“Well, it might not have been planned, but now that she is here, surely she should not be left out of the fun?” Pricilla was adamant.
“I’m afraid that I did not know the earl well,” Elise spoke up so as not to put the hostess in an awkward position. “So you see, I would not fit with the nature of the party, and I do not wish to spoil the atmosphere.” The last was said with a placating smile as she tried to find a way out of participating. Lady Heather breathed a sigh of relief.
“Don’t be silly. I’m sure Lady Heather and the countess won’t mind one more person to help honor the late Lord Weston. What do you say?” Priscilla turned toward Lady Heather with a look of pure innocence. Elise couldn’t decide if she was being genuinely nice in her desire for Elise to feel included, or if she was scheming to add drama to the gathering. Either way, Elise wanted nothing to do with it.
“I suppose there would be no harm in Lady Elise joining us for dinner this evening, assuming no one takes issues with it,” Lady Heather said with a forced smile.
“Excellent!” Priscilla proclaimed with a clap of her hands. “It’s settled then.” Not knowing how she could back out now that the hostess had extended an invitation, Elise gave a slight nod of acceptance.
“We’ll gather at seven o’clock in the drawing room for drinks before dinner,” Lady Heather informed her. “We’ll see you there,” she said before the two women turned away, leaving Elise standing bewildered in the hallway, not sure how she had been roped into the event.
* * *
A few hours later, a knock sounded on Elise’s door, breaking her attention from the book she’d procured on her ill-fated trip to the library.
“Come in,” she called from her place on the bed, wondering who might need her. A head peeked around the door, and Elise recognized the maid who had assisted her when she first arrived at Cliff House.
“Lady Heather has sent me to help you prepare for dinner, my lady,” the maid said.
“Of course, please come in.” Elise stood and set aside her book. “I’m afraid I never asked for your name before—do forgive me.”
“Nothing to forgive, my lady, it was a difficult day.,” the maid acknowledged. “I’m Jenny.”
“Thank you for your help, Jenny, I truly appreciate it.” At the mention of the day of the accident, Elise felt tears welling up and blinked them away. She was ready for the day they would not be triggered so quickly, but she was also loath to forget the couple.
“I’m not sure if I have a dress with me nice enough for a formal dinner,” she mused.
“You do,” Jenny assured her. “I packed one when I gathered some of your things, just in case. It’s in the back of the wardrobe.”
“How very efficient of you,” Elise said with a smile. “Then I guess I had better get dressed as I’m expected downstairs.”
As Jenny helped her prepare for dinner, she felt as if she were returning to her former life. Donning a formal dress felt foreign after so long but also sent a secret thrill up her spine when she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her appearance held an elegance she had not bothered to achieve since settling in the dower house. While her gown was several years old, it was cut in a classic enough silhouette to not appear dated. Stroking the emerald satin, she marveled at the supple feel of the fabric and admired her figure in the empire-waisted gown.
Jenny set to work curling Elise’s hair for an intricate updo, briefing her on all the gossip while doing so. Nerves setting in, Elise only half listened, but tuned back in when she heard Lady Priscilla mentioned. She was surprised to learn that Lady Priscilla was widowed shortly after marrying an elderly duke. It seemed that the countess and Lady Wrexham had been friends for years and were now scheming to match her with the new Lord Weston.
“While it seems to be the mother’s pulling the strings, Lady Priscilla certainly isn’t wasting her opportunity to flirt with his lordship whenever she can. Looks like a right fool batting her lashes so much—like she has something in her eye,” Jenny prattled on, oblivious to Elise’s growing unease as she continued to listen. “Lady Wrexham was bemoaning how she would go from a duchess down to a countess, but she is pushing for the match anyway based on the strength of the family name.”
Elise wasn’t sure she liked how unsettled she felt at the thought of Weston with Priscilla on his arm. A pit opened up in her stomach thinking of their union, and she wanted to hide rather than descend to the drawing room. Why did Priscilla feel like a rival all of a sudden? She certainly had no claim to the earl, but after the care he had shown her in her grief, she felt an affection for him that she couldn’t ignore.
“There, all done. You look lovely if I do say so myself.” Jenny smiled at her in the mirror as Elise took in her handiwork. She did look lovely, and a part of her she had not indulged in a long time wanted the others at dinner to notice. She may have been forced from their ranks, but she wanted them to see that she had prevailed even with their condemnation. If forced to participate, then she wanted to do so with confidence and make them see they had not broken her.
“Thank you, Jenny, I feel ready now. You have given me a kind of armor, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” Smiling at the maid, Elise stood and made her way downstairs.
Standing outside the door, Elise took a final deep breath before opening it and walking in as confidently as possible—as if she belonged there and had never been away. The first thing she noticed was Weston. He stood directly across the room and his eyes lit up when he saw her. She offered him a smile, but when she looked at who he had been conversing with, her smile dropped, and the confidence she had felt just a moment ago drained away.
CHAPTER13
God, he hated house parties. It was only day two of this weeklong affair and Reid could have strangled his mother for foisting this on him. Thankfully, since the ruse for the event had been to honor his father, the guests were composed of people he knew well, so he did not have to force conversation too often. That didn’t mean he necessarily liked everyone who now occupied the house, but he at least knew how to move amongst them and keep everyone appeased with the least amount of effort possible on his part. And if his mother thought he would find a match in this crowd, she was going to be disappointed.
Lady Priscilla, Dowager Duchess of Stern, was clearly his mother’s first choice. She, his sister, and Lady Wrexham had been doing everything in their power to throw the two of them together over the past day and a half; however, she did not capture his attention the way Lady Elise did. Reid felt bad that she had been sequestered away and practically banished to her room, but she did not seem offended and had expressed relief at not needing to mingle with the others. Still, though he had not seen her since the guests arrived, she was never far from his thoughts.
Talking with Lord Dorsten, Reid thought he was hallucinating when he glanced up to see Lady Elise entering the drawing room. She looked stunning in a simple but elegant green gown with her hair in delicate braids and curls, making her gorgeous coffee eyes even more pronounced. His breath caught in his chest as she smiled after spotting him across the room, putting him at ease once more. But as he watched, her eyes drifted away from him to scan the room, and all the color suddenly drained from her face. She quickly turned, exiting the room, and he didn’t even think before following.
Reid rushed after her, catching a glimpse of her skirt rounding a corner. He followed blindly for a minute before hearing a sound in the next corridor. When he finally laid eyes on Lady Elise a moment later, she was bent over, leaning against the wall for support as she gasped for air.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, running forward and grasping her arms. “Elise, tell me what’s happening. What do you need?” He didn’t even notice he had dropped the honorific from her name as he was too preoccupied with ensuring her safety.
Continuing to gasp for air and unable to speak, she reached out a shaky hand and clutched at his sleeve. Leaning towards him, Reid supported her as Elise closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing, taking in deep breaths. After a moment, she slid from his grasp to the floor and placed her elbows on her knees, cradling her head in her palms. He crouched beside her and placed a hand on her back. The connection seemed to ground her, and her breathing began to slow. She seemed just on the verge of coming back from wherever she had retreated when someone else joined them.
