Page 39 of The Sea Siren of Broadwater Bottom
“Thank you.”See?Elissa remonstrated herself.Don’t assume the worst.Miss Grenwood meant well. “It is actually—”
“It belongs to Lady Lucy, does it not? How kind of her to have made sure you hadsomethingto wear. I imagine that none of your dresses would have done.At all. And it looks well enough on you.” She laughed. “That is, as much as anything looks well with that garish ginger hair.”
Elissa’s smile was frozen. Well, perhaps noteveryoneat this house party was exceptionally kind. She cast about for a change of subject. “And how do you know the Astley family, Miss Grenwood?”
“My mother and Lady Cheltenham are the dearest of friends. Mama is godmother to the twins, you know. And my connection to the Astleys is about to grow even deeper.”
“Oh? How so?”
Miss Grenwood laughed, but not in a friendly way. “Do you truly not know?”
Elissa shook her head, and Araminta Grenwood leaned in, looking her hard in the eye.
“I am to marry Lord Fauconbridge.”
CHAPTER16
Elissa found herself incapable of speech. She shouldn’t be surprised. She had known all along that the attentions some might interpret as a deeper regard were merely Edward’s impeccable manners. The very notion that Edward Astley would ever be interested in the likes of herwas ludicrous! She knew that.
But judging by the despair washing over her, her heart had allowed itself to hope.
Miss Grenwood was waiting for her to respond. “You are betrothed, then?” Elissa asked, trying to hold her voice steady.
“It is all but finalized,” Miss Grenwood replied, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Before the house party, Lady Cheltenham told my mother that Lord Fauconbridge asked her to invite some young ladies, as he intended to select a bride this week. He asked his mother to choose the candidates.” She gave a gloating smile. “As you can see, I am the only young lady of appropriate station who was invited.”
“Oh!” Elissa was so taken aback that she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “But—but what about the Staverton girls? Their father is a baron.”
Miss Grenwood snorted. “A baron.As if Lord Fauconbridge would even consider a merebaron’sdaughter.”
Elissa frowned. “Well, there’s also Henrietta and Mary-Elizabeth Beauclerk. Their grandfather is the Duke of—”
“Are you really so naive? Their father is the fifth son of the duke. Daughters of the fifth son of a duke are as common as cabbages.”
Elissa bit her lip, remembering how warmly Henrietta Beauclerk had greeted them before dinner. “The Beauclerks are lovely girls. Lovely and kind. And I can assure you, there is nothingcommonabout graciousness, a quality they possess in abundance.”
“Loveliness, graciousness—praiseworthy qualities, to be sure. But Lord Fauconbridge doesn’t need someonelovely. He needs acountess. Someone who can plan a gathering such as this without even blinking. Someone who knows that a Venetian breakfast should not start before three o’clock in the afternoon.”
“Three o’clock? But… I thought you said it was a breakfast?”
Miss Grenwood gave her a pitying look and continued, “He needs someone he can present at court. Someone who can dance the requisite minuet before the king and queen without causing him disgrace.”
Elissa blanched. She could barely manage a simple country dance, and a minuet was a thousand times more difficult. What was worse, the minuet was danced by one couple at a time, meaning that absolutely everyone would be staring at you, scrutinizing your performance and making note of every error. “Do you truly have to dance a minuet at court?”
“Oh, yes. Most places have abandoned the minuet, but they still dance them at court.”
Elissa gave a nervous laugh. She had understood that she was unsuitable to the role of countess, but only now did she comprehend the full depth of her unfitness. “Well, I’m sure that the Staverton and Beauclerk girls are competent in all of those skills.”
“I’m sure they are not.” Miss Grenwood leaned in and whispered, “I was seated next to Henrietta Beauclerk at dinner. Did you know that she has never been to London?” Miss Grenwood shook her head. “No, Lady Cheltenham would never consider any of the young ladies present as a bride for her eldest son. Except for me. And so you see, I am the countess’s choice for her future daughter-in-law. No doubt the formal announcement will be made before the end of the week.”
“I—I see,” Elissa sputtered.
Miss Grenwood’s eyes narrowed. “But that is not what I wanted to speak to you about. I came over here to discuss your infatuation with Lord Fauconbridge.”
Elissa’s eyes flew back to Miss Grenwood. “My—my—what?”
Miss Grenwood rolled her eyes. “It’sobvious. Everyone has been remarking on it. On howpatheticit is. Or, should I say, on how pathetic you are.”
Elissa’s cheeks felt very hot as she peered at Edward. He had slung his arm around his uncle’s shoulders. His brother Harrington had joined them, and he said something that caused the whole cluster of gentlemen to burst into guffaws. Even the colonel started laughing, looking mollified.
