That would never do. One of Miss Fortescue’s golden rules was “Don’t show you are nervous.” She slowly loosened her hold on the braided cord and relaxed her breathing.
A smile brightened the young lady’s face. “How lovely of you to come calling on us. We haven’t had any visitors since we’ve been in Town, but of course we’ve only been here a week.” She strolled farther into the room. “Auntie Eve said we shouldn’t seek anyone out.” She sighed and then gave Esmeralda a most pleasing smile. “We must wait for them to call on us, and now you have.”
Esmeralda wondered if perhaps the young lady had misunderstood her name so she said again, “I’m Miss Swift.”
The friendly smile stayed on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Swift. I forgot to introduce myself to you. I’m Lady Sara. I’m so glad you stopped by today. My sister and I are eager to get to know some young ladies and start our Season.”
Lady Sara didn’t recognize Esmeralda as her new chaperone. That put Esmeralda in a quandary. Why? Did it mean the duke hadn’t told his sisters about her? Or that she was coming this morning to start her position as their chaperone? If she was correct, Esmeralda didn’t know if she was horrified or amused by his failure to do so.
“Please sit back down. I’ll arrange for some refreshments to be brought in while we visit. It will only take a moment to tell Sparks and then I’ll be right back.”
“No, no, Lady Sara. Please don’t go to that trouble.”
“But I must,” she beamed. “My goodness, it’s no trouble at all. It may be a little early in the day for a social visit, but I don’t mind you bending the rules. I think most of them are stuffy anyway, don’t you? But never mind that now, you’re our first caller to stop by and welcome us to London. I’ve been absolutely famished for a guest. I adore my sister and my aunt but I’ve been dying to meet someone else, so I’m certainly going to treat you properly. Now sit back down.”
“But you see, I’m not here just for a visit.” She paused, not knowing exactly what she should say.Where was the duke?“There are other reasons I’m here.”
“How wonderful. I look forward to hearing what they are. Now, please do make yourself comfortable. Go ahead, I insist.”
“Sara,” another female voice called from the front of the house. “Did you find the book for me?”
“I haven’t found it,” Lady Sara answered, walking over to the door way and looking out. She motioned to someone. “Come into the drawing room.” Lady Sara looked back at Esmeralda. “It’s Lady Vera. I know you want to visit with her too. She will be as pleased as I am that you dropped by to introduce yourself to us.”
“No,” Esmeralda said, stepping forward. “I-I think you might misunderstand who I am.”
Suddenly, Esmeralda considered another of Miss Fortescue’s golden rules and felt like groaning. She was failing miserably at “Don’t get flustered. You must be in control of whatever situation you find yourself in.” It had never dawned on her that the duke wouldn’t have mentioned her arrival to his sisters.
What kind of brother was he?
Obviously the kind who couldn’t be bothered with minor details!
“I don’t know where I could have left it,” Lady Sara’s twin said as she entered the room and stopped as abruptly as her sister had at the sight of Esmeralda.
Esmeralda stared at her in astonishment too.
The two young ladies looked identical right down to the way their hair was parted on the left and swept up in a pile of curls on top of their heads. She’d never seen two people look so much alike. If they hadn’t had on different-colored dresses Esmeralda wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart. Their height, eyes, nose, and lips were the same. Their carriage, countenance, and the way they looked her over from head to toe were exactly the same too.
Esmeralda had seen twins only once in her life, and they had been young boys whose hair wasn’t cut the same style. Because of that, it had been fairly easy to tell them apart.
“Who are you?”
“I’ve already asked her that. She’s Miss Esmeralda Swift. Our first visitor.”
“Lady Vera,” Esmeralda said and curtsied as she studied their faces carefully, hoping to see a distinguishing mark on one that the other didn’t have. She found nothing. Not a mole, a freckle, or a twitch. It wasn’t natural for two people to look so much alike.
Her annoyance with the duke grew. Not only had he left her on her own for way over an hour, he’d not given his sisters her name. It was just like the titled not to give a fig about the feelings of the less fortunate.
“I’m sorry, my ladies,” she said with as calm a smile as she was capable of giving under the circumstances, “I am not here to visit with you.”
“Oh,” Lady Sara said, her smile fading. “I must have misunderstood. I thought you had come calling on us.”
Hearing the disappointment in her voice, Esmeralda felt compelled to add, “That is to say, I’m not here to visit you in the manner that you are thinking about.”
Esmeralda’s hand tightened on the braided cord of her reticule again. She didn’t know what to do. The only thing she knew for sure was that she didn’t want to make a mistake on the first day and tell the duke’s sisters why she was there if he wasn’t ready for them to know.
While at first she hadn’t wanted this position because of the responsibility of Josephine and Napoleon and her lack of clothing, now that she had it, she would not willingly give it up. This was too important to their future. If the duke was satisfied with her, she felt certain he’d be willing to give her an excellent reference so that she could obtain a position with another family when this one ended. She didn’t want to upset him by saying or doing something she shouldn’t.
So what was the right thing to do?
