Lady Dallington gave her a small smile. “A terrible habit for a lady of genteel breeding, but I do understand given your circumstances. I was simply suggesting that I could always speak to your father on your behalf.”
Mattie shook her head firmly. “No, my father is stubborn and I doubt he would appreciate me seeking your help.”
With compassion in her eyes, Lady Dallington replied, “Your father is a good man, but perhaps he is just overwhelmed with his responsibilities.”
“But he is jeopardizing my future,” Mattie stated with frustration.
“I don’t think he sees it that way,” Lady Dallington argued. “And as for you marrying an older man, that is rubbish. One and twenty years is hardly considered a spinster.”
Mattie leaned forward and placed her cup onto the table. “What am I to do?” she asked. “I cannot bear the thought of waiting another Season to make my debut.”
“Would it be so awful if you waited?” Lady Dallington questioned.
Frowning, Mattie asked, “You are siding with my father?”
Lady Dallington quickly waved her hand in front of her. “Goodness, no. I am just merely attempting to play devil’s advocate.”
“I just feel so alone at home,” Mattie admitted. “My father has always been far too busy to even notice me, and as for Emma…” She struggled to find the right words. “Emma is just Emma.”
“There is no need to explain yourself,” Lady Dallington reassured her. “But I hope you can find solace here with us.”
Mattie nodded. “I do, which is why I come so often.”
“And you are always welcome,” Lady Dallington said kindly. “You are family to us, and as much a part of Brockhall Manor as anyone else.”
“Thank you,” Mattie murmured, touched by the genuine warmth and acceptance of Lady Dallington.
Just then, Melody entered the room with a bright smile. “Mattie, what a pleasant surprise,” she greeted, taking a seat next to her mother on the settee. “What brings you by today?”
Mattie let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “My father is refusing to let your mother host me for this Season. He wants me at home so I can tend to Emma,” she explained, her tone heavy with disappointment.
“That seems like an utter waste of time to me,” Melody remarked. “After all, isn’t Emma nearly seven and ten years old now?”
“She is,” Mattie confirmed. “Her birthday is next month.”
Melody reached for the teapot and poured herself a cup of tea. “You could always hand Emma a mirror and she wouldn’t even notice you weregone,” she joked.
Lady Dallington gave her daughter a reproachful look. “Melody, that was not very kind of you to say.”
But Melody shrugged it off. “I was merely speaking the truth,” she said, sipping her tea.
Mattie chimed in, “Melody isn’t wrong.”
Lady Dallington shook her head disapprovingly at both of them. “Regardless, we do not speak ill of others.”
Melody smirked. “Very well, but I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t disagree with me either, Mother.”
“Emma is young and we need to show her compassion,” Lady Dallington said. “Can we discuss something else now?”
A sly grin came to Melody’s face. “I had a thought. What if we smuggled Mattie in our trunks when we travel to Town for the Season? No one would be the wiser.”
Mattie laughed. “That plan is positively ingenious!”
Lady Dallington looked heavenward, but her words were light. “Why do my children insist on coming up with ludicrous ideas?”
“It is far easier than thinking up something practical,” Melody quipped.
“Lord Wythburn is a rational man, and I have no doubt that he will come around to our way of thinking soon enough,” Lady Dallington said.
