Still looking dubious, Sophia acquiesced. “Well, you might look in on her. She’s having troubles with her spectacles.”
Rhoda would take care of Emily’s troubles. The spectacles would have to remain on Emily’s dresser this evening. “She really does have fine eyes, you know, Soph?”
Sophia laughed at that. “If only she could see out of them!”
Emily’s Plan
Rhoda found Emily’s room easily enough, knocked on the door, and then turned the knob without awaiting an answer. Sitting in the middle of the room with clothing strewn about, Emily appeared paler than usual and somewhat distraught. “Emily, are you unwell?”
“Rhoda?” Squinting one eye, Emily stared in Rhoda’s general direction. What on earth had come over the poor girl?
The room appeared to have been ransacked.
Rhoda picked her way through the discarded garments until she could examine her friend more closely. Ah, something was amiss with her spectacles. One of the glass pieces had gone missing. “What have you done to your glasses? You look strange. One eye is larger than the other.”
In Emily’s rather roundabout way of explaining things, she spit out that she’d dropped them in the coach during their journey and then somehow stepped on them. “And now I cannot locate my spare pair, and I’ve no maid to assist me with any of this!” Emily didn’t become upset often. Apparently, the pressure her parents had been exerting was distressing her.
“You silly girl.” Rhoda paced across the room, called for a maid, and then began scooping Emily’s atrocious gowns off the floor. Browns, ugly dull green colors, and some dark lavender ones. Anybody would think the poor girl was in mourning. “What have you packed? The old usual? If you don’t wish to live out the rest of your life in Wales, we’ll need to come up with gowns more appealing than these.”
“My predicament! What of yours? I’m so sorry Mother wouldn’t allow me to attend the garden party with you. You didn’t experience any… difficulties, did you?”
Rhoda froze for the slightest moment and then swallowed hard. She’d notimaginedbeing shunned at the garden party. If Emily’s mother heard something… Did Rhoda really wish to know? Even though her heart raced, she pretended nothing had been amiss.
“Where do you think you put the spectacles? Inside the trunk? Did you wrap them in a cloth or something? Could they be with your jewelry?”
“In a little green drawstring bag.”
“Hmph.” Rhoda searched around without locating anything of the like. At the same time, she pushed down the panic Emily’s words invoked. What were members of thetonsaying about her? “I don’t see anything like it.”
“Nothing untoward happened, did it?” Emily seemed to sense Rhoda’s disquiet.
Untoward? But yes! With Lord Kensington’s behavior and all the ladies not speaking to her! And of course, her dunking in the lake.
The worst by far ought to have been Flavion’s advances. He’d thought he could touch her inappropriately. He’d shown her none of the respect or deference that a lady deserved.
Ironically, though, it was the gossip that troubled her now. She could not very well confront it and squash it off. At least with Lord Kensington, she could fight back. She could strike out at his attack with her knees and fists.
Unable to ignore Emily’s question, Rhoda dropped into the nearest chair. “What have you heard?”
Emily’s mismatched eyes widened at her question. “You mean you don’t know? Sophia didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
Rhoda braced herself. What were they all saying?
“Well…” The normally blunt Emily seemed to hesitate over her words. “It seems that some sort of a wager has been placed. At White’s, the gentlemen’s club.”
“About me?” A wager? What had St. John done before having the inconsideration of dying on her? He must have told somebody about what she’d done… about what they’d done.
How many times would her poor judgment come back to haunt her? She’d hoped his feelings, his intentions toward her, had been respectable.
But she’d not acted like a respectable lady. She’d acted like little more than a light skirt.
He’d led her to believe he loved her. But he’d not come out and admitted it. Nor had he made any promises.
She’d been so foolish. She’d trusted him with more than her heart. She’d trusted him with her body!
Ice flowed through Rhoda’s brain at the thought of strangers knowing. She covered her mouth with one hand, feeling the contents of her stomach lurch.
