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Nicholas waited untilthe last moment to enter the lavender sitting room. He was not the last one to arrive, though. His mother gave him a look for cutting it so close, but said nothing aloud, as to do so would require chastising one of her guests as well.
He looked around the room, noting that the only two open spots for him to sit were on either side of Miss Candile. He opted to remain standing. Coming to a stop next to the chair where his mother perched—and on the opposite side of the room from Miss Candile—Nicholas took in the women already in the room.
For the most part, this study told him nothing new. They were dressed in similar styles as the day before, they held themselves the same, and he knew before it happened which would meet his gaze and which would look away. Except Miss Pentry. He still had plenty to figure out about her.
Nicholas expected her to stare him down, but she was too busy watching the rest of the people in the room to pay him any mind. She had tucked herself deeply into a wingback chair, and her eyes were bright with interest as she watched the other women… do nothing. Yet the way she tilted her head this way and that, she found their silence fascinating.
Two minutes after the hall clock finished chiming the noon hour, the door opened one last time and Lady Beatrice rushed in. “Sorry, I lost track of time.”
She took the open space on the settee next to Miss Candile, not seeing the other woman’s glare, and sat with her back straight and her hands clasped in her lap.
Nicholas’s mother smiled indulgently. “I’m glad you are comfortable enough in the manor to lose track of time.” She stood up. “Now then, everyone, let us talk about what the coming month will bring. I won’t be coy. We all know the purpose of your visit. My son, Nicholas, is in need of a bride, and you ladies are the perfect candidates. This is not a competition, however.”
Lady Marstede looked over the women slowly, waiting until each met her eyes before moving on. “I want this month to be about getting to know one another and determining if matrimony would be a happy union. To that end, I have several activities planned. I also request that we eschew formality for the month and treat each other as friends and family so that we are not bogged down in the dictates of politeness, nor worrying about rank and relative stations. I invite you all to call me Madeleine.”
She turned her attention to Nicholas, and he recognized the cue for what it was. This, at least, was no hardship. “Please call me Nicholas.”
His mother’s smile widened. “Most of you met last night over supper, but as we have one final addition to our party, I should like to introduce everyone again, this time forgoing titles. Perhaps each of you could give your name and share something about yourself.”
Miss Candile jumped to her feet. “I am Abigail, and my grandfather is the Duke of Kinseran.”
“Thank you, Abigail,” Madeleine responded smoothly, though Nicholas noted the way the skin at her eyes tightened. Miss Can— Abigail’s need to mention her connection to a duke every time she opened her mouth had pushed even his mother to the edge of forbearance.
Abigail sat back down, and the other ladies stayed frozen, staring straight ahead. Except Miss Pentry. She took in theroom, glanced at Madeleine, and slowly rose to her feet. “My name is Sadie, and I love swimming.”
Abigail sniffed, her chin lifting, but the rest of the guests relaxed at this admission of an unladylike hobby. Jane Markens rose and tucked the blond curl her maid had intentionally left loose behind her ear. “I am Jane.” She bit her lip and looked at the floor. Then the rest of her introduction came out in a flurry of words said practically atop each other. “I enjoy making potions.”
Three of the six women Nicholas’s mother had invited recoiled at that admission. Half the potentials eliminated in one go, in his opinion. He had no intention of marrying a woman who distrusted magic. Even if it wasn’t discomfort about magic, but shock that a gentlewoman would admit to being a witch, he still didn’t want that in a wife. Not when it was likely his own magic would be inherited by any children they had.
He would not subject a daughter to a mother who treated a core aspect of her nature as a liability.
Jane, Sadie, and Beatrice were now the only women he felt compelled to still give a fair chance to. The others he’d be polite to, and play his mother’s games with, but he felt no need to give them any consideration beyond that.
The final three introductions passed with no incendiary comments. Helen enjoyed playing the harp, Beatrice liked to read, and Lenora painted watercolors in her free time.
Once Lenora took her seat again, Nicholas’s mother clapped her hands together. “I feel like we are getting to know each other better already. You must all get to know Nicholas as well, though. To facilitate this, he will accompany each of you on a tour through the grounds. Two today, two tomorrow, and two the day after that. You will each have an opportunity to talk with him individually while he shows you the wonders of Marstede. Jane, you shall be his first companion. Helen, you will join him later this afternoon.”
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Once Jane andthe baron departed the lavender sitting room, Sadie scooted forward on her seat. “Madeleine.” Strange, but calling the dowager by her first name came easily. As daunting as she was, with her perfect manners and composure, she was also approachable. Kind. Perhaps even possessing a sense of humor. At least, Sadie was more than half convinced the dowager had a sense of humor, even if she had no evidence.
The other women shifted, held their breaths, or sneered according to their natures as they waited to see how Lady Marstede would react to someone actually taking her up on the offer of informality.
Madeleine smiled, and the slight quirk to her lips had Sadie shifting the probability that she had a sense of humor higher. “Yes, Sadie?”
“I can’t help but notice that you talked about having many activities for us to do over the coming month, but only shared one.”
“Indeed.”At least one of them is brave enough to ask.“That is partially because my plans are still flexible at this point. I wish to get to know you ladies better and adapt to ensure you each have a chance to shine.”
Sadie had used her magic more today than she had in years. She hadn’t probed for the thoughts people hid, reading only those that rose to the surface and pushed beyond natural shields, but she hadn’t tried to hide from those. Nor had she traced the glyph on her amulet all morning. She had seen the baron’s image of Helen as a be-gowned credenza in the corner. She’d heard all of Abigail’s insults as each woman introduced herself. And now she hoped to learn what to expect in the coming weeks, even as she knew Madeleine had no intention of sharing all her plans.
“Partially,” Sadie prodded, just to see how the dowager would respond. “And the other reason you haven’t told us?”
“Because I wish to surprise Nicholas, and don’t know if any of you would tell him, in turn, before it was time.”
“You can trust me,” Abigail piped up.
