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“You are very good, and I thank you most sincerely,” Eloise said, “but I cannot leave Lady Carrbridge.”
And Connie, treacherous Connie, who knew perfectly well the reasons for Eloise’s dislike of Will Fletcher, beamed and betrayed her without a second’s hesitation. “But of course you must go, dear! What a lovely thought, for otherwise you would not see it at all, for we cannot go ourselves. Robinia — Lady Reggie, that is — had a most unfortunate experience there once, and we do not quite like to remind her of it. But it is the most tremendous fun, and you will enjoy it enormously, Eloise. Just be sure not to go wandering off the main path with any amorous gentlemen, that is all. Stay in the well-lit areas. Yes, Kemp, what is it?”
“Her Grace of Dunmorton wishes for your advice on the matter of teething, my lady.”
“Oh, my goodness, the duchess!” Connie said, with a commendable appearance of surprise. “Do forgive me, Mrs Fletcher, but I must rush away. Thank you so much for calling. I am sure we shall meet very often on our rounds. The season is like that, is it not? One sees one’s friends everywhere. Yes, yes, Kemp, the duchess… Do please show our guests out. Come, Eloise.”
And away she went, having dealt neatly with the Fletchers.
“Is that the last of them from our little afternoon party?”
“All but two, but they have not even left a card. Connie, you are very kind to me and please do not think me ungrateful, but I really must urge you most strongly not to encourage Mr Fletcher.”
Connie stopped, then drew her aside into an empty stairwell. “I know you have no desire to marry him,” she said sympathetically, “and I am the last person in the world to push you towards matrimony willy-nilly. I should love to see you as happily settled as I am with my dearest Francis, but not every woman can be so fortunate in her husband, and there is nothing worse than an unhappy marriage. My own parents — well, the less said about that, the better, but believe me, I would not wish such a situation on anyone.”
“Then why do you push me towards Mr Fletcher?” Eloise said.
“Oh, I know you dislikehim, but every time he takes you driving in the park, or invites you to join a family outing, he opens a door to more opportunities for you. When you cling tomyside, you are seeing only a small segment of society, and it has to be said, few of them are looking for a wife who brings only her own charms to the marriage, no matter how considerable those charms may be.”
“I am not sure I should even wish to marry into the peerage as you have done. I love being in society and I am having a wonderful time, but these great personages are rather overwhelming for a country girl like me.”
Connie chuckled. “They are rather overpowering, it is true, especially when they are all gathered in one place, as at Almack’s, but one does not choose who one falls in love with. When I first saw Francis, I thought he must be a Greek god descended to earth, and my heart still beats a little faster whenever I see him. I should so much like to see you as happy, my dear, and the more men you meet, the more likely it is that you will meet the exact one who will make your heart beat faster too. And if the nobility is not to your taste, why then the Fletchers and their ilk may be just the perfect sphere for you. They would value you as you deserve, as a lady who will lift them up a little in the world without making them feel they have moved uncomfortably far from their roots. They may look enviously at titled people like Lord Carrbridge, but they are happier staying in their own sphere.”
“You may be right in general,” Eloise said, “but the Fletchers are rising rather fast. They are invited to Lady Pinner’s ball.”
“Are they indeed? I wonder why,” Connie said thoughtfully. “That is interesting…veryinteresting. Perhaps we will go there ourselves, if only to see what Lady Pinner is up to. Because she is up tosomething, of that we may be quite sure.”
14: The Minuet
The house in Grosvenor Square was full, or so it seemed to Will. His middle sister, Julia, had arrived to buy her wedding clothes, together with Aunt Madge, their late mother’s spinster sister, who had lived with them for years. Julia’s betrothed, James Plummer, was staying with his own family, but he was constantly underfoot at Grosvenor Square.
The Fletcher family’s days were now full of bustle. Mornings were a whirl of shopping for Julia, and even though boxes of gown lengths and trimmings had been sent from Yorkshire, drawn from the Fletchers’ own warehouses, there was still an unending list of bonnets and shoes and stockings and fans and feathers and hair combs to be acquired before Miss Julia Fletcher could be considered ready to become Mrs James Plummer.
Evenings were filled with a variety of engagements, although Will’s stepmother confessed to some disappointment that these mostly concerned their friends from the City and the new acquaintances forged at Marford House. Although the ladies industriously left cards at the doors of Lady Holmeswood, Lady Yardley and Lady Frederica, among others, and were even admitted for the prescribed fifteen minute morning call occasionally, no invitations had yet been forthcoming.
“It is so frustrating,” Stepmother grumbled over breakfast one day. “They all seem so affable, and would love to meet us again, they say, but nothing ever comes of it.‘We did not see you at Almack’s last night,’Lady Yardley said — as if we have vouchers to Almack’s! As if we are even acquainted with any of the patronesses. It is not that I particularly care about Almack’s — well, not a great deal, at least, although itwouldbe the crowning glory if we could somehow obtain vouchers, but they must know that we are not admitted there. It is all very well smiling at us over the teacups, but we need invitations.”
“That will come,” Pa said. “Look how the gentlemen throng around you when you drive in the park. Quite a crowd, Will says. And Lady Carrbridge has taken a shine to my little Rosie.”
“Oh yes, that was most gratifying!” Stepmother said. “I wish I had seen it myself. Julia, you will not have heard, I dare say, but Will was driving Rosie in Hyde Park in his curricle when they came upon Lady Carrbridge in her carriage, and nothing would do for her but to take Rosie up for a turn or two, while Will took Miss Whittleton. Such a triumph, to be noticed publicly by Lady Carrbridge.”
Pa chuckled. “Miss Whittleton, eh? You’d better watch your step, my boy, or you’ll be leg shackled before you can turn around.”
“I thought you didn’t like her above half, Will,” Julia said.
“Not even so much, and she positively detests me. If you had seen the sour look on her face when Lady Carrbridge made her drive with me, you would not be so quick to see a match, Pa.”
Miss Whittleton had remembered her manners soon enough, fortunately, and they had had a pleasant turn about the park. If Will had not known how much she disliked him at heart, he would not have guessed it from her behaviour. If she were always so affable, he could almost imagine being married to her without shuddering. Almost.
The day of Lady Pinner’s ball arrived, and great was the excitement in the Fletcher household. Julia, James Plummer and Aunt Madge had not been invited and were to stay at home with Pa, but Will, Rosie, Angie and Stepmother donned their finest evening attire and prepared to enjoy their first ball in town.
The girls were all of a twitter as they gathered in the hall waiting for the carriage to be brought round, and Stepmother scarcely less so. Will would never admit it, but he was conscious of a degree of apprehension himself. This would be their first foray into the better class of society to which they aspired, and all depended on it. There had never been much prospect of vouchers for Almack’s or an invitation to Carlton House, home of the Prince of Wales himself, but there were other places within their reach. A success at Lady Pinner’s ball could open a host of doors to them, but a wrong move could doom all their hopes.
“You all look very fine,” Pa said, beaming proudly at them. “Look at my lovely young ladies in all their finery! You do me proud, all of you, and not least my lady wife.”
And he kissed her soundly on the lips, making her colour up like a schoolroom miss.
The carriage crawled through the streets in darkness. At this hour the streets were still busy. Link boys rushed about, carriages thronged every thoroughfare, and the pavements were filled with passers-by dressed up for the evening. Angie peered excitedly through the windows at every passing wonder, the flickering lamps and the link boys’ torches making her excited face dance about. Rosie sat serenely, and who knew what went on in that lovely head of hers? Stepmother seemed calm, too, but her eyes gleamed, and every minute or so, she bethought herself of some important reminder for the girls.
