Page 35 of Her Whole Heart
“My aunt thinks he is a nice enough man,” Amelia confided, “but unless you like him very much, she thinks you can do better.”
“Amelia, that is enough,” Jane said, though she did so gently. “I do like Mr. Bingley or I should not have accepted his request to call.”
“That is very romantic!” Diana said with a little sigh.
“It was only one call,” Jane said weakly.
For the present, Elizabeth thought. She caught Jane’s eye. She would stop this if her sister was truly uncomfortable, but Jane shook her head. She was well.
Cordelia had yet to speak, but now she asked, “Do you find him handsome, Jane? For yours is the only opinion that matters.”
Jane nodded.
“He is also very amiable,” Amelia said. “My aunt said so. But she thinks he might be too young to be a husband to anyone. My uncle told her not to worry, because more than one man of his acquaintance was a boy until he met the woman he wished to wed.”
“Amelia,” Elizabeth said, suspicious, “have you been listening at doors?”
She laughed. “No. There are always so many people in Carlisle House that secrets are very difficult to keep, so Uncle and Aunt do not take much care to hide conversations such as these. If they must speak about what is happening in the Lords or anything truly private, then they close themselves up in my uncle’s study, but otherwise. . .”
Jane sighed a little. “I suppose Lady Carlisle has a right to an opinion, given that she is both our hostess and our chaperone. But I do not wish to dobetterthan Mr. Bingley if all that means is social position and wealth.”
“Social position and wealth are what everyone wishes for in a match, Jane,” Cordelia said. Her words were friendly.
“Not me,” Jane said stoutly.
“I think Mr. Bingley is very handsome,” Amelia said. “I do love men with blond curls.”
The other ladies smiled at her. “I would hope,” Elizabeth said, “that you will seek more than a pleasing head of hair when it is your time to be courted.”
“Well of course I shall,” Amelia said with a lopsided smile and a roll of her eyes. “I may be romantic, but I am not stupid. We shall all have to like the man we wed more than anyone else, for we shall have to share a house and a life with him. I could not abide a man who always smelled of horse, for example.”
“No officers for you, then,” Diana teased. “Although I suppose that does not include the navy.”
“Oh, the navy officers are very dashing in their uniforms, but he would be away more than at home, and that I would not like.”
Elizabeth was impressed that her friend had given so much thought to the sort of man she would prefer. As far as Amelia’s behaviour went, she had not expected the girl was seriously looking for a husband this season. She said as much.
“I am not,” Amelia replied. “That does not mean, however, that I am not prepared, should the right man happen to drop from the sky.”
Cordelia shook her head. “What an image you paint. How fortunate it would be if it rained handsome, intelligent, independent gentlemen this season. I might even ask for one who would be pleased if his wife had interests of her own.”
Diana was silent, and Elizabeth wondered what sort of man would make her new friend happy. She would have to keep her eyes and ears open for a gentleman who deserved her.
“Mr. Bingley is not my suitor,” Jane insisted, and Elizabeth realised she had been wool gathering. She pulled her attention back to the conversation.
“Not yet,” Amelia said with glee. “But if you allow it, I think he very soon will be.”
The tea arrived, which caused Miss Jacobsen to stir at last and rise to join them. She carried her spaniel with her, and Elizabeth was charmed by the dog’s sweet face. That is, until he growled at her.
“What is his name?” she asked.
Miss Jacobsen smiled brightly. “Wilson,” she said, stroking his silky fur. “Do not mind him. He has been rather grumpy since Cordelia’s falcon attempted to make off with him. Bloodthirsty beast.”
“Nonsense, Margaret!” cried a booming voice from the doorway. “You cannot fault the bird for doing what comes natural.”
A man stood in the doorway, and Cordelia rose. “Papa,” she said, “I was not expecting you for tea.”
“Oh, I will not interrupt your gathering, my girl,” he said while he stepped inside. “The boys and I will have refreshments later, in the billiards room.” Several men about Mr. Torrington’s age crowded in behind him, all dressed for sport, all with ruddy complexions as though they had just come in from the cold. One younger man stepped to the side to wait for the rest of his group. Elizabeth thought he might be the son of one of the men.
