Page 30 of A Lady to Reveal (Sherton Sisters 4)

Chapter Twelve

Felicity had spent the last part of the afternoon with Adelina nearly driving her to Bedlam with her anxious changing of hair and gowns.

“They’re your brothers, my dear girl. I really doubt they’re going to care how fine you’ve groomed yourself. Besides being eleven and eight years old, I don’t think they even yet know anything about hairstyles and ladies’ fashions.”

“But I’ll care, Jonesy,” Adelina had cried plaintively, making Felicity give her another brief hug.

“I know, my dear,” Felicity responded soothingly, recognizing the girl’s efforts to cover her anxiety. “I think the blue one is the best colour for you, as well as the most comfortable style. If your brothers want to do some sort of activity after dinner, you wouldn’t want to have to change again. And for the same reason, I am inclined to think that the least fussy hairstyle that you still feel suits you will be the best.”

“You are absolutely brilliant, Jonesy, thank you!” the girl exclaimed, throwing her arms around Felicity’s waist for a tight squeeze before scampering back to her wardrobe and having the maid button her into the gown Felicity had mentioned.

Now, Felicity was frowning into her mirror at her own reflection. She wasn’t nearly as concerned about the brothers’ reactions to her appearance as Adelina had been, but some of the girl’s anxiety had rubbed off on her, and she wondered if she too ought to put some effort into her dress and grooming.

She had never been terribly interested in the latest fashions, but no young woman wanted to look like a dowd. Unless she were trying to hide her identity, Felicity reminded herself with a wry twist to her lips. She ought to have procured spectacles, she mused with a frown, noting that her hair colour was fading and becoming a little too close to her natural colour for her own peace of mind. She would have to do something about that soon, or it would be too noticeable when she did. But there was no time now. She would have to make the arrangements on her next half day.

But now she had to stop dithering. Running a comb over her tightly swept back hair to right any sprigs that had escaped their confines, Felicity stepped back and nodded at her reflection. She would do. She was a paid companion now, not a debutante, her appearance was really quite inconsequential. And she was not trying to appeal to the duke in any way, she reminded herself sternly with a wag of her finger at her reflection that caused her to grin.

Without another glance, Felicity turned on her heel and left the room, blissfully unaware that no amount of dowdy grooming could hide her aristocratic bearing.

Collecting the overly excited Adelina along the way, the two descended to the parlour where they had agreed to assemble. They were to dine in the smaller of the two dining rooms in the House that evening, much to Adelina’s dismay.

“But Jonesy, we always eat there, shouldn’t we eat in the other one, since it’s a special occasion?”

“I can see your point, my lady, but that room is designed to seat at least one hundred, I’d dare estimate. Don’t you think we’d feel a trifle insignificant sitting at such a massive table in that big room and being just the five or six of us? Even if your father has invited some of the neighbours, which I haven’t heard that he has, I fear the room might echo from not being full enough. That might have the opposite effect of what you’re hoping for.”

Adelina had harrumphed and was on the verge of pouting over it, but even she had to acknowledge Felicity wasn’t wrong about how large the room was.

“Besides that, perhaps we can arrange with the housekeeper to use special dishes and maybe decorate the smaller dining room a little with flowers or some such. But I must warn you, I fear boys might not have any appreciation for such things. It is entirely possible that they will be more interested with what’s on the plate rather than the plate itself.”

Adelina had finally laughed over Felicity’s words even as she wrinkled her nose. “I don’t really know what they’ll be like either, Jonesy. I think that might be why I’m so very excited about tonight. There is so much to learn about my brothers. I want to do it all at once.”

Felicity’s heart had clenched for her young charge. What a dreadful conundrum for the girl.

“I cannot advise you on this particular topic, I’m afraid, as I have even less experience with boys than you do. But I will say, my lady, that it will be impossible to learn everything at once, so you ought to try to restrain yourself from even trying. It will only frustrate you and perhaps have the opposite effect as what you’re hoping to accomplish.”

Adelina had nodded as though she understood, but Felicity was not confident that the child would pay her any mind. As they approached the parlour, Felicity was thinking about all they had tried to cover that afternoon, and she tried to reassure herself that it truly didn’t matter. These children were siblings and would love each other no matter how this dinner might go.

The silence that greeted them suggested to Felicity and Adelina they were the first to arrive, so it was a great surprise to walk into the salon and find Rathnelly and two youngsters who could have been direct replicas of him standing around in sullen silence.

“Oh,” Felicity said rather inanely. “Hello.” Heat suffused her, but she kept a smile on her face and hoped she appeared open and inviting to the brothers rather than the embarrassed specimen that she felt.

“Easton,” Adelina screeched, running forward and throwing herself at her younger brother, who had managed to grow past his older siblings.

The youngest Barrington reminded Felicity of a newborn colt, awkward and eager with long skinny legs. He must have just had a growth spurt and hadn’t yet grown accustomed to his advanced height, she thought as he reached for his sister and seemed surprised to find her shorter. The laughter that swept the room sounded a little desperate, and Felicity had to swallow the lump of her emotions wondering how she could help this family get past their unhelpful discomfort.

She stepped forward toward the other boy and dipped into a curtsy. “Good evening, my lord. You must be Viscount Wickham. I am Miss Felicity Jones, your sister’s companion.”

Rathnelly’s focus on her felt as though it were burning her skin, but Felicity managed to ignore him as she watched for the young Gardner’s reaction to her boldness. She would never have introduced herself to an adult viscount, but she couldn’t see her way clear to await an introduction to an eleven-year-old. Felicity hoped it had been the right thing to do.

It must not have caused offense at any rate since the boy, who had appeared so stiff and uncomfortable when she first entered the room, grinned and shook her hand.

“Keeping that munchkin company must be a trialsome task,” he said before hot colour flooded his face when his voice cracked at the end of his statement. Felicity managed to stifle any reaction other than a gentle smile.

Ignoring his verbal jab toward his sister that she was choosing to think was good natured, she mildly remarked, “Lady Adelina certainly enlivens one’s life,” before enquiring into their journey.

“You must have had an uneventful journey, as you’ve arrived exactly when we expected you.”

“Jonesy taught me how to read the map and calculate when you ought to be here, Gardner,” Adelina called out from where she still stood with her arm around Easton.

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