One
NEWYORKCITY
JANUARY1885
“I’m sure you’ll agree, my dear, if you take a moment to ponder the matter, that it might be for the best if we put all plans for our upcoming wedding on hold ... perhaps indefinitely.”
Miss Drusilla Merriweather sucked in a sharp breath, which immediately resulted in her choking on the sip of tea she’d just taken. Wheezing promptly commenced and continued for what seemed like forever, until she was finally able to settle eyes that were now watering on Mr. Elbert Herrington, her fiancé—or perhaps not, given the words that had just come out of his mouth—who was sitting across the table from her in the middle of Rutherford and Company’s tearoom, watching her somewhat warily.
“Forgive me, Elbert,” she managed to say in a breathy voice that now held a bit of a rasp. “It’s quite unlike me to sputter about, but I fear all the sputtering was a direct result of me obviously mishearing you. It almost sounded as if you were suggesting we end our engagement.”
Elbert leaned over a table draped in fine linen. “I’m afraid you didn’t mishear me, Drusilla.”
She stilled. “You’re breaking our engagement?”
“I think it would be better if you’d do the breaking.”
“Better for whom?”
Elbert settled back in his chair. “Surely you must realize that having you decide we won’t suit, and then letting society know it was your choice to end matters, will allow you to maintain your dignity. It will also allow you to avoid having everyone assume there’s something wrong with you, which you know is the conclusion everyone within the upper crust always arrives at if a gentleman ends an engagement.”
Drusilla’s mind went curiously numb, as if she simply couldn’t comprehend the nuances of a conversation she’d certainly not been expecting to hold with a man she’d been engaged to for well over two years.
“What exactly is it that you think is wrong with me?” she finally managed to ask.
“I didn’t say anything was wrong with you,” Elbert countered. “I merely pointed out that if I were to dissolve our engagement, everyone traveling within our social set would assume I’d done so because you’re deficient in some respect.”
Drusilla pressed a finger against a temple that was beginning to throb. “I’m probably going to regret asking this, but what deficiencies, in your opinion, would everyone decide I possess?”
“I don’t believe there’s any need to delve into that,” Elbert said, bestowing his most charming of smiles on her, but a smile she was not exactly finding all that charming at the moment.
“Why not?”
“Because disclosing any faults I believe youmightpossess, and faults society will undoubtedly pounce on if I end our alliance, will most assuredly leave you reaching for your smelling salts to stave off a fit of the vapors.”
“I don’t frequently suffer from fits of the vapors.”
“You’ve fainted at numerous balls over the years.”
“From lack of oxygen due to the tight lacing that’s required to enhance a fashionable silhouette—but one that’s not exactly conducive to gallivanting around a ballroom.”
Elbert waved that aside. “There are many other ladies who present more fashionable silhouettes than you do who never faint dead away after they’re done with a dance.”
She was forced to set aside her cup when she realized she was gripping the delicate handle far too firmly. “Did you ever consider that those ladies are slenderer than I am and, as such, don’t need to be laced as tightly to achieve that oh-so-fashionable profile?”
“An interesting theory, and one that now has me wondering if you should consider abstaining from sweets for the foreseeable future in order to avoid the threat of future fainting episodes.”
Her jaw immediately took to clenching. “Are you suggesting I’m plump?”
Wariness once again flickered through Elbert’s eyes. “I was merely voicing a solution to your fainting problem.”
“I don’t have a fainting problem, although I may soon have a temper problem if we continue discussing my figure, so ... what other faults do you think I possess that society will bring to my attention if I don’t agree to end matters with you?”
“I’m not sure disclosing that information is going to help with that temper problem you just mentioned.”
Drusilla lifted her chin. “I’m sure my other faults will not be nearly as disconcerting as having you point out my less-than-svelte figure, so by all means, disclose away.”
Elbert’s gaze began darting around the tearoom, his smile returning when his attention settled on Miss Deerfield, a lady who’d been deemed a Diamond of the First Water, and who was currently enjoying tea with her aunt. After inclining his head when Miss Deerfield sent him a waggle of her fingers, Elbert turned back to Drusilla, his smile fading straightaway.“I never realized you possessed the ability to turn difficult, my dear, but I’m going to suggest you discontinue with that unpleasant behavior posthaste, as it’s not a trait any gentleman finds attractive in a woman.”
