Staineybank was about to experience an event not seen for many years — a grand ball.
It was not to be expected that Sophia could sit quietly while all this was going on, so she soon slipped out of the morning room and made her way on light feet to the Marble Hall, where the tiled floor had been covered in protective matting and a wooden floor placed on top for the dancing.
Oh, the joy of a proper ball! The assemblies had begun in Brinchester, and that had satisfied her need to dance for a little while, but there was nothing to compare with a private ball, and this one was particularly delightful since it was in her honour.
Simon soon followed her into the Marble Hall, giving her that intimate little smile that she had grown to love so much. She could not have believed when she first came to Staineybank that she could be so happy.
“Are your dancing slippers ready for the onslaught?” he said, gently pulling her aside as two footmen with a ladder rushed past them.
“Oh yes! I have been ready for days, with two alternative gowns prepared if Lily’s modiste fails me. Is it not time that the London contingent arrived?”
“I think it may be precisely time. Do you hear the sound of an approaching carriage?”
Excitedly, Sophia stepped around the artists busily chalking the floor and went out of the front door, then through the partially erected pavilion to the drive. The carriage decanted the smiling faces of Simon’s brother Andrew, the Earl ofEdlesborough, and his wife, bearing a well-wrapped package. Behind them, clutching a new bonnet to her head, was Juliet.
“We come bearing gifts!” Andrew cried, as soon as his feet were safely on the drive. “Lavinia has been carefully nursing yours on her knee all the way from town, Sophia, and it slept at the end of our bed at night, too. It is far too precious to be stowed in the boxes.”
“Boxes get rained on and thrown around and occasionally fall off and burst asunder,” the countess said, “and that cannot be permitted. Shall we go inside and see what Madame Labette has created for you, my dear?”
“Oh yes,” breathed Sophia, “but I must know — did you manage to acquire the other thing? For that is far more important.”
“Whatever can you mean?” Simon murmured, eyes twinkling. “What can possibly be more important than a ball gown?”
“Do not tease her, Simon,” the countess said. “Yes, Andrew has the special licence, so you two may be married whenever you please. Today, if you wish it.”
“The day after tomorrow, and not a moment sooner,” Sophia said in her severest tones. “Cousin Hester would be outraged if all her careful arrangements were to be set at nought. A ball tonight, a day of rest tomorrow and the wedding the day after that. One does not marry on impulse, just because one has a licence. It is simply not done.”
“Indeed!” the countess said, laughing. “Come, let us open this parcel at once, for I cannot wait a moment longer to see your gown.”
“I must find my sisters first,” Sophia said. “And Lily, too. They would not miss the occasion for the world. Juliet, will you come, too? Did you have a wonderful time in London?”
“Indeed I did,” Juliet said, a beatific smile on her face. “I have never bought so many gowns in my life.”
“And bonnets,” Sophia said, reaching up to touch a gently waving feather.
“Is it not the most delicious confection?” Juliet said, in awed tones. “And I havefour more!And gloves and boots and stockings and fans and the most beautiful little headband withdiamonds, Sophia! Diamonds!” She sighed euphorically. “I have had the most amazing time.”
“And so have I,” the countess said. “There is nothing more gratifying than having a lady to refurbish from top to toe, and at someone else’s expense, too. Simon has been very generous.”
Sophia giggled. “You must show us everything, Juliet. But first — my ball gown.”
And away she went, skipping into the house positively humming with excitement, Juliet in her wake, as the countess, bearing the precious burden, followed more sedately.
***
Simon watched her go, a smile on his face. She was so light on her feet, his Sophie. It was a joy to watch her make her way up the steps with a slight sway of the hips, her delicately lifted skirts revealing an inch or two of trim ankle.
“She will make a wonderful countess in the fullness of time,” Andrew murmured at his shoulder.
“To my mind, she is rather wonderful already.”
Andrew laughed. “So she is. Shall we go inside? You will want to check the licence.”
They entered the house and, stepping delicately past the ball preparations, made their way to the Chinese Room, which had become Simon’s domain while he worked on the plans for the orangery. Simon immersed himself in the florid language of thespecial licence, while Andrew gazed around the room, which had every surface covered in drawings.
“This is the point of access, is that right?” he said.
“Mm? Yes. That window there will be a door leading to the gallery and thence to the orangery.”
