“Everyone will think I am too clumsy to be out in Society and Mama should have left me in the schoolroom. I am supposed to make my debut officially this Season,” she confided. “If I can’t prove to Mama that I can comport myself like a lady, she will leave me at home which will be just dreadful.”
Emily was not sure how to comfort the young woman. “You will see, my dear Miss Ann, you shall have plenty of opportunity to prove what a grown up young lady you are throughout this week. Everyone will forget all about this little incident. Don’t worry about it; try to get a good sleep tonight and everything will look much better in the morning.”
Emily felt decades older than the young woman, despite there likely only being a couple of years between them at most. After ringing for the Waddells’ maid, she kept the younger woman company as she was helped out of the soiled gown and into her night clothes. She left the young girl tucked up in bed, feeling somewhat more cheerful about the whole event. Emily whisked the soiled gown downstairs to the housekeeper who had a secret concoction for removing stains from the tablecloths, hoping it would work with the fabric of this gown as well.
After speaking with Mrs. Parks and being assured the gown would be as good as new by morning, Emily debated about returning to the rest of the party. She was too tired to be polite and pretend Lady Maude had not caused the spill that ruined poor Ann’s evening. She couldn’t believe no one else had seen what she had done! She had been so convincing in her expressions of concern, but she had not been able to hide her disappointment that Miss Waddell was not going to be leaving early too. On the other hand, if things were not going well, she did not want to leave Lady Clara in the lurch.
Emily decided she had been running away from problems much too often lately, so she screwed up her courage, squared her shoulders, and gracefully marched back to the drawing room. Upon her arrival she was grateful to see that the older members of the party were starting to get up and say their good nights to Lady Clara and gathering their children. It had been a long day for all the travellers and they were ready for their beds. Lord Marsden and Lord Sutherland were the only ones who seemed like they would’ve been able to go for a lot longer, but they accepted the end of the evening with good grace, and everyone said good night.
Emily stayed behind with Lady Clara as the rest of the group drifted from the room.
The countess heaved a sigh of relief and exhaustion after the last guest had left. “Well, Emily, what do you think? Not as easy as we had expected, is it?”
“No, my lady, these next few days are going to be a lot more work than I had thought. But on the bright side, if milord Philip ever turns up, surely he will not be able to continue in his misguided notion that Lady Maude would make a good countess. She is really quite dreadful, isn’t she?” Emily went on to relate what she had seen the young woman do to Ann and how disappointed the younger girl was by the turn of events.
“Oh, poor thing. We will have to see about making it up to her somehow,” said Lady Clara.
“I am sure she will prove how gracious and graceful she can be throughout the week all on her own. She really is quite a sweet young person,” answered Emily.
Lady Clara laughed at the proprietary tone Emily used. “She can’t be that much younger than you, Emily. You sound as if you are her grandmother or some such.”
”Maybe not in years, my lady, but our life experiences have greatly diverged, I am sure,” she replied with a self-deprecating smile. “But please, you must be exhausted, let’s get you off to bed too. Tomorrow is another day and things are sure to be different with nearly twice as many guests due to arrive. It should be quite interesting to see how things develop.” On that note the two ladies linked arms and set off to find their own beds for the night.
Chapter Eleven
The day dawned bright and cheerful. When Emily opened her curtains, she could see that it was going to be a lovely day, perfect for any of the activities they had considered for the enjoyment of the guests. She rushed through her morning toilette and set out to assist the housekeeper in organizing the staff.
It turned out that the Fitzgeralds had arrived after everyone had gone to bed. Upon their arrival, the footman on watch had hastily awoken Mr. Parks to show the guests to their rooms. They would no doubt keep to their rooms much later than the others who had all had a relatively early night. Some of the guests had requested trays be brought to their rooms, but others were gathering in the breakfast room to start their day. The three young lords were already well into their meal, and the three Waddell ladies were just entering the room when Emily arrived.
“Oh, Miss Spencer, thank you so much for seeing to my gown.” Poor Ann blushed to bring up her disgrace from last evening but was too polite to let the matter go. “You were able to work miracles. I was sure it was going to be ruined.”
“It was my pleasure to be able to help, but it really wasn’t me. The housekeeper here at Rosemount has a genius for such things. Please ladies, help yourselves to whatever you would like to break your fast and sit wherever you want.” Emily graciously changed the subject then turned to greet the gentlemen.
“Good morning, sirs. I trust you all slept well. It would appear it is going to be a wonderful summer day. Maybe we will all be able to spend some time out of doors before the sun gets too hot.”
Mr. Garfield replied, “Well I for one would love to explore the woods, see what kind of wildlife we can find. Maybe if you fellows would like to join me, we could go look around a bit before everyone else is up and about, wanting us to entertain them.”
“Sounds like an excellent plan, my good man, lead the way,” answered Lord Marsden. He and Lord Sutherland joined Mr. Garfield in bidding the ladies a good morning. “We shall see you ladies a bit later,” confirmed Lord Marsden with a gallant bow and a wink.
The young baron, Lord Sutherland, looked somewhat undecided about joining the other gentlemen in the hunt. It seemed to Emily that he had been enjoying the chatter of the young ladies and found them very good company since he need not put in much conversational effort with them. But the lure of the sport was too strong to resist, and the three gentlemen traipsed from the room with promises to not be gone too long.
Once the gentlemen were out of earshot the youngest two Waddell ladies looked at each other and giggled. Emily could not contain the rolling of her eyes this time, but she accompanied it by a friendly smile at the girls.
“This is just so exciting!” Jane exclaimed. “I would never have thought I would be sharing breakfast with three of the most handsome men in all of England. Isn’t this just the best visit we’ve ever had, Mama?”
“Well, my dear, I do have to admit those three gentlemen are very nice and quite handsome. I’m glad you girls are having such a good time.”
Then turning to Emily, Lady Waddell continued, “Is it true the Fitzgeralds arrived last night? Lady Fitzgerald must be feeling poorly this morning. Her health is not great at the best of times, let alone after such an arduous journey. Have you any idea what detained them? Something dreadful must have happened to make them arrive so late. I do hope all is well.”
“I have not heard all the details, but apparently there was some problem with the carriage. They told the butler they were able to spend the time at a very nice inn while it was being repaired. They wanted to arrive yesterday and did not realize they still had so far to go from the village where they had stopped. In the dark, too, they made slower progress. No one was hurt, though, and I am sure after a good night's sleep they’ll feel as fit as a fiddle.” Emily assured Lady Waddell optimistically.
Lady Waddell countered disbelievingly, “I do not think Lady Fitzgerald has felt fit as a fiddle a day in her life, but I am sure you are right, she will survive. I am glad it wasn’t anything too serious.”
At that moment, Lady Clara breezed into the room looking well rested and cheerful. “Good morning everyone,” she greeted. “Are we the first to leave our rooms?” she asked in obvious surprise.
Jane laughed and said, “No my lady, you have already missed the three young gentlemen. They have gone to inspect your forest for wildlife. They said they would return shortly; they just wanted to get the lay of the land, as Lord Marsden would say.” All the ladies laughed at her close impersonation of the young man.
Lady Clara filled her plate while conversation turned to the weather and what the ladies might do that day. Emily excused herself to go check on the Fitzgerald servants and see what needs the family might have.
