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Then again, given how that gentleman last night had behaved towards her, maybe she wasn’t as unappealing as she thought.
Sighing, Ellie nodded. “Alright. I’ll dress up again. But you two had better get serious about finding husbands. I’m not going to do it if you two don’t play your part.”
Once her sisters were set, she would concentrate on herself. Or she might be lucky enough that she didn’t need a husband.
Perhaps that was wishful thinking—becoming a spinster for real didn’t sound nearly as frightening as it once did.
Chapter 4
Lord Cliveton-Smythe was not at all what Ellie had expected. He was tall and very thin with thick white hair and a bushy beard. With the way he held himself and walked around, he didn’t look like he had turned eighty a short while ago.
He greeted the sisters warmly, and if he noticed that Ellie looked older than what he had been told, he didn’t say anything. Ellie didn’t want to explain why she was looking a little more severe than Regina and Dorothea. She was wearing a nicer dress and her hair wasn’t pinned back as painfully as before, but she had been made up with the charcoal again.
It was a little simpler than the previous night, and Ellie didn’t feel like she had a pounding headache with the pins sticking into her scalp.
At least Emma hadn’t noticed when she’d said farewell to them as they left. She hadn’t been close enough to see Ellie’s face properly, which was a relief. Ellie didn’t want to explain what they were doing. If anyone from the night before was at the dinner party, there might be some questions.
But Ellie had to admit that she preferred dressing like this. The pressure would be off her for now. If she chose to have a husband; even if her father, God forbid, passed away, Ellie knew she could cope on her own. People might not believe it, but she was more independent than anyone cared to admit. She would be fine, and once her sisters were married, Ellie would be comfortable enough to relax.
Just as long as nobody forced her to marry.
Actively looking for someone was tiring. In her mind, it was just something that would happen naturally. Not according to her father. Sitting back and allowing things to come to her was too slow, in his opinion. He had allowed it for too long, from what he had told her before she left for London. The earl expected her to set an example.
Ellie would do that. She would set an example that she wasn’t going to end up being pushed into a mould by everyone else.
“Come on through, ladies,” Lord Cliveton-Smythe said, leading them into the drawing room. “You’re actually early. Most of the guests haven’t arrived yet.”
“Oh!” Ellie glanced at her sisters. “Did we get the time wrong?”
“No, of course not. I just have guests who think the world stops for them and they can turn up late.” Cliveton-Smythe shrugged. “It’s an irritation that drives my cook to despair. He hates things being later than he was told.”
Ellie couldn’t agree more. They entered the drawing room, and Cliveton-Smythe beckoned one of the footmen over, the man carrying a tray of drinks.
“How about a sherry? Do you girls partake in sherry?”
“I—” Ellie began, but Regina cut in with a bright smile.
“Of course we do.” She took a glass, shooting her sister a look. “Some of us aren’t too keen on drink, but I do love a glass of sherry.”
Ellie noticed that Cliveton-Smythe was looking at her curiously, and she blushed.
“I don’t do well with alcohol. I get an itchy mouth and my face swells up.”
“She looks a bit like a toad.” Dorothea giggled as she took a glass for herself. Ellie scowled at her.
“Dorothea!”
“It’s perfectly fine if you don’t want a drink,” Cliveton-Smythe said with a smile, nodding at the footman who bowed and moved away. “We can get you a glass of water instead if you prefer? Or some lemonade? My cook makes it fresh every day.”
“Lemonade would be fine, my lord.”
“I’ll go and let him know immediately. Make yourselves at home. And Regina,” the old man pointed towards a harpsichord in the corner of the room, “your cousin mentioned that you played the piano. A harpsichord is not quite the same, but maybe you would play for us after dinner?”
Regina’s face lit up. She nodded eagerly. “Of course. I love the harpsichord!”
Before she got a response, she was hurrying across the room to inspect the instrument. Dorothea went with her, and Ellie watched them go with amusement.
Cliveton-Smythe chuckled. “Looks like your aunt was right about your sister.”
