“I am not dancing again,” he said, a note too quickly.
Harriet laughed, and it soothed him to see that she did not try to cover it. “Not that, Papa. Although, youarea better dancer than I thought you would be; it is just a pity I did not inherit it.” She got up off the armrest, clearly too agitated to sit. “No, I was wondering if you might allow Frances and me to venture into Bath? A little visit to the modiste? I cannot very well debut with dresses that must be at least five Seasons out of fashion by now. PerhapstenSeasons by London standards!”
“There is nothing wrong with your dresses,” Dominic replied, gesturing vaguely at her. “Thatwas purchased not six months ago.”
“Father, do you wantme to be a success or not?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch, his eardrums shivering. “I cannot seem too… provincial. And I will have Frances and Catherine to help me choose well, in a way I cannot do on my own. They havelivedin London, Father; they know what everyone is wearing these days.”
“Clothes, I expect,” he replied dryly, a half-smirk upon his lips.
Harriet rolled her eyes, her hands clenched into fists. “This is not funny, Father! This my future and you are not taking it seriously.”
He noticed that she only ever called him ‘Father’ when he had done something to displease her, and ‘Papa’ when she wanted something from him. For a moment, he was struck by a blow of sudden sadness, as he remembered her as a little girl, running to him, calling him ‘Papa’ always. And how he, in turn, had ignored her sweet call for attention, forever insisting that he had other, more important, things to do.
What an idiot I was, trying to be like a man who cared for nothing. Trying to be like my father.
That guilt alone almost compelled him to agree to the outing… but he managed to hold permission back for a moment.
“Harriet, if a gentleman decides he has no interest in you because of what you are wearing, then he is not worthy of you,” he said, his throat a little tight, for this was not a comfortable conversation. “In truth, you should attend these upcoming ballsand events in a gown of potato sacks, to see who is truly interested in you for who you are, and not what you wear or what you are worth in terms of dowry or connections.”
Harriet’s mouth fell open, her gaze wide with abject horror. He could almost see the vision of herself sweeping into the Assembly Rooms in a gown of hemp flashing across her eyes.
“But… that is not how things are done,” she countered, recovering quickly. “And you just said yourself that an institution cannot be overthrown with a few defiant acts. So, please, let me have some lovely dresses to wear. Please, Papa!”
He puffed out a breath, already knowing that she had won this argument. There was nothing he could have denied her now, considering all he had denied her in her childhood. But he did not want her to know the full extent of the guilt that gnawed at him, lest she use it to her complete advantage.
“If you are to have this excursion, there will be rules,” he said crisply. “I will determine an amount of money before you go, and it is not to be exceeded; I will be accompanying you, and I will not accept any complaints or you will not go at all; and you will not choose anything that might attract the wrong sort of attention. The gowns will be tasteful and elegant, not too garish or, heaven forbid, French.”
Harriet giggled. “You would not know a French gown if it hung from your study windows as a curtain.” She shrugged, triumph gleaming in the eyes that were so like her mother’s, that same dusky blue. “But I accept your terms, as long asyoudo not mindbeing snickered at when you enter the modiste. You should ask Frances; it is not the place for a gentleman.”
“Nevertheless, I will be in attendance,” he said, already dreading the excursion.
He did not like to visit Bath at all if he could avoid it, filled with all of the friends and associates that his wife, Althea, had relished so much. People who would wish to greet him, when he did not wish to be greeted. Indeed, when he had agreed to his daughter debuting, he had not thought of how it might openhimback up to society’s opinion. Their too-polite inquisitions, at the very least.
May I introduce you to my daughter…
Have you met Lady This or Lady That…
What a tragedy it was…
But you have no sons…
You must be in want of a new wife…
His mood darkened like the rainclouds outside, blotting out the sunshine of the picnic earlier.
“And before we leave,” he added, his tone firmer, “I want you to apologize to Lady Frances, as you have apologized to me.”
Harriet snorted a laugh. “I havealreadyapologized to her, Father. She was the first one I visited.” She whirled around and practically skipped toward the door, a reminder of just how young she really was. “And now, I shall run along and tell her the wondrous news! We had a wager.Shedid not think you would agree, so now I shall have an extra sixpence to spend as pin money!”
Dominic would have scolded her for gambling, with Frances of all people, but Harriet was out the door before he could utter a single sharp word. Maybe that was for the best, for he could not promise he would not have used it as a reason to reject this entire endeavor.
It cannot be avoided.
Better to remind himself how to behave in Bath society now than embarrass Harriet and ruin her chance of success in London society, in a few weeks. Indeed, maybeheshould have employed a tutor for himself… or maybe he could ask Frances to refresh his memory.
Surely, there could be no harm in that?
CHAPTER NINETEEN
