Chapter 6 #2
“London must learn,” Elizabeth replied. “…I suppose.”
Elizabeth might have seemed to have backtracked, but she had already expressed what she needed to.
The Earl of Whitton chuckled. “I like that Lady Elizabeth is not afraid to tell the capital about her thoughts.”
“My sister is a sharp woman, but the ton does not always allow her to say what she means,” Wilhelmina interjected.
“Oh, we can tell she is, Lady Wilhelmina,” the Duke responded, “I can tell she kens fine what aesthetics mean. And she’ll let it rule how she sees the world, aye.”
Lady Grisham looked at Elizabeth and the Duke, and then she made her excuses to the surprise of the young women.
“Come, girls,” she said in a sickly-sweet tone. “We promised to greet the Duchess of Rokewood before leaving.” She nodded apologetically to the lords. “Forgive us, gentlemen.”
Elizabeth curtseyed. Before she left, though, the Duke caught her eye. Between the two of them, a whole conversation occurred.
Are ye content with how brazen ye were, then? Quite the display, if ye ask me.
Strangely, she could hear the words in her head with his thick, Scottish brogue.
But there was no time to investigate her auditory hallucinations because Lady Grisham was walking fast and expected them to follow her.
When they were out of the lords’ earshot, her stepmother let her pleasant mask slip away.
“Girls, you must trust my choices of suitors. It looks like you two are highly entertained by the likes of Lord Whitton and the Duke of Redmoor. Whitton is a notorious rake, if you still haven’t heard, and the Scottish duke is no better than him,” Lady Grisham said sharply.
“You two will keep your distance from them. If respectable gentlemen realize you have been consorting with them, they will not pursue you in earnest. Again, keep away from libertines and Highlanders. Especially you, dear Elizabeth. Those kinds of men do not suit your… gentle disposition.”
Elizabeth was right. Lady Grisham didn’t approve of how she’d been speaking with the duke. And Elizabeth couldn’t blame her stepmother entirely. There was something oddly familiar in the Scotsman’s tone, something that unsettled the careful composure Lady Grisham worked so hard to maintain.
Yet Elizabeth felt no regret.
Her pulse still quickened at the memory of exchanging words with a man like Alasdair McLoughan. To most, she seemed timid, too gentle, too awkward, but in that moment, she felt anything but.
“Uh, I think Elizabeth is safe from libertines and Highlanders, Mother,” Wilhelmina stepped forward. “But I know of something that isn’t safe. Have you heard of the Duchess of Ramsey’s diamond necklace?”
Wilhelmina saved the day. Her stepmother’s attention was already diverted.
Before they left their hostess’s home, however, Elizabeth caught another glimpse of the Duke of Redmoor conferring with his friend, the Earl of Whitton.
He looked at her briefly before he was back to the intense conversation he had with Lord Whitton, but it was enough for Elizabeth to wonder if there was a connection between them, or if the duke was only reassuring her that he would not say a word about what he saw.
At home, Daphne eagerly asked about the musicale. She adored music and art but was still too young to attend such public gatherings herself.
“Will you tell me what music they played?” she asked, eyes bright with curiosity.
Elizabeth smiled softly. “It was most pleasant. There were some pieces that even had the ladies quietly tapping their fingers. Though one must always be discreet at these things…”
“Oh, how I wish I could have been there!”
Elizabeth nodded gently. “I daresay you would have enjoyed it.”
It was curious how gentle Daphne was, but she still longed to be outside.
Elizabeth was different when she was younger.
She hid herself as much as she possibly could, until she could no longer do so.
Last Season, her father was so intent on introducing her to every acquaintance he had. Now, it was his wife’s turn.
The door flung open. Wilhelmina and Victoria rushed in, giggling with excitement. They often felt like children at play when they were all together, even though Elizabeth was already twenty-one, eight years older than the twins.
“Elizabeth has a handsome Scottish duke paying attention to her. Mother wasn’t too pleased!” Wilhelmina exclaimed. “Lizzie didn’t mind him at all. She was talking! Our sister was talking with the duke! Did I mention that he’s very handsome?”
“Wilhelmina!” Elizabeth scolded gently.
“I want to know more,” Victoria pleaded. “Is he merely visiting? Do you know what his Highland home looks like? I want to travel there one day. You know that, Lizzie.”
“I have never been there, Vicky. You also know that,” Elizabeth replied, widening her eyes at her little sister. “I’ve just met the duke.”
“Just met the duke. Mmm,” Wilhelmina murmured. “And you already have had that much of an impact on him? He is interested, you know.”
“He isn’t. Girls, don’t listen to Mina. The duke was merely being polite.”
Wilhelmina stopped badgering her sister, but based on the way she folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at Elizabeth, she wasn’t convinced.
“Come on, Mina. It isn’t even wise to talk about the duke. If your mother finds out that we have been talking about him, we will be in trouble!”
“All right, all right!” Wilhelmina rolled her eyes but eventually gave her sister a smile.
“But what else was there? What about the ladies’ gowns, and the art?” Daphne wanted to know.
“Oh, you ask about the dull stuff,” Victoria complained. “Our sister may have caught the attention of a Highlander, and you want to hear about gowns?”
“They were prettier than the last ball,” Elizabeth answered Daphne kindly, and proceeded to amuse her little sister with descriptions of the gowns and the people wearing them. Even if her thoughts kept turning to the artwork that had featured no gowns whatsoever.
Soon, the girls left for their own bedchambers.
Before leaving, Wilhelmina whispered, “I know something is going on, dear sister.”
“Goodnight, Mina.” Elizabeth gently showed her half-sister out of her chambers.
Still, as she closed the door behind, a secret part of her couldn’t help but wish that her sister were right.