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“It won’t be quiet for long. You should remember your duties as a host.”
Lady Northampton shook her head and walked away, muttering something under her breath about men not being allowed to host anything anymore, disappearing into the morning room.
Ellie shook her head in bemusement. “I don’t know if I want to be in the same room as your mother and Lady Mansford. The two of them are going to be… interesting.”
“Do you want to go in?”
“We’re going to have to. We can’t be sneaking off elsewhere, even if we are engaged.”
That was a pity. Derrick wouldn’t have minded doing that. Fixing a smile on his face to hide the disappointment, he held out his arm.
“Then let’s go and face everyone. I’m sure it won’t be as frightening as you believe.”
“Who said I was frightened?”
“The look on your face.”
Ellie groaned as she took his arm. “I’m not very good at acting, am I?”
“I prefer you to be honest than hide it from me.” Derrick squeezed her fingers. “And don’t hide anything from me. Alright?”
She didn’t respond, her eyes fixed firmly ahead of her. Derrick wanted to whisk her away and have a moment with her without everyone else standing about staring at them—but if they didn’t join the others, his mother would immediately send out a search party.
Maybe later. Much later.
#
Ellie was feeling rather overwhelmed. She had been told that it would be a small gathering, but as all the guests filed in, it became clear that Lady Northampton had chosen to invite quite a few people. It felt like an age before everyone was there, milling around the house while congratulating Ellie and North for their engagement.
Had she gone overboard with inviting everyone? Or was it a deliberate ploy? Ellie had spied her future mother-in-law smirking at her, watching to see if she was going to get embarrassed and break down. She wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.
But it was getting too much for her, especially with Aunt Diane hovering nearby making caustic remarks. The guests were probably wondering what sort of family Ellie had with such a cantankerous relative. Ellie was tempted to ask her great-aunt to tone her attitude down a bit, but that would be practically impossible; the old woman didn’t listen to anyone except herself.
At least she was somewhat on Ellie’s side. Whenever someone who was clearly Lady Northampton’s friend came over and congratulated her in a way that could have been an insult, Aunt Diane was there giving back as good as she could.
Ellie was almost grateful to have the woman looking out for her, but she was also aware that Aunt Diane was preserving her family’s reputation as best that she could—it wasn’t the goodness of her heart defending Ellie.
The old lady was too complicated to understand.
“Ellie?”
Ellie turned. Dorothea was standing beside her, watching her with a gentle smile. Ellie almost slumped onto her sister’s shoulder.
“I feel like I’m in a cage and people keep coming over to stare at me.”
“I understand. It’s not easy to handle when you’re not used to it.”
“How do you and Regina manage? You two barely bat an eyelid.”
Dorothea gave her a nudge. “We’re a little different from you. We can handle crowds and lots of people. You’re quieter than us and prefer your own company.”
“Why can’t I be like you?”
“If you were like us, we would be very boring.”
“I don’t know about that. I might be able to cope if I wasn’t so nervous.”
“You’re managing. You don’t need to put yourself down.”
