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Chapter 43
Lucy was excited to be at the party. She had been looking forward to it all week, especially since she and Aunt Joan had gone for her final fitting of her new dress. She certainly did feel like a future viscountess in it.
The lush yellow silk swished around her hips, ballooning out around her legs as she walked. At the empire waist, the dressmaker had added a black ribbon, which pulled the entire look together in an elegant manner. The sleeves were bell-shaped and the neckline was low, baring her décolletage. She had caught Silas looking at the low cut of it, which only made her feel even more confident.
Aunt Joan was deep in conversation with Lady Baldwin, whom she had met at the summer party in the country. They had not seen each other since, and were now catching up after months of being apart. Most of the nobility remained in the countryside for the summer. It was now November, and the ton was beginning to trickle into London in time for the Season.
Dinah was walking towards Lucy, and the two of them met halfway across the room. Dinah took Lucy’s hands in her own. Around her neck was a stunning diamond necklace, which looked absolutely elegant on her.
“Come,” she said. “I want to introduce you to my friends.” She offered Lucy her arm, and they both laughed. They walked around the room, arm in arm. “Silas told me all about your fears,” she confided in a low voice. “I am here to dispel all of them.” They soon approached two young ladies, about their age.
“These are my friends from school,” Dinah explained. “This is Lady Violet Potsmore, and Lady Rosemary Dunne.” The two were dressed in pink and purple silk gowns.
“This is Miss Lucy Wilds,” Dinah said. “She’s being courted by my elder brother, Silas.”
“So,” Lady Violet said, raising an eyebrow. She and Lady Rosemary shared a smile. Lady Violet looked at Lucy as though she were suddenly very interesting. “You’re the one who’s caught the eye of the handsome Lord Thornbridge?”
“I suppose so, yes.”
“We were saying that you must be a very interesting sort of woman to catch his eye.”
“Lucy is!” Dinah exclaimed. “She’s one of the most intelligent and witty women I’ve ever met.”
Lucy blushed. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“That’s because you’re too modest,” Dinah replied. “She’s in love withRobinson Crusoe, as well as being one of the finest painters I’ve ever seen.”
“Another reader!” Lady Violet gasped. Both ladies were looking at her with kind interest. Lucy found that she was not shunned—instead, this seemed to be her tribe.
“You must join our club,” Lady Rosemary insisted.
“Oh?” Lucy raised an eyebrow. She had never been a member of a club before. She wondered what sort of meetings they had.
“We sip tea and eat cakes and discuss what we’ve read,” she explained.
Lucy looked at Dinah. “Why have you not introduced us before?”
They all laughed. “Because they weren’t in town, silly. Now that they’re here, though, we can all be best friends.”
Lucy’s smile was enormous, she knew. She hadn’t expected to find anyone there with whom she got along so well. Yet, here they were. They were interested in books and painting and ideas. And they were all ladies.
As they talked, Lucy could begin to see that there was a place for her, among the ton. She just hadn’t known that it existed. She knew that Susan would have to meet all of them. Though the daughter of a solicitor, she was just as interested in books and ideas as the rest of them.
“And what are you ladies all talking about?” Silas asked, coming over to stand beside Lucy. He gave her a look that was meant entirely for her. Lucy’s pulse raced, and she knew that she was blushing.
“She’s one of us now, Silas, so you’ll have to treat her well or you’ll have us to consider,” Lady Rosemary warned.
“I’m sure Lucy is quite fierce when provoked, so I wouldn’t dare,” Silas said, smiling at her with pride as he reached for her hand.
“That’s for certain,” Dinah replied.
“Let me borrow her?” Silas asked his sister.
“Yes, but do bring her back,” Dinah said archly.
“By the by, sister—Reginald is looking for you,” Silas told her. Dinah turned, then Silas placed Lucy’s hand on his arm. “How are you enjoying the party?” he asked her in a low voice.
“Well enough,” she said.
