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Chapter 13
Giulia stood outside of the large house and gulped. Now this was a manor. And somehow, much more intimidating than her uncle’s castle. On the other side of the door sat the beautiful Mrs. Fawn and who knew how many of her friends.
What had Giulia agreed to? She shuddered in the chilly air, pulling her cloak tighter about her shoulders and willing her stomach to cease rolling. She ran a finger along the chain of her necklace for luck and straightened her spine. Pushing her shoulders back, she crossed the gravel drive and knocked on the door.
A stately butler opened the door and ushered her into an elegant foyer, and Giulia did her best to raise her jaw from the floor. Never had she seen a corridor so exquisitely decorated. Nearly everything was white and trimmed in gold edging, from the crisp walls with gilded moldings, to the fabulous chandelier above the door. Even the white marble floor was impeccable; Giulia feared her shoes, dusty from the gravel drive, would mar its pristine condition.
She followed the butler into a drawing room—after checking the bottom of her feet and graciously finding them passably clean—and was awed once more by the exquisite, tasteful decor. She’d seen ornate palaces in India and attended lavish balls in Barbados, but none she found more beautiful than the simple, elegant design of a British drawing room. Lavender silk hung on the walls and butter yellow, upholstered furniture dotted the floor. The large, ornate fireplace took up the majority of one wall and tall, framed windows covered another, letting in extensive sunlight.
Mrs. Fawn, dressed in black and just as striking as Giulia remembered her, rose and pulled Giulia into the center of the room to present her to the two women seated on the settee.
“Miss Pepper, I am so glad you made it,” Mrs. Fawn said, her smile earnest and her voice soft. “Come, you must meet my friends. This is Hattie Green, and Mabel Sheffield.”
Giulia smiled at the women in turn and was subsequently overwhelmed by the amount of beauty in the room. Each of them was different, and each was breathtaking. She felt small in comparison. If only she could sink into the elegant sofa Mrs. Fawn led her to and fade into the cushions.
Miss Green delivered the most dazzling grin. She tilted her freckled face, revealing a small, upturned nose that spoke of mischief-making and a cleverness in the woman’s eyes that led Giulia to believe she ought not to cross this one.
Miss Sheffield was, in comparison, an Amazonian. She stood to welcome Giulia, towering in both her height and demeanor. She appeared strong and confident, yet slender and dignified. Her thick, dark hair was piled high on her head and her gown was an exquisite shade of green that brought out the deeper hues of her navy-violet eyes.
For a moment Giulia was dumbstruck. She could easily see how Nick had labeled them as a pack. Standing together, they appeared as if they could slay with a look. Alone they were beautiful, together appeared unstoppable.
Giulia’s courage flagged and she lowered herself into a seat opposite the friends. She hated herself for thinking it, but she couldn’t help but wonder what fatal flaw each of these women possessed. How else were three women such as these yet unmarried?
Mrs. Fawn’s situation was understandable—she, a widow—but the others? There had to be a reason. And it had nothing to do with their location, for according to Tilly, Graton saw its share of social activities.
“Miss Pepper, we are so very glad to meet you.” Miss Green leaned forward as she spoke as though she was imparting a secret. “We have been looking forward to this tea with immense anticipation.”
We? They even spoke for each other. Giulia accepted the cup of tea Mrs. Fawn offered and took a sip before responding. “As have I.” Really, Pepper, is that the best you could do? “Thank you, Mrs. Fawn, for extending the invitation.”
“We do not stand on ceremony here,” Mrs. Fawn said at once, shaking her head as she continued to prepare tea for the others. “Please call me Amelia. Mrs. Fawn sounds so old, does it not?”
It was a blessed thing the women were so relaxed. Giulia was used to the less strict lifestyle of the ships and savage towns of the West Indies and South America. Referring to the women by their Christian names ought not to be a challenge.
“You must be starved for entertainment,” Mabel interjected before Giulia had the chance to answer. “Being all alone at Halstead as you are, I mean.”
“She’s not alone, Mae,” Hattie interjected with a telling glance. “She has Mr. Pepper there.”
“Oh, I forgot,” Mabel said with amusement. “Not that I envy you too much in that regard. He is nice to look at, but he is such a flirt, is he not?”
“Yes, he is that.” Giulia sipped her tea again and nibbled on a ginger biscuit.
Amelia raised a hand, tucking a stray red curl into her coiffure. “He is far more pleasant now than when he first arrived at Halstead.”
Hattie scoffed. “Who was first? Was it I?”
“No,” Mabel said, shaking her head. She sipped her tea before lowering the cup on her lap, wrapped in both hands. “Amelia was first. Then you.”
“Just before I married Mr. King,” Amelia agreed. “I believe I met Mr. Pepper at the Assemblies. He cut a dashing figure and did not seem to care one whit for my engagement; he was quite determined to convince me to go out driving with him. With looks like that, one is bound to have a conceited disposition.”
Giulia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. If that was a rule, then she had to be in a room full of conceited women. And they seemed just the opposite to her.
“But you did go out driving with him,” Mabel recalled.
Amelia’s eyes widened, her eyebrows lifting. “And he very nearly kissed me, the cad.”
Giulia’s stomach grew hollow despite the tea she was sipping.
“He would have kissed me, too,” Hattie said, “had I not ducked under his arm and escaped his embrace in the maze at the Goulding’s garden party.”
