Page 6 of The Viscount's Forgery
“I am well aware that this is meant to be the Season whereyouare meant to find a match, but the matter of the Marquess is still at the fore,” Polly reminded her, throwing her words over her shoulder. “Once that is at an end, we shall see whether it is to be you or I who are a part of the marriage mart.”
“Now, now, my dear. I am sure that the Marquess will consent to the engagement, as he did before.”
Eugenia watched as her mother made her way to Polly’s side, leaving Eugenia behind. She put an arm around Polly’s shoulders, encouraging her to smile and to appear as bright and as contented as could be, and then began to walk away through the crowd.
“You, no doubt, will want to go to see your friends.”
The voice of her father reached Eugenia’s ears, pulling her attention away from her mother. She looked up.
“Yes, father, I should like to.”
He nodded, though his smile was a little heavy. “Very well. Though you know that we are not to hear of thisbluestocking book club,yes?”
Eugenia inclined her head. “I understand.”
“Then go,” he said, gesturing to his right. “But make certain you are always in company and please, for your mother’s sake as much as your own, do try to make certain you dance with at leastonegentleman!” He gave her a rueful smile and then followed after his wife, leaving Eugenia to stand alone for a few moments.
She sighed heavily and looked down at the floor in an attempt to regain her composure. These last few weeks, both of her parents had been heavily focused on Polly, though her father had done a good deal to make certain that Eugenia was as contented as she could be. It was a strange place to be in, for they were all still waiting for the Marquess to make his decision, which meant that the best place for them all to be was London. Eugenia would have the opportunity to make a match of her own, and Polly, should the Marquess refuse her, would have ample gentlemen present with whom she might then begin again. There was, of course, the severe hope that the Marquess would settle his mind upon Polly, but the months they had been waiting had been difficult. Eugenia had silently thoughtthat Polly might be better off pursuing another gentleman and ending the connection with the Marquess entirely, but had seen the pain in Polly’s eyes whenever the Marquess had been mentioned and had understood it to be a foolish idea.
“You are standing alone, Eugenia.”
A voice made her look up, her eyes meeting the smiling face of Lady Isobella. “Good evening, Isobella. I was coming to join you, but I became distracted in my thoughts for a moment.”
“I saw your father speaking with you as your mother and sister made their way to the center of the room,” Lady Isobella said, her voice quiet despite the noise around them. “Your sister is still upset then, yes?”
Eugenia, who had told her bluestocking friends about the situation, nodded. “Yes, she is. But the Marquess is here this evening, I think, so I do not know if that means they can meet and discuss matters. I do hope so.”
“As do I,” Lady Isobella said, sighing. “In truth, I do think that there is often so much pain and struggle in these connections, sometimes I wonder if it is worth the pursuit!”
“I could not tell you,” Eugenia replied, slipping her hand through her friend’s arm. “My sister quite believes that I will never find a suitable match, and truth be told, I am a little concerned that she may be right.”
“That is nonsense,” Lady Isobella declared. “I am quite sure you will be able to find a suitable gentleman when the time comes.”
“Though I am quite contented being a bluestocking,” Eugenia added, with a smile. “Even if I must never speak a word of it to either my father or my mother.”
This made Lady Isobella wince. “Your mother still does not know of your desire to read and to learn all you can?”
Eugenia sighed and shook her head. “I am not certain. It may be that sheisaware of it but has chosen not to consider it or evenlet herselfthinkabout it, given how much it would upset her! Or, she has been so caught up with Polly that she is completely unaware of what I do. The longer I spend in her company, the more I see just how much time and energy she gives to Polly, the more I believe that the latter is the truth.”
Lady Isobella’s lips flattened. “That must be difficult.”
“My father is aware of it, at least. Ever since Polly stated it aloud, he has taken that knowledge to heart and we did have a conversation about it all.” Eugenia shrugged. “I am not to speak about it to him, that is all. I can learn all I please and read all I please, just so long as I do all that is expected of me at the very same time… and do not speak of it to anyone, not even my father.”
Her friend glanced at her, then looked away again. “But you are part of the bluestocking book club. Surely that must mean that your family is aware of your intelligence and pursuit of furthering that knowledge by now!”
This made Eugenia laugh, though it was a rueful sound. “You may think so but both Polly and my mother have been so taken up with thissupposedengagement that they are not in the least bit interested in anything I do.”
With a sigh, Lady Isobella turned her head and looked straight into Eugenia’s face. “You must find that very difficult.”
“Yes, I do,” Eugenia answered, without hesitation. “It has pained my heart a good deal and will continue to do so, I think. But at the very same time, I understand it. They wish to salvage this engagement between Polly and the Marquess, and therefore, the focus must be on that and that alone. I only wish that he would make up his mind so that things might be known, one way or the other!”
“Indeed. That has been a very long time.” Lady Isobella glanced at her again. “You say he spoke to you?”
“Yes, but I made sure to speak very carefully indeed about Polly,” Eugenia answered, a twinge of guilt in her heart. “I wanted to make certain I had done nothing to make their connection more difficult. As much as I might find Polly a difficult sister, I should like her to be happy, and Idobelieve that she has a genuine affection for the Marquess, though I did not say that.” She pulled her lips to one side for a moment. “Mayhap I should have done.”
“You could speak to him again on your own, I am sure,” her friend suggested. “If he is here, then why do you not say that very thing to him? I am sure that he will not take offence.”
Thinking on this, Eugenia took a few moments to respond. “Mayhap. I should like to ask him how long he is going to take to make his decision, for he has been quite torturous in all of this, making Polly wait as she has been.”
