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“Look, if you two want dresses, I can’t help you. We have to be extremely careful. Maybe you should ask Emma? I’m sure she can extend help for a new dress for each for you.”
Dorothea looked uncertain. “She might turn us down and say we don’t need more dresses.”
“Remember what I said? You just need to ask. Anyway, she’s been incredibly generous to us, and we don’t even need to pay for living here with her and Aunt Diane while we have our Season. She’s always done things for us in the past.”
“But it doesn’t mean she’ll do it this time around,” Regina pointed out.
“You won’t know until you ask. But, for now, we can’t afford it ourselves. However, you have to decide how much you want it. If it’s not going to devastate you down to your core, then it’s not worth it. We can manage with what we’ve got. Or maybe we can borrow some of our cousin’s dresses. We must be close to the same size.”
Both of her sisters looked as if they were still unsure. Ellie kissed her sisters on their cheeks and turned them around.
“Go and ask, for goodness’ sake. You’re both grown women. It’s not that difficult to ask for something like this, is it? Do I have to do everything for you?”
“It feels better when you do it,” Dorothea mumbled.
“And I can’t do it forever. So, go and ask. The worst she can do is say no, isn’t it? You won’t know until you actually approach her about it. Emma would rather you did that.” Ellie squeezed their hands. “The real world is not scary, Dorothea. You’ve figured that out by now, haven’t you? You’ve been in crowds at these social gatherings, and you’ve been enjoying yourself. You’ve flourished. So why is it so hard to talk to your own aunt?”
“I don’t know.”
Regina looked equally chastised. Ellie sighed. She did love her sisters, but they were stuck in their ways. They were so used to Ellie doing things for them, looking out for them as they went on with life. That couldn’t happen anymore; they needed to do something for themselves.
Like swallow their pride and actually ask for help.
“Excuse me, Lady Eleanora?”
Crackell was in the doorway. Ellie looked past her sisters.
“Yes, Crackell?”
“The Earl of Northampton is here, my lady. He wants to speak to you.”
“He’s here?”
“Yes, my lady. He doesn’t have an appointment.” Even though his expression was blank, Crackell was clearly showing his disapproval. “Do you want to see him?”
Ellie almost said “yes” immediately, but she eased back. She didn’t want to sound too eager to see him again. Holding onto her composure, she nodded.
“Show him into the morning room, Crackell. I’ll be right along.” She turned to her sisters. “And you two… just learn to do things on your own. I can’t hold your hand all the time.”
“It just feels embarrassing asking for help with money,” Regina grumbled. “It’s bad enough we have to find wealthy husbands without asking for help in the meantime.”
“Emma knows the situation. Just talk to her. She should be able to persuade her mother to give in a little. You do that while I talk to Lord Northampton.”
Dorotha giggled. “I’m sure you’ll be ‘just talking’ with the earl.”
“And what is that supposed to mean, Dorothea?”
“Nothing.”
But her youngest sister’s eyes were glinting with mischief. Ellie rolled her eyes and stepped around her sisters.
“Just go and do what I’ve been telling you to do. It’s not as scary as you think.”
Although she would have to concede that she had something scarier to do, which was to face the man who left her shaking and unable to think clearly in spite of the fact that his presence made her feel better. How was it possible to have such conflicting opinions about him?
Ellie thought back to the encounter in the carriage. That kiss had been just as good as the one in the garden, only more intense. Her pulse raced at the mere memory of them.
But not as much as the memory of feeling North underneath her, when she had straddled his lap. Ellie was innocent in terms of what happened between a man and a woman, but she wasn’t completely naive. She was aware of things regarding arousal between a man and a woman; her governess had given them that conversation despite her father saying they shouldn’t know anything about it.
