“Will you be all right here?”
“Of course,” she said, smiling for Louisa’s benefit.
Winston saw the lie in her eyes, but duty’s pull was strong.
She will come to no harm in such a public place.
He followed his mother through the throng, every step pulling him further from Adeline.
Adeline stayed close to the wall, where the crush was thinner. Louisa had found a seat near the refreshment table, beckoning to Adeline to join her. Adeline did so, glad to occupy herself with punch and cake rather than constantly scanning the crowd for unwelcome faces. She tried to breathe evenly, to remind herself that the fear was irrational. The chandelier light shimmered on every jewel and smile, each face a blur of color.
Louisa added her chatter to the babble of the assembled ladies and gentlemen. Adeline fought down her fear to respond, smiling and hoping that Louisa saw her responses as gay and bright as the occasion demanded. The crowd surged and moved with tides and currents of its own. In one shift she saw to thefar side of the room where Winston stood alone with a slender young woman who had golden hair and a swan’s neck.
He stood with hands clasped behind his back, head bent attentively as she spoke.
“Father should be talking to you, not her,” Louisa said, petulantly.
“Your father has a duty to the Dukedom,” Adeline said, unable to take her eyes from Winston.
“He should do what makes him happy,” Louisa replied.
“And what is that?”
“Marry you, of course,” Louisa said.
It came as such a shock to hear that Adeline’s head snapped around to the girl. Louisa looked back innocently.
“I see how you are with each other,” she said. “You bite and snipe, but I know it is just because you both care. If you didn’t, you would just ignore each other.”
Adeline snapped her mouth shut and hid a smile, not wanting to encourage Louisa’s reasoning. But inside, she was immensely proud at the feat of emotional intelligence Louisa had just performed.
She is cleverer and more mature than any of us give her credit for.
“You confuse friction with…”
“I do not, and you will not convince me otherwise. I will speak to Father about it. He should see sense.”
“Please, don’t do that, Louisa,” Adeline said.
“Why?”
“Because he is a Duke and must marry accordingly. I am not a suitable match for him. And I am an employee.”
“So resign,” Louisa said with the utter conviction that only a child can manage.
“That will not change anything.”
“It will remove the barrier of your being a member of staff.”
“Do you not want me to be your governess any longer?” Adeline asked.
“It would be better if you were my…” Louisa flushed and hid her face by burying it in her punch goblet.
“Your?” Adeline probed gently.
“It doesn’t matter,” Louisa said, hurriedly, face scarlet. “Here comes Grandmother.”
Cordelia was emerging from the crowd, looking very pleased with herself and constantly looking back to where Winston still conversed with Lady Victoria.
