‘Perhaps they didn’t hear it,’ whispered Lucinda. So I rapped again, and we waited some more.
Eventually, a maid wearing a white cap with a frilled edge poked her head out.
‘Can I help you?’ she enquired, somewhat tartly.
‘Yes. I am Felicity Fitzroy, and this is my niece, Lucinda. We are staying with the Austens. Are they in?’
‘No, ma’am, but they should be back shortly.’
‘Did they say we would be arriving?’
The girl shook her head. ‘Not to me, ma’am, but I come only in the afternoon to help cook.’
We were ushered into an entranceway, and I felt rather disgruntled by Jane and her relations being out—in my head, I had been expecting a joyous welcoming party! But I quickly adjusted my frame of mind. Something must have occurred, a last-minute engagement or some such.
Lucinda fiddled with the pearl button on her glove and peered down the narrow hallway. ‘It is strange they are not here to greet us,’ she said, sounding nervous.
‘There is nothing to worry about,’ I replied, removing my hat and its pin with some relief. ‘They probably had an afternoon engagement and were kept later than expected. They are no doubt hastening back to greet us as we speak.’
Because theywereexpecting us on this date andhadn’tforgotten about us, surely?
The maid showed Lucinda and me to a bright and airy drawing room with a picturesque view of Queen Square. ‘I’ll let Mrs Bromley know you are here,’ she said and went off. I assumed Mrs Bromley was the housekeeper.
Restless and wanting Jane to materialise, I paced aboutthe room while Lucinda perched on a high-backed floral sofa.
Mrs Bromley came in momentarily. She was a stout woman dressed entirely in black and most apologetic, saying that we had been expected tomorrow and not today. But of course, we should make ourselves comfortable and that the Austens were expected back very shortly. She would ask Alice (presumably the maid we had met) to bring us tea and refreshments forthwith.
Indeed, as soon as she stepped out of the room, I heard a man’s voice in the hall greeting her; and a few seconds later, a handsome sandy-haired gentleman entered the drawing room. He was of medium height, rosy complexioned, and dressed in a light-brown tailcoat, embroidered waistcoat, and olive-green breeches.
He started upon seeing that the room was occupied by us and looked momentarily confused.
I smiled at him, recognising Jane’s third brother. He had been adopted out to rich relations at a young age, but I had met him once or twice in Steventon when he had come to visit. And I had heard much of Godmersham Park from Jane and Cassie, which he had inherited five years past.
‘Hello, Edward!’
He blinked at me. ‘By Jove, Felicity? I hardly recognised you. You look quite the lady of the manor.’
I stared down at my light-blue travelling pelisse, which I was still wearing, the room being rather chilly. My attire had been upgraded, I supposed, as Max provided me with a generous allowance; and I had my own personal dressmaker, who was skilled in creating the latest fashions from Paris. Thanks to her, I had brought with me to Bath several dresses for dancing and not just two, as I had despaired of having in Steventon.
Edward went back into the hallway and called out, ‘Hie up, Jane, your friends are here!’
Jane came running into the room, carrying her pelisse and reticule. Her mouth dropped open when she clapped eyes on me.
‘Flissy! But we were expecting you tomorrow, the twenty-fifth!’
I shook my head. ‘It was the twenty-fourth, dear. But it is no matter, as long as you did not forget we were coming at all.’
Quickly, she deposited her items on a chair and crossed the floor to grasp my hands and kiss my cheeks in greeting.
‘Of course not! I am sorry I wasn’t here to welcome you. IfIhad known, I wouldn’t have gone out.’
‘It is quite all right. We were kindly welcomed by your housekeeper and made comfortable. We have not been kept waiting but a quarter of an hour, so it is of no consequence. I have beenadmiring the view, and Lucinda has been resting.’
I gestured to the girl to stand and meet my friend, and she did so and gave a curtsy. She did have such nice manners and was always obliging in that respect. There was no sulkiness or scowling to put up with, which was a relief.
‘How do you do, Miss Austen?’
‘Very well, thank you, Lucinda,’ said Jane, nodding to her.
