Page 57 of Refining the Debutante
It certainly wasn’t the reason he had passed up an opportunity to speak with Mr. Withers about marrying his daughter. Ethan couldn’t quite explain why, other than the timing did not feel right, nor could he explain his reason for avoiding Miss Withers since then. Today, he had been determined to redevote himself to his purpose. He took a seat and glanced at Miss Withers, then back to Miranda, letting the awkwardness of having them both there together settle around him.
Lady Callister took a seat near the fireplace, where a warm flame curled around the wood behind the grate. She immediately set her eyes on Jane. “Jane, dear, take your sister upstairs, will you? We have business to discuss, and I assure you, it will bore you both to tears.”
Jane scowled as she got to her feet, but Hannah seemed pleased enough to be excused. As they left the room, Hannah gave Miranda an affectionate farewell but did not spare a single glance for Miss Withers. She was a traitor, that one.
Miranda took a seat on an opposite sofa from Miss Withers, creating a triangle with Ethan in his chair as the third angle. Her hair was pulled back into a simple style. Her dress was overtrimmed, but there were no other ribbons or adornments on her person. It took him a moment to determine what was missing. There was no ready, bold smile.
“Perhaps I have stayed too long,” Miss Withers said, standing.
He wasn’t sorry to see her go, under the circumstances. It was too much having her in the same room as Miranda. “I thank you for coming,” Ethan said at the same time Lady Callister bade Miss Withers to sit.
“No need to leave on our account,” Lady Callister explained. “Before we discuss business, let us discuss pleasure. We have an invitation to a ball for both of you.”
This was the first Ethan had heard of a ball. His sisters would be ecstatic, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
“Thank you for including me on your guest list,” Miss Withers said, settling herself back into her chair.
Lady Callister acknowledged her with a nod. “We also require Mr. Roderick’s educational opinion on a few matters.”
Ethan’s curiosity piqued. “What is on your mind?”
“Might you explain to us the Corn Laws?” Lady Callister pointed to herself and Miranda.
“Gladly. It is nothing more than a steep import tax.”
“Is it doing us any good?” Miranda asked, her posture bent forward in anticipation of his answer.
Amusement made his lips twitch. “It is meant to encourage us to favor domestic producers, but the rise in cost of living is the most urgent reason for recourse.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Is that why wheat is so expensive?”
Ethan remembered Miranda’s statement back in Folkestone about the price of bread. “It is a factor, yes.”
“What is being done about it?” Miranda asked.
“I do not sit in Parliament yet, as you well know, so I cannot speak for the lawmakers.” He leaned toward Miranda and rested his elbows on his knees. “However, there is the Berkshire Bread Act, where the parish provides an allowance to cover the price of bread according to family size.”
“You must still be poring over all those fundamental law papers of your father’s,” Miranda said with a half smile. So she had been paying attention. Miranda looked to Lady Callister. “Is that happening in the parishes here?”
“Oh, in parts, yes, but the act is not a national law. The problem is there are some who have taken advantage of the system and do not work at all.”
“But surely, after such a cold summer and all the rioting...” Miranda trailed off. Her eyes darted to Miss Withers, and her cheeks went pink.
Ethan knew she was embarrassed to be speaking of a topic usually reserved for the men, but he had never thought Miranda so attractive as he did at that moment. She had taken an interest in something he was passionate about. While he missed her confidence, he was glad she was looking beyond herself. With both confidence and selflessness, she would be a force to be reckoned with. He found himself grinning and had to cough to cover his smile. If she saw him grinning, Miranda would think he was mocking her ignorance and call him a tease. But then there was Miss Withers and her gift of perception—she’d guess the real reason for his smile.
“If all the landowners raised the salaries of their employees, this would not be a problem,” Miss Withers said. Her voice took on an interesting tone—perhaps a competitive edge?
“I agree,” Miranda said. “But that sort of change could take years. People are starving now. We must see that Reverend Giles is giving the adequate allowances per the Bread Act.”
“Why not do both?” Ethan asked. “We can encourage our neighbors to increase wages and see if the parish can supplement as needed.” He had had to do just that with his own tenants after assessing the numbers with Mr. Dalkins. Ethan hoped many of his neighbors would be willing to do the same.
Miranda clapped her hands, and her wide grin emerged. Her eyes caught his, and he swallowed a sudden desire to be near her. He forced his gaze to focus on Miss Withers, who folded her hands primly with a pleased but guarded smile. Here sat two beautiful but very different women. His heart and mind were divided. One made perfect sense on paper, and the other conjured up fantasies he struggled to suppress.
He didn’t have to look at Miranda to admit her behaviorhadchanged. All his arguments against her had faded away one by one. He ran his hands down the arms of his chair. He could not let this sway him from all reason. Stories continued to circulate about the Bartley family, even though Miranda’s time in servitude was still a secret. His connections had confirmed the disconcerting rumors about her father, and his family would never condone a match under the circumstances.
Even as he thought it, his own willpower seemed to wane. She was a woman who had blossomed in adversity. He would do his best to avoid her because that was the choice he had made, but there would be no escaping seeing her at Lady Callister’s ball.
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