Even now, as they sat in the carriage headed to Lady Alice’s manor, the dowager couldn’t sit still the whole ride down. She told Selina all she could about their host.
“You see, my dear, Alice is an old friend of mine,” she said. “Sadly, she lost her husband a few years back. It was a terrible loss. Anyways, her son — charming man, by the way — is abroad, but he’s coming back soon.
“In fact, the way I hear it, I believe Alice intends to use this party as an opportunity to get a look at the young maidens currently out there. I believe she plans to hitch her son with a good match. She’s eager to get that one married off soon, I assure you.”
The way Grace said it, it sounded to Selina like girl gossip. Selina found the whole affair funny, and she laughed easily, shaking her head as a smile broke on the dowager’s face.
“So…” Grace had that twinkle in her eye again. Selina turned to look at her. “Do you have anyone you’d like to marry? What would you be looking forward to in the marriage?”
Selina smiled a sad smile and cleared her throat gently. “Truthfully, I haven’t really given much thought to marriage in a long time.”
“I see…” Grace had a sad look on her face. “Is this because of the man who broke your heart and left you standing alone at the altar? My dear, do not be discouraged because of one awful man who does not know a good thing even when it’s staring him in the face.
“I’m positive that there are several more out there who would love and cherish you. Just the way you are supposed to be.” Now, Grace smiled and took Selina’s hand. “Besides, I’m going to be your sponsor and backer at the next season.
“Definitely, there would be nobody who would try anything as disrespectful again. At least, not with me standing behind you. I will make sure that you get married to a gentleman of the highest caliber I can muster. Rest assured, my dear.”
Selina couldn’t help smiling. She felt a warmth deep inside knowing the dowager's plans for her. Alternatively, she also felt a deep pang of guilt and it made her a bit reluctant to jump on Grace’s kind offer.
While she did truthfully know a bad man, that bad man wasn’t any fiancé. As a matter of fact, she had never even gotten betrothed to anyone before.
The reason for that was she could not be involved in the seasons, even after she had come of age. Unfortunately, her family had been too poor for that.
Selina pursed her lips together and looked into Grace’s expectant eyes. Grace appeared to be waiting for a response from Selina. Maybe even a little more excitement.
Selina lacked the words to say, however. Fortunately for her, the carriage stopped and the door flew open, giving Selina a much-needed way out of the conversation.
She stepped out of the carriage carefully, then waited to the side for the dowager to be helped out of the carriage as well.
As she waited, she looked around the driveway littered with beautiful carriages. Elegantly dressed people poured out of the carriages, both men and women.
Selina watched in amazement and said a silent prayer of thanks to the dowager for getting her such a fine dress as the one she had on. The whole time she had quietly felt overdressed. It made her feel better to see that she was not standing alone.
Lady Alice’s manor was an exquisite building that rose four stories.
The driver finally helped the dowager out of the carriage, and she thanked him with a big smile. Something Selina had come to get used to seeing.
Grace looked around with a pleasant smile on her face. “Can you hear it?” She asked Selina. Selina turned to her with a puzzled look on her face. “Music,” the dowager said, smiling with satisfaction.
She patted Selina on the shoulder and leaned closer to her. “Can you do something for me, dear? Put your ex-fiancé out of your mind. Do so, and who knows? Maybe you will realize that your heart is open for some new love.”
Selina nodded in understanding and Grace walked past her, leading her down the driveway towards the manor house.
Selina let out a deep sigh as she followed behind the dowager. She was definitely not at the party for love. How could she be, when her past hunted her still? Lurking in shadows, clawing through her mind, making her live in fear.
If anything, during the next season, Selina was going to be too afraid of getting discovered. She didn’t know how long she could keep lying to Grace, but she was going to have to figure something out before then.
Selina and Grace joined other well-dressed people who converged at the entrance, walking uniformly into the manor house.
The thick wooden doors were thrown open, with servants lining the wall outside the house. Selina walked into the house and felt her breath catch almost immediately.
While the duke and dowager had beautiful houses, theirs was an old beauty. Lady Alice’s house glittered. Selina bent her neck and looked up at the high arcing roof above the foyer, with sweeping designs on the ceilings.
The walls were covered in marble murals of warring angels, each art running into the next, until the entire foyer looked like one gigantic work of art.
Simply put, it was beauty, class, and status personified. Grace turned back to look at Selina and snickered. “I know, I know. Alice does tend to be heavy-handed with her furnishing and tastes.”
Selina nodded, lacking an adequate reply to the dowager’s statement. She kept thinking how she had wrongly assumed she was coming to some fancy tea party outside in a garden with a few people.
