“Oh, I almost forgot,” she added, in a careless, off-hand tone which immediately made Graham suspicious. “Lord and Lady Thornfield are coming for supper tonight. Their daughter Annabella will of course be joining them.”
Graham dropped his fork. It clattered to the ground beside him. A footman moved forward, silent as a ghost, and retrieved the fallen utensil, neatly replacing it with a fresh one.
“I beg your pardon?” Graham spluttered.
Margaret made a face. “Don’tsnap, Graham. Lord and Lady Thornfield are coming for supper tonight. And don’t try to tell me it’s the day after your matrimonial ceremony, as I amquiteaware. The engagement was made weeks ago, and I simply cannot cancel it now. I’m sure Ursula does not mind.”
Speechless, Graham glanced over at Ursula. Her face was cool and composed, giving away nothing. She gave a brief, tight smile.
“I do not mind, Margaret. I shall be happy to entertain your guests.”
Margaret gave a triumphant smile. “There you are, you see, Graham. If your wife has no objections to make, then nor canyou.”
Graham wanted to shout and perhaps throw something breakable across the room. But that would only make a mess for poor Richards and his footmen to clean up, so he contented himself with digging his nails into his palms.
“Very well, Mother,” he said at last. “But you are not to invite your guests here again without informing us first hand, is that clear?”
Margaret gave a sickly smile and sipped her tea. “Crystal clear, my dear.”
Graham glanced over at Ursula. She was staring at nothing in particular and stayed silent. When she replaced her teacup, the cup rattled loudly against the saucer. Still, she stayed silent.
Chapter Thirteen
“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.” – Frankenstein,Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Oh, for goodness’ sake. The library should not bethishard to find,Ursula thought desperately.
Margaret had gone back to her own home after breakfast, thankfully, but she would be returning somewhere in the afternoon to prepare for the arrival of Lord and Lady Thornfield, and their wretched daughter.
Ursula was glad to see the back of her mother-in-law. Any hopes of a pseudo mother-daughter relationship had been swiftly dashed. It was clear that Margaret did not like her and did not approve of the match. She could do naught about it now but her disapproval, of that there was no question, would certainly be apparent.
Ursula found herself in a most undesirable position, with little enthusiasm for the approaching evening's entertainment. This only added to her current low spirits due to the lingering sting of Graham's rejection from the previous night.
I shouldn’t be too hard on him,Ursula thought.He defended me against his mother. Many men would not so as much.
Richards had told her that the library was impossible to miss, in his words, with large, double mahogany doors with round brass doorknobs.
Truth be told, she had opened no less than five such doors and discovered nothing but more morning-rooms and unused parlours behind each one.
Why do we even have so many rooms? We could house a dozen families in this house, and none of us would ever run into each other.
She opened another door and found a kind of storage space beyond, full of white-swathed furniture. Groaning aloud, Ursula slammed the door shut and continued on her pilgrimage.
The hallway seemed to stretch out forever. Ursula trudged grimly down it. She wasdeterminedto find the library.
This ismyhouse. Mine. I will learn to act like the mistress of this house, sooner rather than later.
The prospect of entertaining the Thornfield family was horrifying. Ursula was vaguely acquainted with Lady Annabella and did not seek further acquaintance.
It seems that it matters little whatIwant, however.
It wasn’t customary at all for newlyweds to entertain so soon after their wedding. Margaret had made quite afaux pasin arranging the supper, but cancelling the invitation would give the Thornfields a chance to complain.
I shall start as I mean to go on,Ursula thought.I shall be a proper viscountess.
Her mother’s warnings about being a proper wife and a good host rang in her mind.
Start as you mean to go on,she thought, opening one last door.
