“Yes,” she said quietly. “I believe I do.”
“That color is perfect on you,” Lady Anne said with a warm smile.
“If you would just sit here, miss,” the maid said, gesturing towards the vanity, “I can do your hair.”
Elizabeth obeyed, watching in the mirror as pins were laid out and sections lifted and smoothed.
Lady Anne rose. “We must go and finish dressing.”
Georgiana lingered.
“Go on, my dear,” Lady Anne said gently. “We shall join you shortly.”
Georgiana gave a little squeal of excitement and fairly bounced from the room. The door closed, leaving Elizabeth with the two older ladies. They exchanged glances, having a conversation with their eyes that reminded Elizabeth very much of herself and Jane.
Then Lady Catherine said, with quiet authority, “Grace, please wait in the hall for a few minutes while we speak with Miss Elizabeth.”
The maid paused only long enough to bob a curtsy before withdrawing, closing the door behind her.
Elizabeth’s stomach gave a small, distinctly uneasy turn.
Both women were looking at her.
Intently.
“Is… everything all right?” she asked, attempting composure.
Lady Anne flushed at once. “Yes—only—we do not wish to presume—and under ordinary circumstances I should never think of addressing such a subject—and indeed I would not now, except that—”
Elizabeth blinked.
Then blinked again.
Her unease deepened.
“Should I be alarmed?” she asked cautiously.
Lady Anne’s color deepened. “No—no, certainly not alarmed—only—prepared—and yet not in any improper sense—”
Elizabeth sat very still, quite certain she was somehow the subject of a conversation she did not understand at all.
Lady Catherine sighed. “Anne, you are frightening the girl.”
She turned to Elizabeth with brisk directness. “My dear, we simply wish to know whether you require anyone to speak with you regarding the wedding night.”
Elizabeth felt the heat rise at once, flooding her cheeks. “Oh.”
She shifted in her chair, suddenly very conscious of her half-done hair, the pins scattered on the table. Lady Catherine and Lady Anne continued to look at her intently.
“I… I know a few things,” she managed, her voice smaller than she intended. “Having grown up on a country estate with… with animals.”
Lady Catherine and Lady Anne exchanged a glance.
“Good,” Lady Catherine said, with a small nod. “You know the basics, at least. It is somewhat similar with people.”
Elizabeth felt as though her face were about to burst into flame.
“When your father and I—” Lady Catherine began, then stopped, correcting herself with visible effort. “That is—when I had my first child—it was from affection. My marriage to Sir Lewis was… arranged.”
