Persuasion (7 page)

with nothing. Undisturbed, for she trusted Janie's taste implicitly, she

shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly. “Fine. Fine. Is my bath ready?” she

asked, more interested in the prospect of the soothing warmth from the hot

bathwater, which she hoped would ease her still racing heart.

“Aye. Waiting for you in the garderobe.”

“Fabulous! I feel rather disgusting.”

“Well, these town folks all smell rather disgusting to me, miss, and I doubt

you smell as bad they! Come, I let you sleep overlong so we must hurry with

your toilet.”

With a sigh, Lily acceded to her maid's wishes. Quickly, she was pressed into

the bath and she soaped her private areas and generally refreshed her body

from the damp blanket of sweat that had overcome her upon waking.

As soon as her thoughts pressed on her dream, she quickly scurried away

from it and concentrated on Janie's bustling form.

Once cleansed of the natural oils her body produced while sleeping, she

stood and patted herself down with a cloth before alighting from the tub and

returning to her chamber, where Janie had laid out her dress for ease on the

bed. At its side, were the jewels she was to wear.

Janie, armored with Lily's chemise, helped her change into it and then led

her over to the bed and helped her into the dress. Lily looked down as she

was molded into the silver material and still did not recognize it as one she

had selected from her modiste.

“Wait a minute, Janie! This isn't a dress of my aunt's choosing, is it?”

Janie tutted. “Honestly, that's from having far too many dresses for your

own good, miss, that is. Fancy not knowing! This arrived last week, after

your visit to that French woman.”

The latter was said with a sniff. Janie was certain Madame Boliage was lying

about her noble lineage and was instead a lady of the night. Not that Lily

was supposed to even have any awareness of that term! But then, Lily knew

of much that was classed as indecent for a virginal lady's ears!

“I don't remember it.”

“Well, I was there when you chose it, miss.”

“As long as that's the case. You know me, Janie, I'm never all that interested

when I'm at Madame Boliage's.”

“That's true. Is it any wonder your aunt was forced to make the decisions for

you, when you first came to town, miss!”

Lily grinned. She had always enjoyed Janie's forthrightness and in the midst

of the pompousness that was London, it was always refreshing to be scolded

by her maid. “Forgive me, Janie,” she said with a smile and curtsied her

apology. Her polite gesture was received with a snort and a tug on the

fastenings at her back, which had Lily yelping slightly.

When Janie had finished titivating, she moved to the looking glass and

nodded her approval. It was a deceptively simple dress, a complex mixture

of Roman styling and an Empire silhouette, high-waisted to suit the latter,

but resting in swathes and swags as befit a Roman toga. It was tight at the

bosom, but not indecently so and the silver added a rosy peach color to her

skin.

She sat at her dressing table and allowed Janie to dress her hair. Matching

silver velvet and silk ribbons were slotted through the curls and pulled into a

pleasant style that displayed Lily's face superbly. It was tousled yet as with

her dress, artfully and deceptively difficultly fashioned.

Her jewels were naught but wired ear rings and an arm ring, both cast in

silver with pearls adorning them. They augmented her appearance and had

she not had the threat of the night before cast over her, then there would

have been some sense of anticipation for the evening ahead.

As had been the natural course of the recent weeks past, she'd felt

excitement during her toilette but almost moments after arriving at

whatever jaunt her aunt was taking her to, it had instantly diminished into

that apathetic boredom. For wherever they seemed to go, there were always

the same tedious people, similar music, warm lemonade and the overlong

dances that seemed to go on for a decade!

Now, she wished for that! Wished that it could be so simple. For even

tediousness was a vast improvement on what she was feeling at this

moment in time!

Fear, dread, horror - the melange of emotions had a sick feeling settling in

her stomach and it added a greyish tinge to her skin, which thankfully wasn't

all that noticeable. Except to herself!

“There we are, miss. You look beautiful!”

“Thank you, Janie.”

“Those gents don't know what they're missing. Why you've not been offered

for yet, is beyond me. That silly girl, Lady Derst's daughter . . . . Well, I

know her maid and she says that she's never met a sillier and more

ridiculous chit! Yet she's had offers aplenty! It's not fair,” Janie complained

gruffly.

“Ah, but you're forgetting, Janie. I'm not silly enough to fall for the ploys of

the rake hells or those after my fortune. They know that and so, they steer

clear of me. And for that, I'm most grateful! Regardless of their unsuitability,

aunt would be pestering me to accept each offer! She's set on having me

married off, regardless of the gentleman. Well . . . I say that, but she has

different ideas on what is suitable. A man may be the veriest beast, but if he

has fifteen thousand a year, then he is Hercules come to life!” she finished

mockingly.

“Mayhap you're right, miss. Well, I've done my best and grand you're

looking too. Your aunt will probably be waiting for you, so I'd best be on my

way. I hope you have a lovely evening, Miss Lily.”

Smiling, Lily walked towards Janie and pressed a kiss to her cheek. She was

pleased to see the gruff maid blush at the gesture of affection and bob an

unnecessary curtsy. “Thank you, Janie and thank you for allowing me to rest

longer than my aunt wanted.”

She moved away and to her bedside table and then sought her penny purse.

Lily fingered through the few coins in there and retrieved a shilling, which

she then passed on to Janie.

“Buy yourself something pretty, Janie,” she murmured as she curled Janie's

fingers about the coin.

“Miss Lily! That's far too much!” the maid protested.

“You deserve it! I've been difficult these last few months, and the situation

must have tried you, yet you've had the patience of a saint and if mama

were here, she would have given you this herself!” she said, easily waving

away Janie's remonstrations.

With a smile, she exited before Janie could find the words to reply and left

the cream and gilt bedroom that had been her home for the last months of

her Season.

She alighted into the hallway and swiftly moved along the plushly carpeted

floor and down the grand oak stairs to the front entrance, where her uncle

stood waiting with his hat and cane in his hands.

“Ah, niece, you look delightful! Your aunt will be most pleased, I'm sure,” he

remarked with a twinkle in his eye.

“Yes, I'm sure, uncle. I believe dear Aunt Millie has decided that tonight I

shall find the gentleman for me, yet I fear she shall be disappointed!”

“I have long since discovered that one of your aunt's grandest talents is the

ability to be positive and enthusiastic in the face of adversity!”

“And I am that adversity?” she commented, amused.

“I'm afraid in this matter you are indeed, Lily.”

“I fear that I'm not as easy to match as she'd believed! I do promise that

I'm not purposely choosy, however I've yet to meet any man who can hold

my interest for more than two minutes!” Lily admitted with a laugh.

There was a snort from the stairs and both Uncle George and Lily turned to

behold their aunt, resplendent in tear-inducing chartreuse, tutting her

displeasure at Lily's words. “Honestly, niece! You do not even give the poor

gentleman a chance! Two minutes indeed! Pray, do not tell me that you are

one of these chits, who believe in love at first sight! Poppycock!”

“Aunt, I fear you have misinterpreted my words. I do not believe in anything

as foolhardy as that, but I do believe that I should at least enjoy my future

spouse's company. Just as you and Uncle George do and how my dear

mama and late papa also did. Surely you would not wish less for me than

you yourself have had the good fortune to experience?”

Millie turned her head to the side and Lily could see the battle taking place

behind those pretty features. She did not want to admit that Lily deserved

the same but she couldn't lie either. Instead, she sighed roughly and rolled

her eyes irritably. “Come! We must go!”

They were handed into the carriage and delivered smoothly to Lady

Rutherford's house, passing the various crowded streets as they traversed

from one end of London to the other. Uncle George's footmen lay wooden

boards upon the floor to protect Lily and her aunt's skirts from the horse

mess on the ground and they quickly stepped on to them and into Lady

Rutherford's mansion.

They were greeted by the Lady and her Lord and swiftly led into the

ballroom, where Uncle George soon left them to enjoy the party.

“I know you are more difficult than I ever imagined, dear child, but I

wouldn't change this for the world. While I wish your dear mama was here, I

cannot help but enjoy acting as your chaperone.

“Your uncle and I weren't blessed with children, though I prayed faithfully,

the Lord never blessed me with little George’s or Millie's of our own, but you

know I've always thought of you highly, my dear,” Millie murmured, her

voice faintly tearful as she gripped Lily's hand to impart the strength of

feeling behind her words.

“I know, aunt. I thank you for your patience!”

“I say all this, not to ruin my maquillage or both of our composure, but to

impart upon you my greatest wish for both you and your mama. I want to

find you the most eligible man available this Season. Coarse and crass it

may be, Lily, but it is the truth. You're a wonderful girl and I want nothing

less for you.”

“Thank you, aunt,” Lily replied with grateful eyes.

“You know, your mama and papa's engagement was discussed for years. It

was quite a scandal when they became affianced,” Millie murmured in a

confiding manner.

“It was?” Lily retorted, shocked by this revelation and unable to believe her

careful mama could be at the center of any scandal!

“Oh yes,” Millie imparted with glee. “It was quite the on dit and almost had

your grand papa close to apoplexy! I had never seen him so furious until the

day your papa asked him for my darling sister's hand. He was a notorious

rake, you know.”

“I certainly didn't, but I can imagine it! He was always the center of

attention at the balls we attended, but then mama was too.”

“Why, of course, they were quite the crème de la crème of any set,” Millie

replied without a whiff of jealousy. Lily could see it was the reverse. She

reveled in her sister and brother-in-law's notoriety. “While I was scornful of

love at first sight earlier, dearest, your parents met and in that instant, they

had fallen in love, for indeed, your papa would never have wed had he not

been deeply enamored by his fiancée.”

“Their love for another was as plain as the nose on my face. It was

wonderful to be raised in such a relationship as theirs and yet, Devlin and I

were never excluded.”

“No, of course you weren't. You were a manifestation of their feelings for

one another, my sweet. That is why it is such a shame your mama lost him

so soon. Twenty years pass in the blink of an eye,” Millie murmured, her

voice melancholic. “I myself have been blessed with George for a good four

and twenty and it is not enough. When one is in love, time travels so swiftly

for one is content. So how my dear sister must be coping is quite beyond

me.”

As they traversed the length of the ballroom, nodding and quivering their

fans as they acknowledged friends and acquaintances, Lily turned

unobtrusively towards her aunt. “Was grand papa truly set against father?”

she asked gently.

It took a great deal of strength for her to discuss her papa, but her mama

had rarely discussed their courtship and Lily highly doubted she ever would

now. Discussing the depth of love they had had for one another ensured that

Lily could continue to understand, regardless of how much or little time had

actually past, how her mother could and would continue to mourn her

father's passing. They had been true soul mates.

“Indeed! Papa was certain that he would discredit Julia's name, that Martin

wouldn't marry her and ruin her marriage prospects. He was convinced until

the actual day of their wedding, that Martin would do something to destroy

Julia and her reputation. My father loved your mama and I very much. He

was a gruff bear of a man and found it difficult to demonstrate his love and

so, when it was our Season, we were put through the trials and tribulations

of finding a man of whom papa trusted. It was impossible! To this day, I

believe that even though Julia and I made wonderful marriages, your grand

papa would still disapprove of our choices! No one was good enough for his