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Then she double-checked that her cheek and lip rouge was not smudged and examined the charcoal of her eyeliner. Rarely had she worn any of that before, yet she found she always wished to look her best whenever her tutoring sessions were growing near.
Mr Radcliffe would likely laugh at her if he saw her now and suggest that she was one of the ladies he had expected her to be after all.
A part of her wanted to be angry at the thought of his insinuation, yet she knew it if it had truly happened, she would likely scold him before they laughed together on the matter, both realising that he might well be right.Am I truly turning into one of those ladies?she asked herself, stepping back to look at herself from head to toe in the mirror once more.
“Good heavens, Daisy, whatever are you doing?”
The exclamation startled Daisy so much that she let out a small and whimpering squeal. Wheeling around, she found her stepsister Bertha standing at the far end of the hallway. She was a much plainer young lady than Daisy herself, and Daisy often felt that she was overshadowing her at the best of times even when she had absolutely no desire to.
She always felt as though her stepmother was pitching the two of them against each other, yet in moments like this, she couldn’t help feeling like they were anything less than blood sisters. The look on Bertha’s face was a happy and jesting one that only a sister could possess for another sister.
“I would hazard a guess that the handsome Mr Radcliffe is soon to be arriving,” Bertha commented with a wide and knowing smile as she closed the distance between them, looking Daisy up and down. There wasn’t a hint of jealousy or loathing in Bertha’s tone. “You do look quite beautiful today, Daisy.”
“It isn’t at all like that!” Daisy blurted automatically, and the heat in her cheeks told her that her embarrassment would be obvious. “I merely wished to feel good for myself.”
Bertha scowled at her then, and an understanding expression crossed her face before she began to nod. “I know how that feels,” she admitted, “though I wish my mother would listen.” Daisy opened her mouth to give her some words of encouragement, but Bertha quickly continued with a clearing of her throat, “Anyway, you could do much worse than Philip Radcliffe!”
Daisy tried her hardest not to react immediately to her stepsister’s comment. Instead, she finished what she was doing in the mirror before turning to Bertha and saying, "Need I remind you that I have no intention of marrying a man and devoting my entire life to him?"
Bertha rolled her eyes and continued to stare at her, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at her and replied, "Not even if that man is as handsome and intelligent as Philip Radcliffe?"
What do you know of his intelligence?Daisy thought scathingly and opened her mouth to ask just that, but the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her caused Daisy to almost jump right out of her skin.
"Lady Daisy, Lady Bertha, Mr Radcliffe has arrived," came the announcement from the butler standing behind her.
Before she'd had a chance to fully turn around, she heard the husky voice of Philip Radcliffe say, "Good morning, ladies."
She turned to find him just standing up straight again as though he had dropped down into a bow immediately upon the butler's announcement. Daisy's cheeks grew instantly hot, and she did not dare glance in the mirror for fear of what she might see. She could already imagine that her face had turned red as a beetroot.
Oh, lord, please say he did not just hear all that!Daisy thought, her heart sinking into her gut. She could only imagine how he would tease her if he had. Or worse, perhaps he might believe something more of Bertha's words; perhaps he might actually believe she had feelings for him or was attracted to him.
He might even believe I am just like those women who only wish to be tutored to find a husband!she thought, her skin crawling as she wondered whether he might ever believe her so desperate.
"Are you well, My Lady?" Philip asked. There was a spark in his eye that Daisy couldn't quite read. Was he smug because he had in fact heard? Was he merely pleased to see her? Daisy couldn't be sure. Either way, she straightened up sharply and looked him in the eye.
"I am very well. Thank you, My Lord," she said firmly, perhaps even a little sternly, and she could only hope she did not offer him any offence.
"Good. I am glad," he responded, smiling in a way that told her she couldn't possibly have offended him.
When she saw the expectant expression and raised eyebrow, she quickly added, "I do hope you are well also, My Lord."
Quickly, she dropped into a curtsey, suddenly remembering herself. The moment she heard Bertha scoff and bite back laughter behind her, she knew that the entire situation was just as awkward as she felt it, and her face reddened further until she could feel the blush creeping down her neck into her chest.
Mr Radcliffe looked quite satisfied with her discomfort, and he smiled at her from the corner of his lips. He nodded curtly, his glossy, dark hair falling down to frame his eyes for a moment before he brushed it back, though not before those beautiful blue eyes of his caught hers, veiled from Bertha's view by his dark locks.
The way their gazes connected and the moment between them instantly caused Daisy's heart to skip a beat. “I am,” he assured her, his voice calm and collected as he raised his head and continued to half-smile at her.
“We are most certainly glad that you are well, My Lord,” Bertha spoke up before Daisy could find her voice. Daisy stood, still feeling quite embarrassed and a little dumbfounded, wondering what he might have overheard between them before he and the butler had made his presence known. For all she knew, he had heard every word.
Discreetly, Daisy shot Bertha a warning glare out of the corner of her eye and silently willed her away. Although she had teased her about it, it was clear that Bertha had lost her stomach for such things, so she quickly dropped down into a bow and added, “I shan't keep you from your learning, sister.”
“Thank you, sister,” Daisy responded, relieved at the reminder that she and Bertha had practically grown up as sisters and that her teasing was just sisterly affection, even if the woman’s mother was abhorrent.
“I wish you a good day, Lady Bertha,” Philip announced, bowing his head politely to her.
“And I, you, My Lord,” Bertha replied, offering a curtsey of her own. She cast one last playful glance at Daisy before quickly leaving the hall.
Daisy watched her go for several more moments before she turned her full attention back to the earl’s son and smiled politely as she asked, “Shall we?”
