Page 3 of A Duke to Undo her
Rose jumped up and curtseyed too as she greeted Josephine’s sisters shyly but then she gave a little involuntary squeal as she saw the bundle in Lady Ophelia’s arms.
“Oh, it’s little Matilda! How sweet and tiny she is, Lady Kilderhorn. What a beautiful child.”
“Here, you may hold her if you wish,” laughed red-headed Ophelia, holding out baby Matilda to Rose’s eager arms. “Matilda is fed and freshly changed and therefore in a good temper. I assure you she is less sweet when hungry or uncomfortable.”
“It’s hard to imagine when she’s like this, isn’t it?” Madeline marveled, holding out a finger to the smiling child’s grasping little hand as she lay in Rose’s arms.
“We came out to tell you that it’s five o’ clock,” said dark-haired Constance, helping herself to lemonade. “You ought to get ready for tonight’s ball. Remember that Lord and Lady Silverton live almost an hour out of town.”
“Five o’ clock!” remarked Madeline. “My, we have lost track of time sitting out here this afternoon, and all of us need to get ready for the Silverton Hall ball. My father will be wondering what has happened to me. Rose, if you wish, I shall run you home in our coach. What are you wearing tonight, Josephine?”
“Oh, any old thing,” Josephine replied. “I feel quite fed up with ball dresses these days. I so wish we could still wear short skirts as we used to. Then it would be so much easier to dance and there wouldn't be so much fabric to trip over. I’m half-minded to see if there’s any of my short dresses left in the attic.”
“Josephine!” Madeline reacted, her expression pained. “That would be highly improper. You’d never be invited to another ball, if you turned up like that.”
Constance glanced indulgently at her impetuous youngest sister whom she had always petted and spoiled, although she was now a strict mother to two sons. She smiled reassuringly at Madeline.
“Do not worry, Madeline. My sisters and I will be helping Josephine to dress this evening and I promise you that she will be entirely respectable. She will have her little jokes and better she makes them here in private than out in company.”
“Do you never get tired of being respectable, Constance? Or you, Vera and Ophelia?” Josephine sighed after her friends had reluctantly returned baby Matilda to her mother and taken their leave. “I do, a little. It’s not that I want to do anything really bad, I just can’t understand why people don’t want to have more fun. Society seems to determined to make itself miserable sometimes.”
“Dear little Josephine,” said Vera wryly, dropping a kiss on her youngest sister’s hair. “Is that really how the world looks to you? You always were such an impetuous creature. Constance and Ophelia, do you remember the to-do when Josephine released all the hounds because she thought they were unhappy being locked up in the kennels so long?”
“Oh, I do!” chuckled Ophelia. “The gamekeepers were so cross. Not only did they have to catch the dogs but they had to rush out and gather up all the game chicks before the hounds got them.You nearly put paid to the whole shooting season at Norfield that year, young Josephine. It’s lucky that Victor saw the funny side.”
“Victor loves Josephine as much as we do,” Constance declared fondly. “We still think of her as our first child, rather than Adam. Now, I always believe Josephine looks best in white. Shall we dress her in the white silk tonight?”
“Yes, with Mothers’ green sapphire earrings and pendant to match her eyes,” agreed Ophelia, nodding sagely. “What about hair? Ringlets perhaps? Your maid is very competent with the latest styles, Vera.”
“Too fussy,” Josephine objected immediately, thinking of the curling papers, tongs and unpleasant smells associated with teasing her naturally wavy hair into tighter curls. “I do wish I could just leave my hair down my back."
“Well, you can’t, dear,” Vera said. “How about pinned braids, Constance? That way Josephine’s hair has some chance of staying in place when she dances. If it isn’t braided in some way, it does often end up all over the place and down her back anyway.”
“Yes, that is a good idea. That style suits you well also, Josephine,” the eldest sister decreed. “Then, the light green silk dancing slippers would look well with the rest of the outfit, and white gloves, of course.”
“All is decided. How lovely you will look, Josephine,” added Ophelia. “This is always such fun, isn't it? I can’t wait until Matilda is old enough to dress up.”
“I’ll just have to carry on being your doll for a few years yet, won’t I?” the youngest sister answered ambivalently, drawing laughter from her siblings.
Josephine loved and appreciated her sisters well but presently felt that she wished to be left alone. She knew she would enjoy the ball well enough once she arrived, especially if the orchestra was lively, but getting ready was a chore.
As they all rose and strolled back towards the house, chattering further about Josephine’stoilette, the young lady herself felt only rather tired and frustrated. It was as though no one in her family ever really listened to her. They thought of her as a naughty but lovable child rather than an exasperated young woman who was chafing at unnecessary restrictions.
Life seemed easier for Constance, Ophelia and Vera. They had likely never wanted to dance like a maenad in a ballroom, run out into the rain in their nightdresses or wear short skirts, all the better to run and jump about. Respectability, calmness and demure behavior came as naturally to Josephine’s older sisters as breathing.
It sometimes made her worry that there was something wrong with her. Why had she been born so different?
Chapter Two
“Have you seen him yet?” asked Lady Rose breathlessly, as she and Josephine left the dance floor together after the quadrille. “He must come tonight, surely. Everyone attends the Silverton ball, don’t they?”
Josephine swished her gauzy white skirts impatiently and shook her head.
“No, I’ve had a good look at every tall blond man I see but none of them is Benedict Emerton. At least, I don’t think so. Hmmm. I’m sure I’d recognize him again, even though we only met so briefly.”
“I expect he’s not here, if you can’t find him. Do you remember how Lady Jane could tell that Sir Edmund had entered a room before she even saw him, because of his magnetic presence that made her shiver? If he is your true love, I expect you’d feel something like that too.”
Josephine grinned at Rose’s words but shook her head, having to admit that she felt nothing of the sort.
