“If you want to be noticed by all the gentlemen at the parties tonight, then this is the dress for you. You look young and stunning, Auntie.”
Mae beamed. “I’ve had a fichu made to cover it until I can get out of the house, so June won’t see it. She wouldn’t approve.”
Sophia was certain of that. Suddenly Sophia took her aunt’s hands and said, “Come sit on the window seat with me. I want to talk to you.”
“All right.”
They settled onto the velvet-covered seat, and Sophia said, “I’ve been pondering this for the past few days. I think it’s time we told June that you want Sir Randolph to make it known that you would be amenable to gentlemen calling on you.”
Mae pulled her hands out of Sophia’s and leaned away from her. “Oh, no.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t do that. You know I can’t do that.”
“You must, Auntie. What we have been doing is not working. We have tried to get the gentlemen who call on me to engage with you, but we haven’t had much success.”
“No, that’s not true,” Mae argued. “They all talk to me and smile at me once in a while. They all enjoy hearing the story of mine and June’s birth. Well, maybe not that Mr. Parker Wilson, but he was such a stuffy prig. And, he isn’t that handsome anyway, is he? But all the others have been kind.”
“Yes, but they came here expecting to call on me. Not you. They can’t develop designs on you, because they don’t know that you are available to be courted.”
“It may not be working yet, but it can. It will,” she said enthusiastically.
Sophia smiled indulgently at her. “Look at how splendid you look in your opulent red dress, Aunt Mae. With your three strings of pearls around your neck and the lovely white feathers in your hair, you will be the belle of the ball. You have lived June’s life for years, and it’s time you came out and lived your own life.”
“Oh, I want to,” Mae said excitedly. “I just don’t want her to know.”
Sophia decided to try a different tactic. “What would you do if you found a beau? If he came to call on you, June would know. You couldn’t hide him from her.”
“Hmm. I hadn’t really considered that.” She seemed to think on it for a moment and then said, “I know. I could meet him in the park.”
“You know that won’t work. June walks with you to the park each day.”
A knock sounded on the door. “Sophia, dear. Are you dressed?”
Mae jumped off the seat fearfully and whispered, “Shh. Don’t answer her.”
“I have to answer,” Sophia whispered. “She knows I’m in here.”
“No, she can’t see me in this dress. You must do something.”
“Sophia.” The doorknob turned, and then the door rattled. “Sophia, is your door locked? Sophia?”
“Don’t,” Mae mouthed.
“Just a minute, Aunt June,” Sophia called. She turned to Mae. “It’s time you found that courage you were looking for earlier.”
Sophia walked over to unlock and open the door.
“What are you two doing in here with the door locked?” June asked, relying heavily on her cane as she walked into the room.
Sophia turned back and saw that Mae had grabbed a pillow from the window seat and clutched it to her chest.
“We were just having a chat about gentlemen,” Sophia said, hoping to encourage Mae to be truthful with her sister.
“And you needed to lock the door for that?” June asked and then made her clucking sound.
Clearly June was thinking there was more to the story. Sophia looked at Mae, who stood wide-eyed and rigid with fear.
“You look lovely, Sophia,” June said. “I approve of the dress you chose. And what do you have on, Mae? I don’t recall seeing that shade of red among your gowns.”
“No, it’s new,” Mae said, her eyes looking glassy with guilt.
“Then let me see it.”
Mae timidly walked around in a tight circle to show June the back of the dress, but she didn’t lower the pillow.
“It’s lovely. I wouldn’t have chosen that dramatic ruby shade for you, but I think it goes well with your coloring.”
“Thank you,” Mae said stiffly.
“Since I’m not going tonight, why don’t you wear my black velvet cape. The one with the velvet ribbon and jeweled neckline.”
“That would be nice. I think I’ll do that. I’ll go get it right now.”
Mae walked past June, and as she did, June reached out and grabbed the pillow, saying, “Don’t take Sophia’s pillow with you, silly—Good heavens, Mae! What do you have on?”
“I don’t know,” Mae said, seeming terrified.
Sophia wanted to stay out of the conversation, knowing it was really between her aunts, but felt compelled to say, “Tell her, Aunt Mae.”
Mae remained mute and shook her head.
“Tell me what?”
“Nothing. I’ll just go to my room and change.”
“Aunt Mae wants a beau,” Sophia said, not knowing if it was her place to say it, but June had to know.
“A what?” June asked and wrinkled her nose as if she were looking at a soiled piece of laundry.
“She wants to be courted by a gentleman, Aunt June.”
“Well, she can’t,” June said, lifting her chest, her shoulders, and her chin defensively. “I won’t allow it.”
Sophia looked at Mae, wondering if she was going to bow to June’s commands once again or stand up for herself.
“Sister,” Mae said quietly, “in this you have no say.”
“Of course I do,” she said emphatically, clearly affronted Mae had the gall to question and defy her. “Now go take off that dress and put on something appropriate for your age and place in life to take your niece to the parties.”
Mae promptly stomped toward the door, and Sophia’s heart dropped. But all of a sudden, Mae stopped and turned back to June. “No, not this time, Sister. Tonight I will wear what I want, and I want to wear this gown.”
June’s bottom lip quivered. “You can’t wear that. It’s… it’s too revealing and downright scandalous. That gown won’t get you courted, it will get you bedded.”
“Then that will be all right too,” Mae said.
June gasped.
Sophia felt triumphant.
“No,” June demanded. “I can’t allow you to be hurt that way. You don’t know how painful it is.”
Mae looked confused. “I don’t intend to get hurt. I intend to enjoy myself.”
“But you will be hurt. Men will tell you how beautiful you are and how much they want to kiss you and touch you, and then when you let them, they won’t ever call on you again.”
Sophia saw tears gather in June’s eyes, and her heart broke for her strong, unbending aunt. So there was a man in June’s past.
A faraway expression settled over June’s features, and Sophia knew the years were rolling back for her.
“It was our first Season. You remember Mr. John Phillip Bailey, don’t you, Mae?”
“Yes,” Mae whispered softly, inching closer to her sister.
“He was so handsome, so dapper, so dashing. And he thought I was the most beautiful young lady he’d ever seen. And I was, wasn’t I.”
“You were gorgeous, Sister.”
June’s lips smiled sadly. “We danced and chatted at every party. And when we went into the garden, I let him kiss and touch me so many times. And it was so wonderful.” June closed her eyes for a moment, and slowly the expression on her face changed from serene into a bitter frown. “But after all we had shared, he decided he wanted someone else.”
“Why did you never tell me?” Mae asked affectionately.
“I couldn’t. No one ever knew, but when he rejected me and told me he was going to marry someone else, a titled man’s daughter, I almost ended my life that night.”
“No,” Mae said in earnest, her gaze never leaving her sister’s face.
“Yes, I did. I thought long and hard on it, bu
t I didn’t end my misery and heartache. I suffered through it, and I still endure it every day because of you.”
“Me?” Mae asked.
“Yes, I lived so I could keep you from making the same mistakes I made. All these years I have shielded you from the hurt and the anguish of being used and rejected.” She took her fist and pounded it over her heart. “I did that for you.”
Mae stepped closer to June. Sadness clouded her eyes. “And I appreciate all you have done for me.”
“Then prove it,” June demanded harshly. “Take off that dress!”
“No, June, that time has passed.” Mae inhaled deeply. “I might be hurt. I might even be deeply wounded one day, but I can’t be hurt until I have loved. I want to know what it’s like to love a man.”
June huffed bitterly. “Then go and wear your revealing gown and have all the men gawking at you—and at your age! It’s shameful. But don’t come running home to me when your heart is broken, because I won’t be here for you.”
June turned and hobbled from the room. A few seconds later, Sophia heard a door slam down the corridor.
“What have I done?” Mae said.
“You helped your sister face a past she didn’t ever want to see again.”
“Do you think she will ever forgive me for making her tell that story?”
“Of course,” Sophia reassured her aunt. “I think she will pout for a few days, but she will come around. I’m willing to bet she loves you more than she hates her past.”
“I wonder why she never told me she had been hurt so badly that she almost ended her life. I thought we shared everything.”
“It was obviously something that was very hard for her to bear.”
“But I could have helped lighten the load for her,” Mae said sympathetically.
“And you will. You already have. She no longer has to carry that burden alone now that you know.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Do you think we should pass on the parties and stay here with her tonight?” Sophia asked.
Mae studied over her suggestion. “No. That might make her think I have weakened. I must admit I am tempted to take off this gown and stay here with her. But I need to go out tonight and wear this dress for me.”
“All right.” Sophia smiled. “I’ll meet you downstairs in a few minutes.”
Mae kissed her cheek and hurried out the door.
Sophia sat back down at her dressing table and smiled. Mae certainly knew how to get Sophia’s mind off her troubles with Matson. She was even more eager to find him and clear up their misunderstanding.
“Miss Hart?”
Sophia looked up and saw the housekeeper standing in her doorway.
“This was just delivered, and the man said he was told it must be given to you straightaway.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Anderson.”
Sophia waited until the woman was gone before she opened the card and read:
Miss Hart,
I have spoken with Lord Snellingly. He and I have agreed to change partners for Lord Tradesforke’s May Day Fair Day alfresco event on Saturday. He will meet you at the park at the appointed hour and be your partner for the day.
Mr. Brentwood
Sophia’s heart broke.
Twenty-two
The course of true love never did run smooth.
—William Shakespeare
It had taken Sophia two days, but she had finally gotten mad at Matson.
How dare he trade her for the beautiful Miss Craftsman, with her clear olive skin and hair as dark and shiny as a raven’s feathers? And of all the gentlemen in London to trade her to—Lord Snellingly!
If Matson hadn’t wanted to attend May Day Fair Day with her, he could have at least changed with the younger, stronger Lord Hargraves, so she would have had at least a chance of beating him in the rowboat race. The only way Sophia could imagine Lord Snellingly in a rowboat was with a servant doing the rowing while he read poetry. The only other worst possible choice would have been the amorous Lord Bighampton.
She had tried to refrain from wondering if Matson had taken Miss Craftsman for a practice session on the Serpentine. The only thing she could hope was that there hadn’t been enough time.
Sophia took out the last dress hanging in her wardrobe, looked it over, sighed, and then threw it on top of all the others she had piled high on the bed. She had morning dresses, day dresses, and carriage dresses, but none of them seemed appropriate for the kind of dress Matson had described for a day of excitement and activity in the park. Her aunts had successfully seen to it that every piece of clothing she had was adorned with lace, ribbons, bows, or buttons, with many of them having a combination of all four.
She knew Matson was right when he’d told her that dresses adorned with elaborate sewing notions were simply too fancy for outside games and frolic. Sophia was strong and determined, and even with Lord Snellingly as her partner, Sophia planned to be respectable competition for Matson and all the other people in the rowboat race. And she intended to enjoy herself and not even look at Matson should he dare come near her.
Standing with her hands on her hips at the end of the four-poster bed, she studied the mountain of garments in front of her. The May Day Fair Day was tomorrow. She had to make a decision. She would go through them all again and decide which one would be easiest to remove the trim, and to do it herself. If she mentioned it to her aunts, they would surely insist that Mrs. Franco should come and do it for her. Sophia couldn’t bear the thought of more endless hours standing on that woman’s seamstress stool.
Sophia started her search again and finally picked up a dark gray morning dress with short, puffy sleeves. The black bows on the hem of the sleeves and at the jewel neckline should be easy enough to remove, and so would the wide sash that tied in the back. She held the dress up to her. She also needed to make the hem of the skirt shorter, and that would be the difficult thing for her to do, but do it she would.
“What are you doing?”
Sophia turned toward the doorway and saw her aunt June, leaning on her cane and staring at all the dresses heaped on the bed. Sophia moved in front of the pile of clothing in hopes of keeping it from looking so rumpled.
“Good morning, Aunt June. You’re up early.”
“That’s because I’ve been going to bed earlier since I haven’t been able to attend any of the parties because of my ankle.”
June hadn’t lost the sauce in her voice since she had revealed her past to Sophia and Mae two nights ago, and she hadn’t softened her stern expression any either.
“I’m trying to decide what to wear tomorrow for the May Day Fair Day in the park.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you needed a new dress? I’ll call for Mrs. Franco to come at once. She can make the dress just the way you want it. She is a wizard with patterns, and her workers are fast.”
“There really isn’t time for that, Aunt June. I’m sure this dress will be perfect if I take off the bows and shorten the hem. I’m used to doing the finer stitchery with an embroidery sample, but I think I can handle a sturdier sewing needle.”
June walked farther into the room. “Well,” she said cautiously as she looked over the dress in Sophia’s hands, “I could help you with that if you would like. I have the time.”
Surprised, Sophia said, “That would be lovely.” Sophia didn’t mind her aunt helping, she just didn’t want her taking over. She explained to June what she wanted done to the dress.
“Give the dress to me. I’ll do it for you.”
Sophia continued to hold the dress in front of her. “I don’t want to bother you to do all of it. I can help.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, taking the dress from Sophia. “It’s never been a bother for me to do anything for you. Besides, it will make me feel useful. I used to be quite handy with a sewing needle.”
“You did?”
“Yes. You know when your mother, Mae, and I were young girls, we only had one maid, not
three and four like most homes have today. Our maid had all she could do just taking care of the cleaning and cooking. We girls, your mother included, had to take care of our own mending.”
Sophia felt a quickening in her stomach. “I would like to hear more about that time, Auntie.”
June’s shoulders relaxed a little, and Sophia saw a hint of a smile. She saw a softening in her aunt, and she was drawn to it. Suddenly Sophia knew that her aunt was going to be fine.
“All right. I’ll do this for you right after breakfast. You can watch me to make sure it’s done just the way you want it, and I’ll tell you more about your mother’s childhood.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“I’ll go put this in my room and meet you below stairs in a few minutes.”
Sophia walked down the stairs and into the breakfast room. Sir Randolph was sitting at the head of the table, reading his newsprint. “Good morning,” she said.
He folded the paper and laid it aside. “Is that a smile I see on your face?”
Sophia showed him an even wider smile as she walked past him and over to the buffet. “You sound like that surprises you.”
“It does. The last two days, you’ve been walking around here like you’d lost your best friend.”
“I woke this morning and decided I was not going to let Mr. Brentwood keep me from enjoying the day tomorrow.”
“That’s the way to be.”
“Will you be going to the May Day Fair Day?” Sophia asked, helping herself to scrambled eggs, cheese, and scones.
“I wouldn’t miss it. I’m sure Lord Tradesforke has worked hard to make it very entertaining. Though, you know members of the ton don’t need much of a reason to have a party or a good time. Tell me, did you ever find out if Mr. Brentwood was the one who found your mother’s brooch for you?”
A pang of sadness and regret stabbed through Sophia. She was glad her back was to him, because the smile quickly faded from her face. She couldn’t let him know how deeply she felt about what Matson had done. She couldn’t let anyone know.
Amelia Grey - [Rogues' Dynasty 06] Page 22