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Already she had privately decided she would lower her ambitions in marriage. A baronet’s heir would do nicely, and so, too, would a knight, so long as he was well provided for. Her husband would bestow upon their children no title, but at least her future would be secure.

“Perhaps an absence may help,” she conceded. There were six months until Cousin Margot’s wedding. Surely that would be enough time away from London’s ballrooms.

“Now, I understand you have met Mrs. Barnes,” said Mama.

“It was kind of her to offer the use of her carriage,” she said.

“I am glad you think so, for we are to dine with her this evening at Oleander House.”

“This evening? I have only just arrived.”

“Mrs. Barnes is one of the doyennes of Pasadena society, and an invitation to her table is considered a great honor. Cultivating her favor will be vital to your success in Pasadena. You may have the afternoon to rest.”

Adele pursed her lips but said nothing. Dislike her position as she might, she would endure what she had to in order to appease her mother. Then she would return to London for Cousin Margot’s wedding before the next Season and hope that an absence in America would have lent her an air of mystery and glamour.

“I imagine that I will be expected to dress for Mrs. Barnes’s dinner as I would at home?” she asked.

Mama leveled a look at her. “It is a civilized society, Adele. You will dress for dinner, and I would suggest you resist saying such things to anyone but me.”

Chastened, Adele dipped her head. “I’m certain I will be able to conduct myself in the manner you expect, Mama.”

“See to it that you do, Adele. See to it that you do.”

October 18, 1903

Hotel Green, Pasadena

My dear Margot,

I promised I would write to you as soon as I arrived in California, and I will not have you saying I am not a woman of my word, for I have been but two hours in Pasadena as I sit down to compose my letter.

I am installed in a room that adjoins my parents’ hotel suite. Mama’s and Papa’s bedrooms are off a small sitting room, and I have a door that opens into that space so I may join them. Mama tells me that we will breakfast in the sitting room, and for supper we will adjourn to the hotel’s dining room, unless we are invited elsewhere to dine.

Already my diary is beginning to fill. This evening, we are expected at the home of Mrs. Barnes, a widow who has made friends of Mama and Papa. I understand Mrs. Barnes originally hails from New York, although she chose to move west after the death of her husband.

Mama tells me that Mrs. Barnes caused something of a scandal when she began buying property in Pasadena. Several men objected to the idea of a woman becoming a landlord and tried to block several of her deals. In retaliation, Mrs. Barnes began to give dinners and host balls, inviting every prominent member of Pasadena society except for those men. Naturally, their wives wondered why their invitations were not forthcoming and began to badger their husbands. Finally, the men withdrew their objections to Mrs. Barnes’s purchases and suddenly invitations began to appear on the mantelpieces of those homes.

For all her importance, it was Mrs. Barnes who suggested that I travel with the Gormans as my companions, and I wonder if I can ever forgive her for that ordeal.

I know you will be wondering why I have not yet mentioned Papa and his health. In truth, I have not seen him yet. He has been resting since I arrived. Mama reassures me that he finds the dry California air plagues him less than our rainy climate in London does, and that his doctor is happy with the progress Papa has made during his months here. I hope that to be true; otherwise, what will be the point of all this upheaval?

Mama is impeccable as always, and you will be unsurprised to hear that her ability to criticize me has not diminished since I last saw her. She does not believe that I have tried my very hardest to find a husband this Season no matter how much I reassure her that my dance card was full at every ball we attended and that I made the most of every conversation at supper. I suppose she expects that a winter in America will somehow cleanse me of the poor luck and allow me to begin next Season afresh.

Do promise you will write to me with all your news of your wedding preparations. I am frightfully sorry that I will not be there to help you select the lace for your dress, but I know that when I stand with you as bridesmaid on your wedding day, you will look a vision.

Yours faithfully,

Adele

chapter five ADELE

As it transpired, it was only a short distance from the Hotel Green to Mrs. Barnes’s house on South Orange Grove Boulevard, but Adele was pleased to find that Mama had asked Mr. Ballard at the hotel to arrange for a carriage to transport the Pearces to Mrs. Barnes’s dinner party that evening.

“If you find yourself at a loss for conversation with Mrs. Barnes, Adele, you can always ask about her garden. She is a keen horticulturalist,” Mama said as the carriage drew up to an expansive house of dark wood beams, shingles, and a gently pitched roof lit up by thoroughly modern electric light.

From out of the window, Adele could just make out a profusion of flowers bending gracefully along the edges of a brick path that curved up from the road to an expansive front porch.

“You may also wish to ask about Oleander House itself,” Mama added.