Page 18 of Tempting the Earl
The five women settled in the small salon after the Waddells had been shown to their rooms and had left the maids unpacking their trunks. There would be some wait before the next guests arrived as the Waddells lived the closest, so the women sat down to enjoy a comfortable coze.
Emily went to fetch the tea trolley since she didn’t know any of the people being spoken about and she found the conversation somewhat insipid.
People should have other things to do than care about who said or did what to whom when,thought Emily rather fiercely as she was returning to the room. Although, she reasoned, the three ladies do seem to be pleasant enough and nothing they said was malicious. So she determined to try to enjoy the visit. Besides, she was just the companion, no one really cared what she thought. Emily smiled at the thought.
Emily was carefully guiding the trolley into the room when she almost tripped, shocked at the turn the conversation had taken.
Lady Waddell was speaking. “The Regent is getting concerned, so the rumour goes, about this Lady Emmaline. Apparently she is quite an important personage,” declared Lady Waddell with a flourish. “She is the sole heiress to a vast fortune and multiple titles, which devolve upon the heirs general. Sadly it seems both her parents recently died and she was their only child. It was the dearest wish of Lord Hamptonbrook, the Marquis of Edenvale, that his daughter receive all the titles he and his wife possessed, aside from of course, the more recent one, the Viscountcy of Ridley, which has to go to the nearest male relation. The king wants to officially confer the titles and so on upon her as the parents had wished, but she seems to be missing. Viscount Ridley claims to have no knowledge of her whereabouts and he does not seem overly concerned, despite being her legal guardian. It is rumoured that the viscountcy came with very little in terms of monetary gain, and he is holding the girl’s purse strings while she is missing. He does not seem to be searching too hard for the poor girl, so the king has involved himself in the matter.” She paused for a moment before turning her blue eyes, bright with excitement and widely questioning, upon Lady Clara.
“Did anyone ever even hear of this Lady Emmaline? Did you know the Hamptonbrooks when they were more active in theton, Lady Clara? It is also being said that the marquis and his wife had been living quite retired from Society for the last many years, so no one even knows where to start looking for their poor dear orphan. Some say it is all a conspiracy to get their hands on the fortune. If the girl does not show up it will nicely line the king’s pockets, I’m sure. I do hope the poor girl turns up unharmed.”
During this monologue Emily had felt all the blood drain from her face. It was only the tea trolley that was keeping her from falling down. She felt separated from the events around her and observed distractedly that Lady Waddell was actually able to sound both concerned and thrilled all at once. Emily heard Lady Clara making similarly concerned murmurs, and managed to pull herself together. She was thankful all the ladies had been so engrossed with the tale that no one had witnessed her momentary loss of composure. She dare not reveal what she knew!
After making suitable comments about the tragic circumstances of the unknown orphan, the youngest of Lady Waddell’s daughters changed the subject yet again, and the conversation continued to flow around Emily. After a couple of pained moments she was able to compose herself enough to participate somewhat in the conversation and serve the tea without disgracing herself. Shortly after the tea was poured the sound of carriage wheels was again heard in the driveway. Lady Clara got up to welcome the newest arrivals.
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Lord and Lady Sedgely swept into the drawing room with a distinct air of superiority, carrying their daughter, Lady Maude, in their wake. Their son, the Honourable Garfield, followed them slowly. He had a twinkle in his eye, as though amused by his family’s attitude. Lord and Lady Sedgely oddly resembled one another in a tight-lipped and narrow-eyed kind of way. The whole family had chestnut brown hair and blue eyes. It would have been a most attractive family if they didn’t seem so unpleasant or if they would even allow a smile to grace their features.
Emily found herself scrutinizing Lady Maude, surprised to see she wasn’t even very pretty, certainly no “diamond of the first water” as the Waddell ladies would say. Emily wondered to herself what Lord Philip was thinking to be interested in this cold-looking woman. As always, though, her sense of fairness came to the fore and she decided the woman must have redeeming qualities. It was not right to judge by appearances, despite her predisposition to dislike the other woman. She would wait and see how Lady Maude turned out.
While Emily looked on, Lady Clara started to make the introductions but was interrupted by Lady Sedgely who said in a condescending voice, “yes, we’ve met.” Emily was shocked by the rudeness as Lord and Lady Sedgely barely greeted the Waddell ladies, and Lady Maude could only muster up an insincere “how do you do?” Only the son, Garfield, stepped forward and was warmly presented to Lady Waddell, Miss Waddell, and Miss Ann. It was obvious the “handsome fairies” were watching over him, as he was the best looking of the entire family. Of course, the fact that he was smiling might have had something to do with the impression that he was so good looking, particularly in contrast with the rigidity of the rest of his family.
Emily watched in amusement as the younger ladies blushed and twittered in greeting the young man as he bowed gallantly over their hands. She was surprised when he then turned to her and greeted her in the same manner.Charming fellow this one is,Emily thought as she allowed herself the pleasure of enjoying his company briefly. She was abruptly reminded of her place when Lady Maude shrilled, “Garfield, that’s the companion, don’t you know?”
Garfield winked at Emily as he released her hand and turned to his sister and replied smoothly, “We all need companions, don’t we sister dearest?”
Lady Maude attempted to freeze him with her icy glare but he deflected her ire with another of his warm smiles before he turned to Lady Clara and complimented, “This is a grand, lovely estate you have here, Lady Clara. It is going to be a pleasure to spend some time enjoying your hospitality. Might I ask if there is any sport to be had in those woods yonder?”
Lady Clara was relieved that at least one member of the family was easy going. She replied, “Yes, there is some game to be found there. My late husband and my son were quite fond of the hunting in these parts. There are a multitude of birds, as well as many stags to be found. You are quite welcome to venture forth and see for yourself while you are here. Lord Philip will be joining us this week, as well as some other young gentlemen who might wish to join you in the hunt.”
Then turning to Lady Sedgely, Lady Clara continued, “Would you care to have a spot of tea to refresh you from your journey, or would you rather be shown to your rooms and get settled first?”
Lady Sedgely must have realized the terrible impression she was making on the mother of the groom she had picked out for her darling daughter for she seemed to have a change of attitude. “Thank you so much for inviting us Lady Clara, I do believe it would be best if we retire to our rooms first to freshen up from the travel. You know how it is when you are cooped up in the carriage for hours on end. It is enough to lay one up, isn’t it?” she asked rather vaguely.
Lady Clara and Emily exchanged a look of relief. Maybe the trio wasn’t as dreadful as they seemed, they were just wearied from traveling. Lady Clara asked Emily to remain with the Waddells to see to their needs and then she graciously escorted the Sedgelys to their rooms.
Lady Waddell seemed to be a bit deflated from the coldness of the greeting she had received from Lady Sedgely and her family, but the girls were obviously excited about meeting the son. Their excited chatter soon drew her out and Emily listened as the three ladies told her all they knew about the heir to the viscountcy.
Jane, Miss Waddell, always the most talkative, revealed, “We had never actually met him before today. He rarely attends fashionable parties, preferring instead to be involved in all manner of sports. It is said he frequents all the gaming hells, too,” she said conspiratorially.
Then turning to her mother she continued, “But he didn’t really look like a rake, did he Mama? He seemed so nice and he is really terrible handsome, isn’t he? It is so exciting that he is here. All the girls in Town are going to be so jealous, aren’t they, Ann?”
Miss Ann, being very young and just free from the schoolroom, could only giggle in response. Emily caught herself just in time before she rolled her eyes, and merely shared an amused smile with Lady Waddell, who despite her penchant for gossip really did seem to have her head squarely on her shoulders.
More tea was poured and the women continued comfortably discussing who else would be arriving the next day and what activities the girls wished to enjoy during their stay at Rosemount. The majority of the guests would be arriving late that evening or into the next day so they would be a smaller group for that first evening. After the tea was cleared away and Lady Clara had still not returned to the drawing room, the ladies decided to retire to their rooms to spend some quiet time before they had to dress for supper. They assured Emily they had all they needed and would be fine on their own until they assembled back in the drawing room before the meal. Emily was so pleased to have some time to herself to prepare for what she was suspecting might be an exhausting supper experience. She was tempted to avoid the meal altogether but she knew Lady Clara was counting on her to assist with the hostess’ duties.
Emily took particular care with her toilette as she prepared for that evening’s gathering, not wanting to shame Lady Clara before her guests. She was more nervous than she had ever expected to be for a simple supper but she really found the Sedgely family to be terribly intimidating. She was unsure if there was any way they could be made to enjoy themselves or if they would be pleasant or not as the group gathered together in the dining room.
Emily vehemently wished Lord Philip were there already. He was so much more skilled at this type of thing than she, or even Lady Clara, was. Besides, the ones who seemed the hardest to please would be the most happy to see the earl. She was becoming concerned over his absence but didn’t want to mention her anxiety to Lady Clara, as she was certain she was also worried. Considering the fact that he had asked his mother to plan this party, one would be excused for expecting him to be at least on time if not early. Emily consoled herself that someone would have sent word if they truly had cause for concern. Perhaps the matter the king had him working on was proving to be more time consuming than he had expected. Or maybe he would arrive on the morrow.
In the meantime, Rosemount had guests needing to be appropriately fed and entertained. It was an excellent thing that she and Lady Clara had discussed in such great detail all the implications of the varying ranks of the nobility being assembled for this party. It was obvious the Sedgelys would take great offense if they were not given the proper respect. Emily gave her head a shake as she realized she was procrastinating with her woolgathering. Taking her wrap to ward off the evening’s chill, she went down to join the guests gathering in the drawing room.
The Waddell ladies were again the first to arrive followed by Lady Clara, Garfield, and Lord Sedgely. The group was kept waiting for Lady Sedgely and Lady Maude, which was not terribly surprising. When the two ladies arrived, Lady Clara briefly met Emily’s eyes. It was obvious to Emily that the countess was chagrined over the obvious difficulty they were going to have in keeping these ones amused. Both the countess and Emily foresaw a trialsome few days ahead of themselves. Undaunted, Emily gave an encouraging nod and a wink, sure of the ability of all at Rosemount to rise to the challenge. Lady Clara squared her shoulders, smiled, and conducted the way into the dining room.
The cook had outdone himself. He obviously lived for these types of occasions and he rarely got the chance to display the full range of his skills. No complaint could be found with the feast spread out before the countess’ guests. Lady Clara smiled in satisfaction and gazed in approval at the footmen lined up behind the gathered guests, they were all starched and pressed into their finest uniforms, ready to be of service. Each took his place and the meal began.
Lady Clara started the conversational ball rolling by turning to Lady Sedgely and asking about their journey. Lady Sedgely politely described all the perils of journeying along England’s roads after a rainstorm. Lady Clara was surprised at the extent of the other woman’s complaints as she droned on about the ruts in the road and the poor service along the way. She was determined to keep a polite smile upon her face while conversing with the other woman, and her smile was just beginning to fray around the edges when Lady Sedgely finally wound down and changed the subject. Emily was pleased to see Miss Waddell making polite efforts to engage Lady Maude in conversation while Miss Ann was speaking shyly with Lord Sedgely. The viscount seemed to be quite taken with the quiet young woman and was making an effort to be kind. Which left Lady Waddell to talk with Garfield.
