"I had not understood quite how many there were," Amelia said as Jane removed another.
"Fourteen so far," Clara replied from the chair nearby.
Amelia looked down at the growing heap. "Mama was very fond of them."
"Then you must present them to her," Harriet said. "She may add them to her own wardrobe."
Amelia's laugh escaped before she could prevent it. Jane smiled and continued her work, removing another rosette and smoothing the silk beneath it.
"The gown itself is very pretty," she said. "Once these are gone, the colour will suit you beautifully."
Amelia ran one hand over the altered skirt. "I do not know how to thank you."
"You have already done so at least five times, my dear," Lady Frances replied, adjusting the lavender crown as it slipped towards one ear. "If you continue, Miss Bennet may begin to charge by the rosette."
That drew another laugh from the room and allowed Amelia to settle more comfortably among them. Elizabeth, seated beforethe dressing table, watched her with some relief while Miss Grey secured the final pins in her hair. Miss Grey had also grown up among four sisters and possessed a particular talent for arranging curls, which she had offered readily when Elizabeth despaired of her own. Amelia had been tense when she entered, uncertain of her welcome, but the strain had begun to leave her face.
Miss Drummond placed Miss Lacey's drawing upon the mantelpiece where Mr Ashcombe's sour expression could be admired by everyone. "We have discussed Lady Frances's victory at some length," she said. "I believe it may now be time to turn to the more important consequences of the afternoon."
Harriet immediately looked interested. "The gentlemen."
"Naturally."
Mrs Cartwright, who sat near the foot of the bed, gave a small shake of her head. "I begin to understand why Lady Hortensia sent our companions to the Dower House."
"They would only interrupt," Harriet replied.
"Our mother certainly would," Clara said.
Harriet ignored her sister and fixed her attention upon Mrs Cartwright. "Mr Hadley applauded you most fiercely today."
"He was being kind."
"He has been very kind to you since we arrived," Miss Grey observed.
Mrs Cartwright looked towards the fire, though the colour in her cheeks had already betrayed her. "Mr Hadley is kind to everyone."
"Not in quite the same manner," Elizabeth said.
Mrs Cartwright turned to her with mild reproach. "I had thought a captain ought to protect her team."
"From injury, certainly. You are entirely on your own when it comes to admiration. You shall just have to bear it."
The smile Mrs Cartwright tried to suppress made further argument unnecessary. Harriet, satisfied with the result, turned next to Amelia.
"And what of Mr Henry Blackwood?"
Amelia nearly dropped the rosettes. "What of him?"
"He watched you throughout the archery."
"He did not."
"He did," Clara said. "Though with rather more restraint than Colonel Fitzwilliam has shown with Miss Bennet since the moment we arrived."
Jane's scissors paused against the thread. The colour rose slowly in her cheeks as several of the ladies turned towards her,and for a moment she gave all her attention to a single stubborn stitch before looking up.
"The colonel is most agreeable."
