“Yes, in the Red Room with her fiancé.”
“Ann is betrothed?”
“My, you have been rusticating,” Lady Malmsby said. “Yes, to the Duke of Ellinbourne.”
“The Duke of Ellinbourne!”
Lady Malmsby smiled broadly as she nodded. “And Helena is betrothed as well—she, to the Earl of Norwalk.”
The melancholy that had gripped Bella since she’d returned to London eased. The news about her friends raised her spirits. They were so good to her and helped her so in the month following Harry’s death. “This is wonderful news! And do you approve of the matches?”
“Heartily.”
“It’s cousins marrying cousins,” Lady Oakley said.
“Cousins marrying cousins?” Bella repeated, confused.
“What Sally means is the Earl and the Duke are cousins, as are Ann and Helena,” Lady Malmsby explained.
Bella’s brow cleared. “Oh. I understand. Is Helena in the city as well?”
“Alas, no,” Lady Malmsby said with an exaggerated pout. Then she smiled again to negate the dramatics. “There have been issues at her father’s porcelain factory that have needed attention,” she explained. “But we shall have a betrothal ball for her and the Earl in the fall after Michaelmas. — And speaking of betrothal balls, Ann and the Duke’s betrothal ball is three nights hence. You must give me your direction so we can send you an invitation.”
“Right now, as my brother has rooms at the regiment barracks, I am staying at Mivart’s Hotel until I can rent us a townhouse to share.”
“Who is your brother, dear?” Lady Oakley asked.
“Captain Andrew Melville.”
“Really?” Lady Oakley said. She raised her eyebrows as she turned to look at Lady Malmsby.
Bella laughed. “I know we are not alike. He used to work at the Alien Office for Lord Candelstone; however, since that man retired, my brother has felt lost. His is a loyal soul.”
“Lady Malmsby told me you worked for Lord Candelstone as well,” Lady Oakley observed.
“I did,” Bella conceded, “until the day after the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon had been defeated, and I just wanted to come home.”
“I don’t blame you,” Lady Malmsby said. “But why have you hidden yourself away?”
Bella felt the pall of melancholy sweep over her again.
“I needed time to mourn,” she said simply. “And I needed to decide what I want to do with my life. I’d only been married to Sir Harry Blessingame for nine months when he died, and then I was pitched into the war effort without time to think about Harry or what I would do. I was like a wind-up automaton. Lord Candelstone kept me so busy that there wasn’t time to think about the future. We were dealing with the war in the present.”
“Well, I, for one, am glad you have decided to re-enter society at last,” said Lady Malmsby. “I have a suggestion, and know I will not takenofor an answer.” Lady Malmsby slipped her arm through Bella’s and pulled her closer to her side. “Staying at a hotel, no matter the quality of the hotel, is not something a lady should do alone, even if she is a respectable widow,” Lady Malmsby told her, her tone quite serious. “You should come to Malmsby House and stay with us until you secure rental lodgings. Malmsby House is commodious, I assure you.”
“That is an excellent idea,” Lady Oakley agreed.
Bella canted her head. “I’ll own, I should like to stay some place not as populous and loud day and night as Mivart’s,” she slowly said. “But isn’t that the Duke’s home?” she asked.
“Arthur won’t care,” Lady Malmsby said airily. “Truthfully, I doubt Arthur would notice. And Lancelot and Guinevere have conveyed to me they have quite enjoyed the activity I have brought to the house.”
Bella blinked at the trio of names. “You have an Arthur, a Guinevere and a Lancelot? How could I not know that?”
Lady Malmsby laughed. “I did name my son Arthur; however, it was his poor wife, Morgana, who named the twins after Guinevere and Lancelot, and their last child, Merlin.”
“Was she a King Arthur lore enthusiast?” Bella asked.
“Yes, however, it is my son, the Duke, who is the Arthurian scholar. He was always of a bookish bent, and with Arthur as his name and Morgana as his wife’s name, I suppose it is not surprising that their children would have Arthurian legend names, even if in legend Lancelot and Guinevere are scandalously paired as an adulterous couple,” she said, as they walked from the Great Room into the Red Room.
