Her mind wandered to Lord Primrose once again. Had he called upon her today? Nay, she doubted he would. His interest last night was purely to escape the others at the party. And truth be told, she did not even know if he had a wife. Or a fiancée. The topic never came up in their conversations, of course. Why would it?
She pushed herself off the bed and forced herself to walk over to the vanity. A soft knock at the door alerted her to her maid,Joan, that Gil had most likely summoned to help her prepare to meet their guests.
“Come in,” Willamina called and Joan opened the door, quietly closing it behind her, before dropping into a curtsy.
“My lady, I was told ye may need some help getting ready for your suitors.”
“By my cousin, I presume.”
Joan blushed and nodded.
“’Tis all right. Ye give me someone to talk to instead of that bull-headed oaf of a cousin.”
Joan bit her lip to keep from giggling.
“Ye can laugh ye ken. I willna tell a soul.”
Joan smiled but held back her laugh. “I shall no’, my lady. But I will admit the image was comical.”
“Well, let us get me ready to face the wolves. Did ye by chance happen to see how many have arrived?” Willamina asked as she sat at the white vanity table.
Joan picked up a brush, and started to work it through Willamina’s tresses.
“I canna say for certain, but I believe Domenic answered the door no less than five times.” Her blue eyes were bright with glee.
“Five?” Willamina gasped. “I didna realize I had made such a strong impression during my limited time at the party.” It was surprising when she’d only spoken to two men other than Gil.
Joan began pinning Willamina’s hair up into a bun, taking care to leave some wisps free to gently frame her face.
“From what I have heard, ye did. Ye are the current talk of Edinburgh.”
“Och dear. I dinna want that. Isna there someone else they can focus on?”
The maid pushed the final pin in her hair and patted her shoulder. “Dinna fret. I am certain that this will pass. ’Tis justthat ye have recently arrived and all the eligible bachelors have taken a fancy to ye.” She wrapped a velvet ribbon around the bun. “An event like that will get all the lassies on the husband hunt talking. Ye are competition that they didna expect.”
As her cousin kept reminding her, she did need to marry. Her feelings on the matter played no part. If she wanted to retain the money and holdings from her marriage to Gerard, she had no choice. The only way to do so would be to marry. Her assets would then shift to her new husband.
The trick was finding a husband that would allow her to do what she wanted with said assets and not squander them away for his own endeavors.
She didn’t need a love match, but she wanted to be respected. Mayhap she could catch the eye of someone who wanted equal companionship and would just let her be.
She sighed. Men were not looking for a wife on paper only. All her problems would be solved if they were.
Willamina bit her lower lip, deep in thought. What if she caught someone’s interest too much? He might then decide to look into her past, and if that happened… Well, then he would learn the truth about her and her past. Did she want that? They would think she was a con artist.
“Now, what gown would ye like to wear, my lady?” Joan asked, pulling her from her thoughts. The maid was standing in front of the wardrobe, its doors thrown open to reveal the contents inside. “’Tis a fair day today. Mayhap this lovely jonquil gown?” She held up the dress and Willamina nodded.
“That one will be fine, Joan.” The beautiful shade of yellow would accent her dark chestnut hair.
Joan frowned. “Ye dinna seem happy about the choice. We can choose another.”
She stood and approached the maid. “Nay, nay, there is naught wrong with your choice. I just dread going downstairs and having to be on display like a prized pig at the county fair.”
“I could only wish that five men would appear on my doorstep for the sole purpose of gaining my hand in marriage.”
Willamina felt like she had been punched in the gut. “Och, how insensitive of me. I didna mean to sound ungrateful.” She clasped Joan’s hands and squeezed. “Ye will one day meet the man of your dreams and it will be the best thing in the world. I just know it.”
“I do hope that to be the case.” She held up the jonquil gown again. “This one then?”
