Page 15 of Loving Mister Stratford
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“And you shall call me Odette, of course.” Her blush deepened and he found it infinitely charming.
Simon nodded in reply and turned to perform introductions only to find his family watching them with thinly-veiled interest.
Simon cleared his throat.“Mother, Father, George, Meredith, this is Miss Odette Leroy.” He turned back to Odette, his mouth tilting in what he hoped was a reassuring manner when he felt her fingers tighten against his.“Miss Leroy, my parents, the Earl and Countess of Aldborough; my brother and his wife, the Viscount and Viscountess Sommerfeld. My sister, Lily, and her husband, Jeremy, Baron Shefford, reside in a nearby estate and will be joining us for supper this evening.”
Odette curtseyed appropriately and greeted each of them with just the right amount of deference and demureness.
The tautness of Simon’s body relaxed some when his family greeted her warmly in return. Though his mother remained more distant, both his father and George bowed over her hand and shared welcoming words; Meredith stepped forward and took Odette’s hand in hers.
“It is such a pleasure to meet you, my dear,” she said, a genuine smile blooming and brightening her face, and then added sotto voce:“This family is so close-knit it’ll be nice to have another outsider to keep me company.”
George chuckled.“Don’t scare the chit—we’ve all been nothing but the most welcoming.” His brother turned his winning smile on Odette.“We don’t all bite.”
A bubble of laughter escaped the woman at Simon’s side, but he knew her well enough at that point to recognize that it was more nervous than amused.
“Come, dear,” his mother stepped forward, a strained smile on her lips, her movements stiffer than usual.“Surely you want to freshen up after your travels. I’ll show you to your room, myself. Such a shame that your mother was unable to join us…”
There was a moment where Odette looked up at Simon and his heart stuttered. This woman would belong to him, would be solely his responsibility, would rely upon him in a matter of days. Sure, he’d comprehended the facts of the situation, but confronted right then with her eyes looking to him for reassurance, it was suddenly overwhelming…and exciting…and utterly terrifying.
Meredith smoothly stepped forward and slipped her arm through Odette’s.“I’ll join you,” she whispered with a smile.“It can all be rather intimidating to be left with one’s future mother-in-law after having just been introduced.” She turned her eyes up to Simon and communicated silently:I’ll take care of her.
Simon inclined his head slightly in gratitude before Meredith and Odette followed in his mother’s wake.
A heavy breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding escaped from his lungs in one prolonged burst. He jumped when George clapped him hard on his shoulder.
“Well, you’ve survived the initial introductions,” he grinned, enjoying this far more than Simon thought reasonable. Rather than respond, Simon began walking back into the house, his brother and father on either side of him as the butler and footmen followed behind. Odette’s maid was supervising the unloading of their trunks and would then be shown to her room above stairs with the rest of the staff.“What say you, Father?” George asked, leaning on his cane as they moved.
Their sire grunted, seeming to weigh his words before speaking.“She’s lovely and her manners appear quite polished.”
“And?” George pressed, though Simon really wished he hadn’t.
“And…we shall see how the next weeks play out. It’s not as if there’s much that can be done at this point. In inviting her here, we’ve accepted the match. The license has been procured. By all appearances, she seems respectable and demure—a rather pleasant surprise, if I may be so blunt.”
They were talking around Simon when he stood right there between them. It was something he was used to, but this particular instance bothered him greatly because it was about Odette.Hisbetrothed. Whatever the circumstances of their engagement, he had sought her out and begun courting her properly. It irked him that they would discuss her thusly as if he wasn’t even there.
Fists clenched at his side, Simon lengthened his stride and sped off ahead of them toward the library in the far back corner of the manor house.
“Where are you off to?” George called after him.
Simon didn’t bother to respond.
He needed to calm himself with order and peace.
Chapter Five
“I think the cream gloves should suit this dress,” Alyssa tapped her chin thoughtfully, eyeing Odette up and down. It would seem that the lady’s maid was taking her duties as de facto fashion enforcer in the absence of Odette’s mother quite seriously.
The last hour had been spent with hot tongs in her hair and pins scraping her scalp as she was sculpted into something befitting an intimate supper in an earl’s household. Her mother had insisted upon adding a few new items to Odette’s wardrobe before she left. One of the theater’s seamstresses had worked through the night to alter a new gown of her mother’s to fit Odette; this was the gown she currently wore. Alyssa, who had a background in theater costuming before being drafted as her mother’s maid, had been charged with continuing to finish several other dresses for Odette’s time at Bridleton before the wedding. After that, her mother had assured her that the Stratfords would surely take her into their fold and shower her with any number of beautiful gowns and accessories.
For what it was, her mother had certainly chosen well. She’d always had an elegant eye for fashion and the gown Odette now wore was evidence of that. Cut snug against her bosom, the bust was trimmed in the finest, most delicate lace Odette had ever seen. The empire bodice was accentuated by a ribbon of the same pattern lace, tied at her back to trail down in a delicate tail. The petal pink was surprisingly virginal to have been ordered by her mother, but she didn’t question it. It happened to make her skin appear dewy and delicate, and what Alyssa had managed to accomplish with her hair suited her quite nicely. Tiny pearls were affixed to her ears and a simple, elegant strand of the orbs hugged the curve of her throat.
The maid returned with the cream-colored satin gloves and, after slipping them on, Odette took one last look in the full-length mirror set in the corner of the spacious bed chamber.
The room she’d been given was situated in the center of the manor on the third floor of one of the newer sections of the building. The angle afforded by her window gave her a dreamy view of one of the corner towers dripping in ivy like a princess’castle. The pale lavender of the floral patterned walls and counterpane were delightfully feminine and richly appointed. She felt like an honored guest, indeed…even if Simon’s mother had been less than exuberant in her welcome. Odette tried not to allow it to bother her—for all the countess knew, she had had a part in her son’s entrapment in marriage. If she were in her place, then Odette knew some hesitation at welcoming such a woman would be the gentlest reaction she could muster. She would have to give her time, and she also needed time to get to know the Stratfords—the people who would become her new family.
The thought still sent her stomach flipping, even after days of having time to sink in. It had just been her and her mother for so long, the thought of having so many others close to her was nerve-wracking, but not unpleasant.
