Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
“Why do ye fancy English folk have so many bloody stairs?” Elspeth complained as they ascended the stairs. “Is it a sign of wealth?”
“I thought my grandmother’s lessons were helping to soften that tongue of yours,” Hugo scoffed.
“Me tongue is plenty soft, Yer Grace,” she joked. “Daenae worry, I am just tryin’ to get it out of me system before we are around pleasant company. I will behave meself tonight. Just ye wait until ye see me performance.”
It was a week later when Elspeth accompanied Hugo to a grand evening reception, this time at the opulent townhouse of the Earl and Countess of Pemberton.
Thanks to the Dowager Duchess’s relentless tutelage, Elspeth’s posture was now impeccable. She would not admit it to Hugo, but it did make climbing stairs easier.
That evening, she wore a gown of deep emerald silk that was chosen by the Dowager Duchess herself. It complemented her green eyes and dark hair, which had been pulled up into an elegant chignon with a few perfectly curled wisps to frame her porcelain face.
Elspeth looked every inch the refined lady.
I can do this. I will do this.
She had been busy with the Dowager Duchess and eager to improve each day. She was emboldened by her progress, learning a new thing each day. In fact, she had hardly seen Hugo, and seeing everything that had transpired between them, it was helpful.
As they entered through the large, ornate door, Elspeth noticed his gaze linger on her, if even for a fraction of a second longer than usual. She caught a flicker of something unreadable in his blue eyes before he resumed his customary aloofness, looking anywhere but at her.
Let him stare.
She rolled her shoulders back and held her skirts delicately with one hand.
“Remember your lessons, Lady Inverhall,” he murmured as they moved through the throng at the entrance. “Polite interest, not interrogation. And no discussions on the merits of Scottish heather over English roses. You are here to appear amenable, not disagreeable.”
Elspeth managed a small, tight smile. “I believe I can manage, Yer Grace. I am, after all, a quick study,” she assured with a flirtatious wink.
She watched him clench and unclench his hands at his sides, which filled her with immense satisfaction.
Let him squirm.
His response encouraged her to walk ever so slightly ahead of him, swaying her hips from side to side.
She knew that her dress was perfectly tailored to her every curve, and better yet, she felt it.
She twirled this way and that as she slowly drifted away from him, making her way toward an acquaintance she had met earlier in the Season.
“Good luck, Lady Inverhall,” he called from behind her.
She did not turn back.
While she could not see his face, she knew that he was fuming.
This night will be perfect.
“My dear Lady Inverhall,” the Earl of Pemberton said as he met them, his eyes twinkling over the rim of his champagne flute. “I must confess, I did not expect such a spirited debate on the finer points of crop rotation from a young lady. It is most refreshing!”
Elspeth gave a smile, a genuine one that reached her eyes as she took a confident sip of champagne. “Me family’s home isnae so vast as what ye have here, Me Lord, but the weather affects us all the same. One learns to pay attention to Maither Nature.”
“Indeed.” He chuckled. “Paying attention does seem to be half the battle in almost all things. You, my dear, I find myself quite taken with. I suppose the younger generation’s newfound pragmatism.
A far cry from the wilting lilies who had come out in recent years.
” He raised his glass. “To the future of the Highlands, and to a mind as sharp as a newly honed dagger.”
Elspeth clinked her glass against his, her heart warming at the unexpected compliment. “And to ye, Me Lord, for yer patience with me questions.” She paused, then added with a confident smile, “Deoch-slàinte mhath!”
The Earl’s eyebrows shot up in delighted surprise, and he repeated the toast with a booming laugh. “Deoch-slàinte mhath indeed, Lady Inverhall! Do forgive the pronunciation.”
“It was wonderful!”
“Whatever does it mean, though?”
“Good health,” she explained with a wide smile.
“You continue to surprise me, and you are a delight. Please, enjoy this lovely occasion I have chosen to throw for some blasted reason. Ah, yes, my lovely wife,” he said as the Countess sidled up to him.
“Please tell me, has my husband been boring you terribly? A young lady like you—why, you must be the catch of the ton!” the Countess gushed, the intricate feathers adorning her wild hair quivering.
“Nothin’ of the sort, Lady Pemberton,” Elspeth said with a small curtsy.
“In fact, I know just the person to introduce you to.” The Countess pulled her close. “Come with me, dear. I will find you a dance partner for the evening if nothing else! I see my friend’s son. Tell me, do you know Lady Featherstone?”
“I cannae say I have had the pleasure,” Elspeth cooed. “Please, if ye would be so kind to introduce us, Me Lady.”
“Oh, Lady Featherstone,” the Countess called as she pulled Elspeth across the dance floor to the most ostentatious woman she had ever seen. “You simply must meet Lady Inverhall. Lady Inverhall—”
“It is a delight to meet the Scottish lass who has captured the ears of all the ton,” Lady Featherstone said, approaching Elspeth with wide eyes.
She held a large, ornate feather fan in her hand that she fluttered wildly, jiggling her large bosom.
“And I am glad to meet ye as well, Lady Featherstone,” Elspeth said, suppressing a laugh at the sight. “Are ye here alone this evening? I have heard ye have a most charmin’ son.”
“I most certainly do, but unfortunately, he is out of town on business.” Lady Featherstone grabbed two flutes of champagne from a passing tray.
She drank one quickly and held the other in her hand.
“One never knows when the servers will pass at these events, and some of the lords hoard all the good champagne. One must always be prepared!”
“Indeed,” Lady Pemberton muttered, her back stiffening.
“Oh, I did not mean you do not have enough!”
“Of course,” Lady Pemberton said with a sneer. “If you will excuse me, Lady Inverhall. I am required elsewhere.”
“Some people are so sensitive,” Lady Featherstone whispered to Elspeth, her breath stale from champagne. “You know how hard it is, girl. I have heard the stories of your wild ways; they have followed you all the way from Edinburgh. But I must say, you look every bit the lady tonight.”
“Thanks, I think?” Elspeth smiled. “Oh my, I do believe I see someone I must speak to! If ye would excuse me, Lady Featherstone.”
After a bit of shuffling, Elspeth found herself back in the company of the Countess.
“Oh, Lady Pemberton,” she sighed. “I am terribly sorry!”
“I should have known better than to approach her.” The Countess shook her head.
“Her son is a wonder, nothing like her. Her husband, rest his soul, was equally insufferable. I do not know why he became so haughty. But no bother, on to bigger and better things. Let me introduce you to other lovely young men.”
“I will follow yer gracious lead,” Elspeth said as she followed her along. “Thank ye for bein’ so kind to me.”
“Are you joking, Lady Inverhall? I am living vicariously through you tonight, so you must give it your all at the ball!”
Hugo observed Elspeth from a distance, a frown subtly creasing his brow as he nursed his brandy. He saw her smiling, her head tilted in polite interest as the Countess introduced her to a young lord whose name he could not recall. Her laughter, though still a little too free, was more modulated.
Grandmother truly can work miracles. So, why am I aggravated?
She was doing exactly what he wanted, yet a strange, unwelcome irritation pricked his chest. Her success was a testament to his guidance, so why did the sight of her sparkling emerald-green eyes and easy charm make him feel so…
excluded? He had sculpted this version of her, but she was now thriving in a world he was only ever meant to show her.
She does not need me, after all.
He watched her curtsey gracefully as the lord was called away and then turned to survey the ballroom with a new confidence he had never seen before. It was a confidence that did not require his guidance, nor his silent approval.
He pushed off the wall and made his way through the crowd, his irritation hardening into a more purposeful resolve. He was downright angry.
She was his responsibility.
It is time for a true progress report.
“Your Grace,” Aaron said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You really are a man about the ton these days. I used to tell people that you were my imaginary friend when I needed sympathy.”
“Not today,” Hugo barked, shrugging him off.
“Do not tell me. Is it the Highland doll who is stealing the heart of every young man in this place? In fact, is the plan to make your lass into a lady going a little too well?”
“I said, not today,” Hugo gritted out, his patience thinning. “You would do well to watch your tongue.”
“You cannot go in so hot, old boy,” Aaron whispered. “Come with me, have a small drink, and cool off. I did not mean to push you so far. Come with me.”
“Perhaps you are right,” Hugo muttered, and they walked off to the bar.
He looked up at Elspeth, who was talking with Lord Farrington. She was laughing at some joke, her tilted chin accentuating the dimples in her flushed cheeks.
She lowered her lips to her champagne flute, sipping elegantly as another lord approached her, flanking her on the other side. This time, it was Lord Farthing, the insufferable chap who had beaten Hugo at cards two years ago.
“Look at her,” Hugo said through gritted teeth. “I know I said I wanted her married off, but they are lining up around her like she is a prized—”