Emily repressed a smile as the gallant young man tried to look interested in the older woman’s conversation. Emily was the odd one out, but she didn’t mind. She liked to observe. She was almost lost in thought when her ears focused on what Lady Waddell was discussing. The missing Lady Emmaline again.Couldn’t the old gossip think of anything else to talk about?Emily wondered vehemently to herself. Garfield seemed interested now. What was he saying?
“I would love to be involved in the search. Good fun that would be, eh? Too bad no one seems to know where to look for the girl. Why do you suppose she would want to disappear? Doesn’t she know what a stir she is causing? Seems like she is quite a troublesome wench, wouldn’t you say?” The young man seemed to consider everything in life to be a game, and this was just another example of the sport he enjoyed.
Lady Waddell set him straight. “The young lady has not been out in Society, and she would not know how things are done.”
Emily was shocked that they were implying the missing marchioness was just being impolite, inconveniencing the monarch like she was. Hadn’t anyone considered foul play? Maybe she was hurt, or even dead. No one seemed to be considering the turmoil the young woman might be going through. She decided to give voice to her thoughts.
“Do you think maybe the lady might be more than just missing? Perhaps she is hiding or maybe even dead.” Silence followed this remark as several pairs of inquiring eyes turned in her direction. Emily had not expected the reaction she got.
Lady Maude spoke condescendingly. “Peers of the realm do not hide. And they do not die without notice. No doubt she will reveal herself very shortly.” She managed to put Emily in her place and make her feel like an imbecile with seemingly very little effort, leaving Emily to wonder how the monarch’s search was going to progress if no one considered that the young woman may have run into foul play.
Emily was able to smooth the awkward moment with a slight nod and a few words. “I’m sure you’re right. The lady no doubt had no idea anyone would even notice her absence.”
Lady Clara glanced curiously down the table towards them, but nothing more was said. The conversation continued to flow around the table, but Emily held herself back from participating. She had no experience with this kind of social occasion, she should observe more before she again tried to participate. She realized that appearances were much more important to these people than she ever would have expected, and logic did not necessarily play a large part in their reasoning. She should contain her conversational efforts to discussions of the weather she thought with amusement.
Miss Waddell and Lady Maude were now discussing the play that had been all the rage last season and anticipating what they would enjoy seeing when they returned to Town. Lady Maude, of course, was not nearly as excited about it all as Miss Waddell, having been “out” for some time now, but she participated politely, if somewhat coldly, in the conversation nonetheless.
It was with relief that Emily watched the last course being cleared away by the footmen and Lady Clara stood up to lead the guests off to the drawing room for tea. The meal had passed much more comfortably than she had been expecting and she started to look forward to the rest of the visit with, if not actual optimism, at least a diminished sense of dread. Everyone was just getting settled and the tea trolley being rolled in when the knocker sounded throughout the house. Emily excused herself and went to welcome the latest arrivals while Lady Clara remained with the other guests. Emily arrived just as two young men were being welcomed into the hallway by the butler, Mr. Parks. She stepped forward, holding out her hand to introduce herself.
“Welcome to Rosemount, my lords. I am Miss Emily Spencer. Lady Clara is occupied with the other guests. You must be Lords Marsden and Sutherland.” She gracefully dropped them a curtsy as the two young men smiled warmly at her. They both bowed to her gallantly and introduced themselves. Lord Anthony Marsden was the epitome of the dandy set. He swept off his hat and made an elegant leg in front of Emily before pronouncing in quite an important tone of voice:
“I am Tony, Lord Marsden, 10thViscount of Elmcrest; and this disreputable oaf is Adolphus, Baron Sutherland, heir apparent to the Earl of Vale. We are pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Spencer. I don’t believe we have had the pleasure of your company in Town before, have we? Will you be accompanying the countess this season?”
“Perhaps, my lord.” Emily said, not willing to commit to anything considering how disordered her life had been in recent months.
Despite his effort to sound important, Tony seemed to be a likeable gentleman. Lord Sutherland was very quiet and had yet to say anything at all. Emily was amused to see them both sneaking glances in the mirror that stood in the hallway so she graciously offered to take them up to their rooms to freshen up before they joined the rest in the drawing room.
Tony jabbed Lord Sutherland with his elbow, “What do you say, Dolph? Should we clean ourselves up a bit before we present ourselves to the countess? Lead the way Miss Spencer, it’s best if we get the lay of the land right off before we enter the fray.” Emily wasn’t completely sure what he meant by this rejoinder, but she smiled graciously and led them towards the wing with the guest chambers to which they’d been assigned.
“Who is here, by the way, Miss Spencer, if we could make so bold as to enquire?” asked Lord Marsden, once more the only one to speak.
“Lady Waddell and her two daughters arrived early this afternoon, followed by Viscount Sedgely and his family. We are still expecting Baron Fitzgerald, his wife and his daughter, and the Viscountess Eastwick with her son and daughter as well as Lord Philip. Of course, throughout the week we will no doubt be joined by some of the families in the neighbourhood for some of our activities and dinners.”
“A good mixture of company assembled, it seems. What activities have been planned to keep us amused, Miss Spencer?” This finally from Lord Sutherland in a rich baritone.So he does have a voice, Emily thought with an inner smile,and quite a pleasant sounding one at that.The younger ladies are going to find these two quite interesting,she thought before continuing out loud.
“There has not been anything formally planned or scheduled really, my lord, aside from the dance to be held at the end of the week. But we thought the younger set would enjoy badminton, or croquet on the grounds. And there are various sites within a short ride. As well, Mr. Garfield seems interested in some hunting and the woods around here are teaming with sport. I am sure everyone will be well entertained by whatever their particular interest is.”
Emily wondered if these two young dandies would want to risk their Hessians by traipsing through the woods, and so was somewhat surprised when Lord Sutherland nodded with enthusiasm at the thought of some hunting. “Here we are, these are your rooms. Please, make yourselves comfortable. If you need anything, ring for a footman. When you’re ready to join the rest in the drawing room, one of the footmen can direct you when you get to the bottom of the stairs. I will bid you adieu for now.”
Emily again curtsied, and then left the young men to themselves and returned to the drawing room to see of what assistance she could be to Lady Clara. She was pleased to see the atmosphere in the room was almost genial. The Waddell ladies were maintaining a steady stream of conversation that included everyone.They were definitely a good choice to include in this house partyshe thought dryly; Emily silently congratulated Lady Clara for her shrewdness in judging the characters of their guests.
“Who was that arriving, Miss Spencer?” asked Lady Clara when there was a momentary lull in the conversation.
“Lords Marsden and Sutherland arrived together. They have been shown to their rooms and will be down shortly after they have tidied themselves up a bit. They rode here, so they were a wee bit windblown,” Emily concluded with a smile.
“How gauche,” was the comment from Lady Maude. Emily wasn’t sure if the comment referred to her reference to the gentlemen’s untidy state, or the fact that they would arrive in such a state, so she chose to ignore it altogether.
Meanwhile, she could see the feminine speculation on the faces of all three young ladies, including Lady Maude.How interesting,thought Emily,the lady is not immune to the charms of other men.Maybe the earl’s interest in her wasn’t afait accomplias Lady Clara thought. Emily felt a little thrill in her heart, which she quickly repressed.What do I care who the earl might marry? It is none of my business,she thought fiercely as she turned her attention to the amusement of their guests.
Emily was just about to invite the younger set to join together in some games when the footman announced the young lords. There was a flutter of murmurs as the gentlemen were introduced to those they did not already know and greeted the ones they did. It was apparent they were on genial terms with Mr. Garfield when Lord Marsden slapped him on the shoulder and boomed, “Gary, my boy, good to see you. Didn’t think you’d show your presence at such an event. Excellent!” he concluded rather vaguely.
Emily decided the young viscount was a cheerful if not too smart fellow and decided he would be best suited sitting with one of the young Waddell ladies at the next dinner. The interaction of the group changed with the addition of the young gentlemen. The six young people separated themselves from the older ones and sat down at a table that had been set up off to the side for various games.
They were all trying to be terribly sophisticated but failing dismally as they got deeper into the excitement of the game. All that is, except for Lady Maude who seemed to be quite put out that the two younger ladies were getting the admiring attention of the young men. Emily was appalled when she saw Maude “accidentally” spill her wine on Miss Ann’s dress. Ann was crestfallen and clearly on the verge of tears. Miss Waddell was about to take her up to her room to help her get cleaned up, but Emily stepped in and offered to help, thus earning her an icy stare from Lady Maude, who had been hoping to rid herself of both competitors in one stroke.
Slightly subdued, Ann bade everyone good night, it was already late and by the time she cleaned up no doubt the others would be thinking of retiring for the night as well. It had been a long day and the poor young thing’s feelings were hurt besides. Emily tried to console her by reassuring her that she knew just the thing to get the stain out, but poor Ann was inconsolable. “I was about to win,” she declared vehemently. “And now I look like a baby that spills things. The gentlemen will never want to spend time with me if they think I’m still a little girl.”
“It was not you who spilled the wine, Miss Ann. I am sure it was an accident.” Emily tried to be comforting without making any accusations.
