THE SOUNDof the dinner bell echoed throughout the townhouse, beckoning the family to come down for the meal. It was a sound Henrietta usually loved, because it meant that she would have her parents undivided attention for a few hours. Now it seemed as if she was being summoned to the executioner. The disapproval she felt from her parents was palpable. How she tired of being reminded of her failures!
Dressed in a pale pink gown, Henrietta was just about to leave her bedchamber when her sister stepped into the room.
“I want to apologize for what I said earlier,” Marjorie said, closing the door behind her. “It was wrong of me to imply that you were destined to become a spinster.”
“Truly?” Henrietta asked as she attempted to gauge her sister’s sincerity.
Marjorie bobbed her head. “I hate it when we fight,” she replied. “Don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Then let us make up and forget that our tiff ever happened.”
Henrietta eyed her sister closely. She could tell that Marjorie wanted something, but she wasn’t entirely sure what that was yet. She needed to continue playing along until she found out.
Marjorie walked over to the dressing table and picked up a bottle. She took off the lid and smelled the lotion. “This is lovely,” she murmured. “What is it?”
“‘Olympian Dew’,” Henrietta replied. “Mother purchased it for me the last time she went to a perfumer.”
“I prefer Denmark Lotion,” Marjorie said as she put the bottle down.
Henrietta gave her an expectant look. “What is it that you want?”
“Nothing.”
“Then shall we adjourn for dinner?” Henrietta asked, calling her sister’s bluff.
Marjorie pressed her lips together, then said, “I need a favor.”
“Which is?”
“I know you don’t approve of Lord Featherstone, but I was hoping you would accompany us when we take a carriage ride through Hyde Park in two days’ time.”
“Why ask me?”
“Because Mother said I needed to take you along for propriety’s sake,” Marjorie said. “Please say you will come.”
Henrietta saw her sister’s hopeful expression and didn’t dare disappoint her, even if it meant she had to be around Lord Featherstone. “I will join you on the carriage ride,” she agreed.
Marjorie clasped her hands together. “Thank you!” she gushed. “We shall have the most delightful time, and I hope you will begin to see Lord Featherstone in a different light.”
“Perhaps,” Henrietta murmured as she walked over to the door. “We should head down for supper before Mother comes looking for us.”
After they departed from her bedchamber, Marjorie glanced over at Henrietta and asked, “How are you handling Mother and Father right now?”
“I am used to their disappointment in me,” she replied, “but I never thought they would attempt to force me into a marriage of convenience.”
“They are just worried about you.”
“It feels more like they are trying to get rid of me.”
Marjorie gave her a sad smile. “I know it may feel like that, but they have your best interest at heart.”
“I contend that isn’t true.”
They had just stepped down onto the last step when their mother’s exasperated voice came from the doorway to the drawing room. “There you two are,” she said, stepping into the entry hall. “It isn’t polite to make people wait for their supper, and your father was getting rather irritable.”
“I wasn’t the one who was getting irritable,” her father contended as he stepped out of the drawing room. “Shall we adjourn to the dining room?”
