Eugenie merely shrugged. “At least I attempted to introduce an interesting topic.”
Turning her attention towards Lady Elsbeth, Aunt Margaret asked, “Are you still making clothes for the children in workhouses?”
“I am,” Lady Elsbeth confirmed.
Aunt Margaret met Niles’s gaze with a pointed smile. “Lady Elsbeth has started a sewing circle for the orphans in workhouses. A noble endeavor, wouldn’t you say?”
Niles hesitated, his dislike for Lady Elsbeth clashing with his reluctant admiration for her work. “That is commendable,” he muttered, hoping to end his part in the conversation.
“Unfortunately, it is just me now,” Lady Elsbeth shared. “My friends abandoned me after my father’s death.”
The quiet honesty in her words struck him unexpectedly, but he said nothing.
Aunt Margaret continued. “Eugenie and I would love to assist. It sounds like a most worthy cause.”
Lady Elsbeth’s eyes lit up. “I would be delighted.”
Eugenie chimed in, “We could call it the Bluestocking Book Circle, and we could discuss books while we sew.”
“That is a terrible name for a club,” Niles remarked.
“Could you do better?” Eugenie challenged.
Lady Isabella spoke up. “I would like to help, as well.”
“Wonderful,” Lady Elsbeth said. “The more, the merrier.”
Mr. Stockton, seated beside his wife, placed his fork down. “I will procure as much fabric as necessary.”
Lady Isabella cast her husband a loving look. “That is most generous of you.”
“It is the least I can do for such a worthy cause,” Mr. Stockton responded.
Niles noticed a flicker of disdain cross Lady Elsbeth’s face before she quickly composed herself. Interesting. Perhaps she didn’t hold her stepfather in the high regard her mother did. He decided to probe further.
Turning to Mr. Stockton, Niles asked, “Where do you hail from?”
Mr. Stockton smiled pleasantly. “From a coastal village in Sussex.”
Lady Elsbeth furrowed her brow. “Which one?”
“Worthing,” Mr. Stockton replied, exchanging a glance with Lady Isabella.
“I don’t understand,” Lady Elsbeth said as she addressed her mother. “You both grew up in Worthing?”
Lady Isabella pressed her lips together into a thin line. “We did. Alfred’s father owned the bakery in the village. We knew each other in passing.”
“What does that mean?” Lady Elsbeth pressed.
With a glance around the table, Lady Isabella said, “It might be best if we discuss this later.”
“No,” Lady Elsbeth countered. “I think we should discuss it now.”
Lady Isabella reached for her husband’s hand. “Alfred and I struck up a friendship of sorts when we were younger. But it ended when I went to Town for the Season. I met your father and the rest is history.”
But Elsbeth wasn’t done with her line of questioning. “How exactly did you two reconnect? Or did you two ever stop being friends?”
“I do not know what you are implying—” Lady Isabella started.
