Lady Saunders set her teacup on the plate rather loudly. “Even with a long courtship, you cannot know everything. I was quite surprised to discover that Lord Saunders has absolutely no affinity for hot cocoa!”
Lady Chelton nodded. “I can attest to that. I promised never to tell.” The sly smile on her face made it very clear that she’d told everyone as if it was the greatest secret in the kingdom.
“That hardly qualifies. The former Lady Ferncroft appeared happy until after the heir was born. The poor woman practically hid away here.”
Since Ellie was aware of the discord between Darius and his late wife, the observation did not surprise her as much as the fact Lady Watkins would make it a topic of conversation. “Yes, mylord did explain that he and his late wife did not suit as well as they had both hoped.”
Lady Watkins picked up her teacup. “It must have been him, because Dinah was an absolute angel.”
A slight gasp came from the settee, but as Ellie faced Lady Watkins, she didn’t know which woman had made the sound. “I do not pretend to know the former lady. However, I do know my husband, and I can see no reason why the former lady would complain of her lot.”
Having defended Darius after Lady Watkins’s rather bold statement, Ellie returned her attention to the other ladies, who were obviously aghast at the turn in the conversation.
“Has no one told you that he can be a monster? Or so Dinah named him. She said he was mad, and I’m very sure she was the target of his tirades. She told me she hid in the nursery, where it was safest. I do hope that you will find him more reasonable.”
Ellie felt her face heat at such disparaging remarks about her husband. Boxing the ears of the baroness, as she’d done to Lord Ferriday when he’d been rude at the Stocktons’ final ball last Season, would not be looked at kindly by her neighbors, but she refused to put up with such behavior.
She turned her head back to look at the woman who tried to appear sympathetic but couldn’t hide the glee in her gaze. “Lady Watkins, I find my husband very reasonable. In fact, I do believe he may find me to be the one who is less than reasonable. For example, by the fact that I must ask you to leave after being so rude as to blacken my husband’s reputation only to satisfy your own need to gossip about those who are better.”
The woman opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything, as if no one had ever set her down for such behavior.
Ellie rose. “Plutarch was quite clear that while hate may be directed at any man or beast, envy’s sole focus is on those of superior status. But it was Socrates who said, ‘Envy is the ulcerof the soul.’ I would suggest that you meet with the vicar to work on saving your soul. Thank you for calling, baroness.” She held her arm out toward the open doorway.
The woman snapped her mouth shut and stood. She started toward the doorway then halted, looking at Lady Saunders and Lady Chelton. “This is the kindness I receive for trying to help. Forewarned is forearmed.” With that, she breezed out the door into the entry.
Ellie stood frozen, trying to let go of her anger, but she couldn’t seem to. It was one thing to attackher, as her family had often done, but to attack someone she cared so strongly for had her hands curling into fists.
The sound of the front door closing jarred her from her focus. She looked toward the ladies on the settee, trying to form an apology for such harsh behavior but finding herself unable to.
Lady Saunders clapped her hands together. “That was wonderful! I can’t tell you how often I’ve wanted to throw her out. I’m beyond pleased that you are our new marchioness.”
Ellie blinked. “Truly?”
Lady Chelton waved her hand as if to dismiss the entire ugly scene. “Do not worry. We will be sure to tell everyone how rude she was to you. I don’t think there’s a person within twenty miles from here who hasn’t borne the brunt of her jealousy.”
Relief swept through Ellie, and she sat again still a bit shaken, even if she hid it. “Do you truly think Dinah said those awful things about Lord Ferncroft?”
The two ladies exchanged a glance before Lady Saunders spoke. “I don’t know if she confided in the baroness. She didn’t confide in us, but she did let it be known that she wasn’t happy.”
“Every time we spoke.” Lady Chelton rolled her eyes. “We all have our crosses to bear. No one’s marriage is perfect. There’s bound to be squabbles, misunderstandings, different opinions. It’s just like living with our families. Everyone has their ownunique personality. But Dinah seemed tothriveon being melancholy.”
“I think she enjoyed people feeling sympathetic toward her, though why she’d want that kind of attention, I don’t know.” Lady Saunders paused. “To be honest, we stopped calling on her the last year, and she didn’t visit either of us. So, unless she called on the other two ladies in the area, the baroness may have been the only one she could talk to.”
“That wasn’t very good of us.” Lady Chelton shook her head.
Lady Saunders lifted her chin. “We didn’t simply stop calling. We first asked her to converse about other topics and let her know that we felt sad instead of gladdened after visiting her, but she continued.”
Ellie’s sympathy for the late Lady Ferncoft had lessened after the baroness’s revelations. “It would appear that the former lady made a poor match and wanted everyone to suffer with her. I do understand her being unhappy, but to say such horrid things about her husband is unconscionable.”
Lady Chelton reached out and squeezed her hand. “No need to think about it anymore. We are both delighted that you and Lord Felton are pleased with each other.”
“I am grateful to you both. I am happier than I have ever been, and I know that we will be great friends.”
Lady Chelton sat back. “So tell us about your plans for the season. There is usually a small festival in the village that we all like to attend. I do hope you and the lord will be there.”
Ellie smiled, finally relaxing. “Can children attend as well?”
“Yes, they can. We bring our three every year.” Lady Saunders laughed. “They enjoy themselves immensely, as there is usually a puppet show and bobbing for apples.”
