasn’t dancing off my shoes. Speaking of which, my feet still hurt.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “I must know, Katherine, are you serious about marrying this Season? Only, you’ve never seemed too keen on marriage before.”
Katherine swallowed hard. “I think perhaps it’s time for me to settle down.”
“Hm.” Her friend eyed her closely, and Katherine pretended not to be catching her eye.
Not yet,she thought.I haven’t the strength to go through it all again.
There was a strange sort of atmosphere in the house at the moment. In the days after the funeral, when they were free and didn’t know the final insult their father had prepared for them, there’d been a vibrant, happy atmosphere. Not at all the sort of atmosphere one should have after a death in the family.
But they’d had hope, had hoped for their future lives to be happy and safe, free from their domineering father.
And then the will had been read, and that was that. This time next year, if all went well, they would all be married. There would be four new in-laws to consider, and Katherine herself would have a husband.
Ugh.
Katherine swigged down the last of her tea with a sigh.
“My advice,” Elizabeth said, seriously, “is to avoid the fortune hunters and gentlemen with obvious intrigues attached to their names. Aside from that, there’s no way to tell the good ones for the bad ones. I know plenty of ladies who married gentlemen they thought were good and kind, and they ended up miserable and neglected. You can never tell.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” Katherine snorted. “That’s very encouraging.”
“Well, one must learn the truth sooner or later. Now, let me see which gentlemen left their cards.”
“By all means have a look,” Katherine chuckled, gesturing to a little silver platter of neat cards. She expected visits from most or all of the owners of the cards, probably by the end of the week. Most were gentlemen she’d danced with, along with ladies who had hopes of one or several of her brothers and intended to further the acquaintance with her in order to achieve this.
