Page 3 of A Lady to Reveal (Sherton Sisters 4)

Chapter Two

Felicity hoped her eyes weren’t as wide as saucers, but she couldn’t be sure, as it was her first time to be having such an adventure. Any adventure, really, if one were being perfectly honest. She only hoped she wouldn’t be caught. She was reasonably certain that her disguise was good enough, and she had covered her tracks well enough that the family wouldn’t even suspect she was missing, let alone know where to find her. But her degree of excitement led to her anxiety. It would break her heart to have her adventure cut short at this point.

And surely, the duke wouldn’t be interacting with his daughter’s companion, so she should be safe from that quarter. Her disguise was sufficient, she reminded herself once more. Felicity was certain she had considered all the possibilities. She tried to relax and enjoy her adventure.

All she really needed was to be able to convince each person that someone else had seen her. And she needed to last long enough in her position that she would have sufficient experience so one of her sisters would be willing to take her on as governess to their children. Surely, that couldn’t be so very hard.

Never mind the fact that she had never been an experienced liar. Surely, her active imagination would be able to get her successfully through to the end of her means. Then, she was convinced, her family will realize that she had been justified in her actions. Or she quite hoped that was to be the outcome, at any rate.

As it stood, no one would recognize her, she was sure. There was nothing about the drab little brunette creature huddling in her ill-fitting clothes in her corner of the stagecoach that would put one in mind of Lady Felicity Sherton, that was certain. She was plain Miss Felicity Jones of Salisbury. And she was on her way to her new position as the companion to the Duke of Rathnelly’s nine-year-old daughter.

Felicity only hoped no one could tell that she had darkened her hair. She had thought it looked completely natural when she had stared critically at herself in the mirror. But the stares she had received since leaving her home led her to believe there was something amiss about her appearance.

Of course, there was also the fact that she had never been so completely on her own before. So perhaps, she wasn’t really used to anyone actually looking at her. The entire experience was a novelty. And exactly what she was looking for. If she could only pull it off.

She was going to pull it off, she insisted to herself. Felicity reminded herself once more that she needed to think positively. If she was confident, it was far more likely she would be believed. And really, there was no reason for anyone to suspect she was anything other than what she was purporting to be. In addition, if her family were to suspect that she wasn’t where she had said she would be, they wouldn’t ever in a million years guess where she was.

While it was all perfectly acceptable on the one hand, it was also perfectly scandalous on the other. Which might be why Felicity was nearly beside herself with glee.

She didn’t love the fact that she had been required to tell several untruths to make these arrangements. And it was quite likely she would have to tell a few more. But she was having an adventure. Surely, that had to account for something. For her it was sufficient justification.

And really, if everyone had listened to her and allowed her to have the life she had clearly explained she wanted, Felicity would have never had to go to such lengths. So, it could be argued that it was all her family’s fault that she was in this potentially compromising situation.

But she would not be compromised, Felicity assured herself. Not that it really mattered. She had absolutely no interest in an acceptable Society marriage. Her only concern was to not make things difficult for Grace when it was time for her to make her debut. So Felicity was determined to pull it all off without even the whisper of impropriety touching her. Besides, one couldn’t be bathed in scandal and expect a successful career as governess, even if it were to one’s sisters’ children.

Ideally, Felicity would have preferred to have found an older lady in want of a companion, but she hadn’t been able to figure out how to accomplish that. Finding the position as companion to the nine-year-old girl she was travelling to meet had been easier, even though the situation was a trifle strange. However, Felicity was reasonably certain she would enjoy it. Perhaps she could even stay with the child until she was grown and made her debut. By then, Felicity would have come into her own inheritance and could set herself up however she pleased.

Of course, it was unlikely she would be able to keep her family ignorant of her whereabouts for seven or eight years. But Felicity had every intention of telling them all the truth, once she had established herself in her new role and proven that she could successfully lead a life different from what her family expected of her.

She was thrilled all the way down to her toes to be far from Glendale, even if the common stagecoach was nowhere near as comfortable as any of the conveyances she had ever ridden in her life. The good news was, it was unlikely she would be expected to take the coach in the future. As companion to the duke’s daughter, Felicity was certain that comfortable transportation would be provided for whatever their travels might require.

The only qualm Felicity had was how the child would take to her.

What if she doesn’t like me?The disquieting thought wouldn’t cease circulating in her mind and was threatening to drive her mad. The queasy sensation in her midsection could only partially be blamed upon the poorly sprung carriage. She had never been so nervous in her life. But it was an excited sort of nervous. If not for the upset in her tummy, Felicity thought she would rather enjoy the sensation. It was the biggest thrill of her life.

She only hoped the duke didn’t remember her. Or recognize her, ithadbeen a couple of years, after all. But he might not even meet with her. He hadn’t struck her as a gentleman who would take an interest in his daughter’s companion. He hadn’t actually struck Felicity as someone who even took much interest in his daughter. So, her concerns were probably completely for naught.

Those tingles she had experienced when she had met Rathnelly at her sister’s wedding had been due to too much wine; Felicity was certain of it. Even if they had been caused by something less reliable, it had certainly been only on her side. The duke had barely noticed her. So, there was no reason she should be concerned that he would take heed of her when she presented herself as Miss Jones, there to be companion to Lady Adelina. If the duke even took the time to give her an audience, Felicity doubted he would take any note of her in her dowdy old gown with her hair tightly pulled back and coloured a dull, nondescript brown.

It was her hair that had given her the most qualms. Colouring one’s hair was really quite nearly beyond the pale. But all the Sherton sisters had very noticeable, and probably memorable, long, golden curls. Many people remarked upon it. It could be an identifying marker if someone were to be searching for her. So, Felicity had taken her courage in both her hands and coloured it. The brown of the nut shells had also stained her forehead slightly but after the intense scrubbing she had subjected it to, it was barely noticeable. She would have to be much more careful the next time. She had also scraped and brushed her hair to eliminate as much of the curl as she possibly could. Of course, that left her with a frizzy mess that she had contained in a simple plait that she had then tucked up into her bonnet. The bonnet had the added benefit of covering the pink hue that still remained around the edges of her hairline.

As the day dragged on, a little of the excitement was beginning to fade for Felicity. She wasn’t accompanied by servants to deal with the minor inconveniences they encountered along the way. It was beginning to sink into her consciousness that, in reality, going forward, she would actually be the one who would have to deal with those things for her charge. That realization made her brace her shoulders and face the situation with even more determination.

It also made her look a little more closely at her travelling companions.

The man in the corner in the ill-fitting coat appeared to be consumed with anxiety as he clutched his satchel, as though suspecting one of the other occupants were going to try to take it from him. Felicity hoped her amusement was well hidden. She also hoped the man never took up gambling, as he would surely reveal if he ever was dealt a winning hand. Felicity imagined he was a clerk of some sort. Perhaps the assistant to a lawyer or a country squire. If he were working for someone of more means, she doubted he would be on the common stage. And he would surely be better dressed.

Next to the skittish clerk, and taking up more than her share of the bench, was a large, garrulous older woman who didn’t leave any question as to her situation. Mrs. Clark was on her way to live with her daughter, who had recently married a wealthy businessman. Felicity took leave to doubt the exorbitant wealth Mrs. Clark was proclaiming in connection with her new son-in-law. Surely, he would have sent a carriage for his mother-in-law if he were so very well off. Or perhaps, in the unknown fellow’s defence, he just wasn’t as enthusiastic about having his wife’s mother come to stay as that good woman would like to think. Either way, Felicity was entertained to hear the plans Mrs. Clark was weaving for her daughter’s newfound splendor.

Squeezed in next to Mrs. Clark was the scrawniest woman Felicity had ever laid eyes on. Even she, in her spoiled ignorance, felt inclined to offer the poor woman something to eat. But she was the happiest sort and didn’t seem in the least bothered by anything that transpired in their travels. The bumps and weaves of the stagecoach seemed to almost amuse her as she would giggle from time to time. She had laughed the most when Mrs. Clark had insisted that she sit between her and the clerk. It seemed Mrs. Clark meant to protect the young woman’s virtue with her own corpulence. Not that the clerk had even glanced suggestively at the poor woman. But Mrs. Clark’s active imagination seemed to have very few bounds.

She also didn’t seem to have any compunction about putting her nose into the affairs of others. She seemed consumed with curiosity about Felicity and her circumstances. Felicity tried to look at it as a trial run. If her story couldn’t stand up to the pressure of a nosy bumpkin such as Mrs. Clark, then she would never be able to survive what she was hoping to accomplish with her life.

“Yes, Mrs. Clark, it is a great opportunity I’ve been afforded,” Felicity acknowledged, wishing she hadn’t admitted the truth of her destination. But she was fed up with lies and was going to stick to the story she had already made up.

“My daughter could have taken a position like that,” Mrs. Clark began with something bordering on a sneer. “But then her husband found her, and she didn’t need to.”

Felicity hoped her smile didn’t look quite as frozen as it felt. It seemed mothers of every level of Society were all the same. The only future they could see for their daughters included a walk down an aisle.

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