“Lady Sinclair,” Graham said suddenly. He had not spoken much, allowing his mother and the ever-chatty Thornfields to lead the conversation. His mother glanced up at him, lifting her eyebrows.
“Yes, my love?”
Graham fixed his mother with a cool stare. “I was correcting Lady Annabella. My wife is notLady Ursulaanymore. She is Lady Sinclair, the lady of this house.”
There was a taut pause at this. Ursula glanced from face to face, tactfully remaining silent.
Apparently, nobody enjoyed the reminder than in her own home, Ursula outranked every single one of these women, even her own mother-in-law.
Lady Annabella shot her a particularly unpleasant glare, managing to hide it at the last moment before Graham noticed.
“I suppose you have all read the news about Lord Ashford’s engagement?” Lady Annabella spoke up, her voice bright. “He’s said to be courtingMiss Simons. Can you imagine? She’s rich, to be sure, but not pretty in the least. All those freckles.”
Lord Thornfield slurped his wine. “We do not know the facts, my dear,” he said ponderously. “Unfortunate circumstances sometimes force unlucky gentlemen into hasty decisions. Decisions which, given proper reflection, they will hastily repent from.”
A heavy silence fell over the table. Ursula laid down her spoon. There could be no mistaking who this particular jibe was aimed at. Everybody knew that Graham had been earmarked for Lady Annabella, and they were expected to make a match of it. Perhaps they might have done, before Ursula came along,ruining herself and Graham and launching them both into a hastily arranged matrimony.
“I was thinking,” Margaret said abruptly, cutting through the uncomfortable silence, “but perhaps you, dear Lady Annabella, might share a little of your expertise with Ursula? After all, you were always raised to be the wife of a great man, and the role of viscountess is well within your remit. Learning to fit into one’s new role is never easy, and I am positive Ursula would benefit from a few tips, perhaps even a few training sessions. Don’t you agree so, Ursula?”
Ursula stared at her mother-in-law, her jaw hanging slack.
Am I dreaming?She thought dazedly.Have I truly been relegated to the position of uninvited, inadequate guest in my own drawing room?
No, she was unfortunately not dreaming. Her mother-in-law really had just suggested that Lady Annabella that scheming, empty-headed little minx shouldtutorUrsula to fit ‘correctly’ into her own role?
And what should I do about this?Ursula thought, with a flare of rage.Should I say something?
She put this idea away. For a start, she had no idea what to say that wouldn’t involve throwing her soup bowl at either her mother-in-law or Lady Annabella.
In the end, she didn’t have to say anything at all.
Graham put down his spoon with a loud clatter, making everybody flinch and glance his way.
“I am not sure I can agree with that implication, Mother,” he said tightly, voice sharp. “Let me make something clear once and for all, before we leave this subject behind for the rest of the evening. My wife does not requiretipsortraining sessionsin order to learn how to manage her own house and grow into her new position in Society. She requires no instruction from anyone, since she possesses a natural grace and intelligence that really cannot be taught, not by Lady Annabella or anybody else.”
Silence fell heavily over the table. Lord and Lady Thornfield were staring, white-faced, down at their soup bowls, Lady Annabella had gone a most unbecoming shade of red, staring furiously at nothing in particular. Margaret, however, was staring at her son, fingers tight around the stem of her wine glass, her jaw set. She didn’t move a muscle, not even when Graham stared directly at her.
“I hope I have made myself sufficiently clear,” he said softly.
The silence lasted a moment before, before the Thornfields scrambled to respond.
Margaret said nothing and only stared at her son in quiet rage.
***
Lady Annabella had developed a headache sometime near the end of the main course. It was a miraculously suddendevelopment, and one that apparently required her to be brought home immediately and attended to by her parents.
Hardly able to disguise their smiles of relief, the Thornfields left at once, almost hurrying out of the door.
Margaret had hastily made her exit at the same time.Shedid not even bother to offer an excuse, sailing out of the house with an air of rigid, furiously offended dignity.
Good riddance,Ursula thought, waving goodbye on the doorstep.
“I hope you recover soon, my dear!” she called, waving at Lady Annabella. The woman was on the brink of climbing into her carriage and paused to shoot a brief scowl at Ursula.
The door slammed behind them, and they lurched off into the night. Ursula gave a long sigh of relief, closing her eyes.
“Well, thank goodness they are gone,” she murmured.
