Chapter Twenty-Eight

M eanwhile, upstairs, Pippa had joined Wendy and Lance's wife to make up a bed for two instead of just one since Lance and Isabel were staying at 87 Harley Street.

"I'm afraid this room is rather simple and small, Lady Ellington." Wendy fussed with a doily on a dress.

"Please call me Isabel." She inclined her head gracefully and Pippa smiled when Wendy curtsied a little too deeply and a little too long. "Let me make this a little prettier for you. I'll fetch the flowers from downstairs."

She left.

Pippa stood with her back against the windowsill, unsure what to do. She usually had servants for this sort of work and couldn't offer much help to Isabel.

"Lady Penelope, I have heard much about your family and regret we didn't meet sooner," Isabel spoke to her as if they were at Almack's, the Wednesday balls that were nothing more than an elitist meat market for finding a match that she'd never seen welcoming at all.

"Please call me Pippa. I'm not really welcome in society and am beginning to put less value on seeking to be welcome there anyway."

At that, Isabel opened her eyes wide. "How can you say such a thing?"

"Well, they call me ‘the clumsy goose.'"

Isabel drew her brows together, but her eyes remained awash with incredulity.

"It's because of my vision," Pippa explained. "I've been so clumsy until I received these spectacles."

"Did Nick, I mean, Dr. Folsham, make them for you?"

"No, he examined my eyes, and his sister made them."

"So, you are cured?"

"Well, I wasn't really sick at all. Nick explained that it was the curvature of my lens that made me shortsighted. The spectacles correct that."

"Oh, your family must be delighted." Isabel clapped excitedly as if all was well with the world, but Pippa sensed a tinge of reservation.

She realized why. "You must have heard of my mother's passing if you, our families, are acquainted."

Isabel dropped her hands and deflated. "Yes. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. My father had remarried a few times since then actually. But my poor vision hasn't left a good impression."

"If I could have been cured by something as simple as spectacles, my mother would have—"

"Are you unwell?"

Isabel blinked at Pippa. Then she blushed, and the pale spot on her face grew even more white than the rest. "I'm disfigured."

Pippa gave up feigning ignorance. The pale patch on Isabel's face would only grow larger than life and siphon the air from the room like a hot air balloon trying to escape the confines and unable to lift off. "I see." The irony was palpable. She finally could see, but now…

Isabel inhaled and then folded her hands in her lap. "I was born like everyone else. My birthday was in the winter, so I was kept indoors for my first months of life. When I was first taken outside in the spring, a small line of redness appeared on my cheek. My mother told me that it became more and more demarcated. By the end of my first summer, when I was about ten months old and had learned to walk in the gardens of our townhouse, the white patch was clearly visible. It never faded again and extends to my chin and neck."

Pippa saw that the patch of pale skin extended to her neck but refrained from commenting or dwelling on it, because she knew what it meant to be the odd one out.

"I understand."

"You are the first person to say that whom I believe, Lady Pemb—I mean—Pippa. Call me Isabel." She gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you, Isabel. I believe this may be the beginning of a wonderful friendship." Pippa took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. They were still holding hands when Wendy returned with a bouquet in a vase and an embroidered quilt.

"What did I miss?" Wendy set down the flowers and plopped on the bed. Instantly, Pippa felt like a schoolgirl gossiping behind the headmistress's back. Not so different from her relationship with Bea, but somehow warmer. Or maybe that was because of the person Wendy was. Either way, it was a comfortable and happy place to be.

"Well, I'm glad I'm here," Isabel said. "Thank you for the warm welcome."

Wendy squinted and pressed her lips together in a suspicious smile. "Why are you here?"

Isabel sucked her cheeks in but remained silent.

"Is there another reason for them to be here, besides wanting to meet Lance's friends?" Pippa asked.

"I'm afraid there is," Isabel said, seemingly displeased. "He wants to see me."

"But you live together, I'm sure…" Yet Pippa's voice trailed off when Wendy gave her a somber look. "Oh!"

"And I'd rather not be seen," Isabel said, rubbing her hands together in discomfort.