Page 57 of An Offer for a Spinster
***
So far so good.
One hour later, the guests were almost all there, excluding a few stragglers. The room was full of laughter and muted conversation, along with the clinking of glasses. A young lady and gentleman had seated themselves at the piano and were playing a genteel little duet, pitched low to add to the ambience. A few guests had taken themselves off into quiet corners to read and seemed entirely content with their choices in the matter.
Standing by the hearth, sipping his champagne, Timothy was perfectly placed to observe the room. Lady Rustford sat nearby with her son and daughter-in-law, looking thoroughly bored, but everybody else seemed to be having a good time. Amelia was surrounded by clumps of her friends, chatting eagerly, laughing, and generally seeming comfortable.
Timothy allowed himself a small smile. He would make his excuses and leave shortly after dinner, once it was sure that Amelia’s party would be considered a success.
“Ah, Timothy, there you are.”
Ice tingled down his spine. Timothy swallowed hard, turning to see Katherine standing near him. There was a faint smile on her face, and an odd, unreadable expression in her eyes. The old, familiar nerves arced through his stomach.
“Lady Katherine, what a pleasure.”
She inclined her head. “I saw you as soon as I arrived, but I haven’t had leisure to speak to you. Now, I came to find you because we’re all talking about L. Sterling novels, and my friend Kitty claims that men have no sensibilities and can’t appreciate a good novel. At once I informed her that she was incorrect, thatyouappreciate a good novel, and I’m not sure she believes me. So, would you like to come and join us?”
Timothy smiled. “I would, thank you.”
A matching smile spread over Katherine’s face. She was still watching him, a strange and inscrutable expression in her eyes. Their gazes held for a heartbeat too long, certainly longer than was proper. There wererulesin Society as to how long a lady and gentleman should be looking at each other.
Timothy dropped his gaze first, breaking the spell. He immediately regretted it.
Coward,he thought wearily.Can’t even look her in the eyes for more than a moment. Ridiculous to think that you once considered telling her how you felt about her. She’d laugh in your face.
His maudlin reflections were interrupted by Katherine’s gloved hand sliding through the crook of his elbow.
“Come on, then,” she said lightly, just a hint of a tremor underneath her voice. “Let’s go and meet the others.”
***
“My favourite L. Sterling bookshaveto be theRosaliebooks,” one lady, the aforementioned Kitty, said with firmness. “They’re simply perfect. They have everything – adventure, romance, suspense – perfect.”
“I agree,” Katherine put in, “but I do believe that some of the older works have more of the spirit which captured us all in the beginning. Don’t you agree, Timothy?”
Timothy was feeling, to put it lightly, out of his depth. He’d heard so much praise heaped on his books in the past hour that he felt as though he were listening in on a conversation to which he were not invited. He was sure that his face was bright red.
“I… I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Oh, yes you do,” Katherine laughed. “The excellent way in which the author writes female heroines, for one. That’s why so many of us aresurethat L. Sterling is a woman. How else could a writer get into a woman’s head? What do you all think?”
“I agree,” Kitty said stoutly. “Impossible for the writer to be a man.”
“Although,” Timothy managed weakly, “perhaps the author – if itwereto be a man – were simply a man who observed the world around him, and viewed women as individuals in their own right, and equal to a man. Perhaps he has female friends and relatives who provide him with the inspiration for his characters.”
“It’s notimpossible,” Kitty admitted begrudgingly, “Buthighlyunlikely, I’m sure.”
Timothy bit his lip. “If the author were revealed to be a man, would that disappoint you all?”
There was a heartbeat of silence.
“No,” Katherine responded slowly. “No, because it would not undo the magic of the books. I suppose for us – myself, especially – we want to see notable female authors in the world. I know critics don’t take novels seriously, but I believe that novels and works of fiction are the future. No matter how hard all these serious critics and deep thinkers try to belittle novels, convincing us that ladies of serious minds should not bother themselves with such nonsense, we all still love them. People love novels, and for me, at least, L. Sterling embodies the growing movement of novel-reading. So many other authors, wonderful though they are, only release a few books, which are read voraciously, then there’s no more. L. Sterling, on the other hand, releases novel after novel, each one perfect, each one different. It’s remarkable.”
There was a brief moment of silence after this speech. Timothy swallowed hard, horrified to notice that he felt rather shaky.
“I see,” he managed at last. “That’s very well put, Lady Katherine.”
“Now,” Kitty said, when the silence had dragged on a little more, “are we going to discuss our theories for the latestRosaliebook? Whenwillit be released? I’m going mad, waiting.”
