The boxes had been delivered to Lady Courtney’s town house and Marianne was now the proud owner of dozens of costly gowns, pairs of slippers, pelisses, reticules, silk stockings, fine kid gloves, night rails with lace, chemises so delicate you could see your fingers through them, and a variety of delightful bonnets. It was as if she’d awoken in a fairy tale.
She soon learned that Lady Courtney had always known who her father was. “Your father was adamant that I not say anything, Marianne. To you or your brothers,” Lady Courtney had told her by way of apology for keeping such a large secret.
“I understand,” Marianne had replied. “I suppose it finally makes sense why my father had a family friend like you, Lady Courtney. I had always assumed Papa had done some woodworking for you.”
Lady Courtney had given her a sympathetic smile. “I promised your mother on her death bed that I would look out for you. She would be so pleased to see you and David taking your rightful places in Society. She never wished it for herself, but she didn’t like to think she was keeping her children from assuming their birthright.”
Thathad made Marianne’s eyes fill with tears. She remembered all the times she and Mama had ‘pretended’ that she was a fine lady, about to make her debut, as she paraded around their little cottage in Brighton. That hadn’t been just a game to Mama, after all, she realized. She was trying to prepare Marianne for the possibility that she might one day live the life she was born to.
Her mother’s insistence that she learn French also made sense. She’d assumed it had been so that she’d have a chance of securing a better position as a governess or maid, but now she realized that her beloved Mama had seen to it that she and her brothers had been educated according to their stations in life.
Marianne had blinked away the tears. If she had to ‘take her rightful place,’ she wanted to do so in a way that would honor the memories of her parents. Despite her education, she hadn’t been raised to be the sister of an earl. How would she ever manage to learn all the complexities involved in being a member of theBeau Monde? The thought made her head spin.
The last thing Marianne wanted was to be introduced to Society. She’d heard enough stories of the snobbery and formality from Lady Wilhelmina to last a lifetime. How would the famously disapprovingtonreact to an earl’s daughter with little grace, who’d been serving as a lady’s maid? But Marianne had no choice. Marianne Notley was dead, and Lady Marianne Ellsworth was being reborn to take her place. In Society. The thought made her stomach lurch.
Lady Courtney had already told her she’d help sponsor her. Worse, Lady Courtney had also already begun to discuss Marianne’s debut. She was already twenty-three years old. Far too old to be a debutante. The entire notion was insane.
When she wasn’t worrying over her future place in ‘Society,’ Marianne couldn’t stop herself from thinking of Beau. Not an hour went by that she didn’t wonder where he was and what he was doing.
It was as if she’d lost a piece of herself the moment she’d said good-bye to him in that tent in France. It had been the most difficult decision of her life, and it had been difficult to live with every day since.
She missed him. She could admit that to herself. She missed him desperately, and she was not at all certain that she’d done the right thing in leaving him, but at the time it seemed the only choice to save her sanity.
What future had they had together? She’d had no idea that she was about to discover she was the sister of an earl. And now…now it was too late. She could hardly appear on Beau’s doorstep and say, “It turns out my brother is an earl—would you be interested in marrying me?” Besides, Beau had never mentionedmarriage. They’d merely had an affair. Why would she think he would want her as awife, even now? He’d made it clear that his work was the most important thing in his life.
Marianne shook her head to dispel the distressing thoughts that looped endlessly through her mind. She turned back to concentrate on what Lady Courtney had just said. “Two visitors? Who would want to visit me?” she asked her benefactress.
Lady Courtney replied with a kind smile just before the butler appeared at the door to the salon. “Lady Julianna Montgomery and Miss Frances Wharton to see you, Lady Marianne.”
Marianne gulped. She still couldn’t believe that, when someone said, ‘Lady Marianne,’ they were talking to her. And what were Lady Julianna—who she’d heard was the most popular debutante of the last three Seasons—and Miss Wharton doing here?
Miss Wharton no doubt would hate Marianne for her role in turning her father over for justice. But the thought that made her swallow even harder was the fact that these two ladies were betrothed to the Duke of Worthington and Lord Kendall respectively, and those two men were Beau’s closest friends.
“Show them in, please, Tinsdale,” Lady Courtney said for her. Marianne was grateful for the assistance. She’d never been called upon to welcome guests in a sitting room in Mayfair before. She’d scarcely any idea how to handle it.
To keep her hands from shaking, she clasped them together and placed the sweaty pair in her lap. But beneath her pretty light-blue gown, her silver-slippered foot was bouncing up and down on the rug.
Lady Julianna entered first. The tall, gorgeous, blonde was wearing the loveliest gown of celadon green. The color matched her eyes.
Miss Wharton followed behind her. When the brunette smiled, it reached her warm, dark eyes. Miss Wharton was wearing a pink gown and had a small, pink flower tucked behind her ear.
Taking her cue from Lady Courtney, Marianne rose to greet them.
“Lady Marianne,” Lady Julianna said, holding out her hands to grasp Marianne’s in hers. “I’m ever so pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Likewise,” Miss Wharton said. The two women exchanged a private glance clearly intended as a mutual agreement that they would act as if they hadn’t already met once on the middle of the night at the Duke of Worthington’s town house.
Marianne managed to mumble something about the pleasure being hers and to thank both ladies for their visit, which earned her an approving nod and encouraging smile from Lady Courtney.
After all four of them had taken their seats, and Lady Courtney had requested tea be served, Marianne watched the younger women with her heart in her throat, waiting for one of them to speak.
“I suppose you’re wondering why we’ve come,” Miss Wharton began, giving Marianne another friendly smile.
Marianne nearly breathed a sigh of relief. Miss Wharton got directly to the point—she appreciated that about her. “Yes. I admit I am.”
“There are two reasons, actually,” Lady Julianna replied. The lady sat with her back ramrod straight, causing Marianne to self-consciously straighten her own back. She feared she’d never be as proper as Lady Julianna, no matter how long she studied under Lady Courtney’s tutelage.
“The first reason is that we wanted to welcome you to Society,” Lady Julianna continued.
