Chapter 29

CHAPTER29

The last night at Colman Park was to culminate in a grand ball with even more guests coming all the way from London which had set the whole house in a state of frenzied preparation. Thus, it was that the restrictions between the ladies and gentlemen were loosened—but only the slightest bit, of course.

In the course of a few days, there was a significant number of young couples coming together, one which involved Miss Veronica Delaney herself. In fact, it was highly suspected that there was to be an announcement of a betrothal that night by their most gracious hosts.

“In that case, I suppose we can expect an announcement from Powell Estate when we return to London as well,” Miss Wentworth chattered on, fluttering her fan excitedly as she did so.

She cast a glance at Julia, who blithely pretended to not hear her overtures as she idly flipped another page in her book and sipped on a cup of tea, looking for all the world like the very picture of serenity.

The young ladies had all gathered in the parlor after breakfast that day to engage in various leisurely pursuits. Some of them amused themselves with the pianoforte while for some, paints had been provided so that they might express their creativity in some other way. However, for the majority, gossiping had always proven to be a much more entertaining pastime.

“Come now, ladies, we must not pester Lady Julia so,” Miss Delaney gently chided. “Can we simply talk about less awkward things?”

Miss Wentworth colored just a little and ducked her head. It was one thing to chat with friends about the goings-on of the ton. It was an entirely different thing to be painted as an unruly gossip.

“Miss Veronica is a force to be reckoned with,” Mary whispered to her sister. “I believe she may even give Mama some fierce competition one day.”

“Oh, hush, you!” Julia giggled. “Miss Veronica is a lovely person, and she does not deserve to have us talking about her thus.”

Miss Veronica Delaney, indeed, was proving to be a wonderful host with an adeptness at managing her guests with grace and tact. Most notable amongst her achievements was that Lady Amanda Thornton had chosen to abscond from the usual gathering of young ladies after a few carefully placed words in her direction.

In fact, they hardly saw her after breakfast and only briefly when the ladies gathered again for luncheon. When she was present, however, it made for a rather uncomfortable atmosphere for all.

Julia was only too relieved to not have to deal with Amanda constantly flinging snide remarks in her direction as she had taken to after Andrew announced their courtship to all the guests in attendance.

“Well, you need not bother much with her,” Lady Powell told her later that evening as they were preparing for the ball. “I have it on good authority that the young lady had more or less declared that she was going to be the Marchioness of Trowbridge by the end of the Season. It is only her fault that she has embarrassed herself so publicly.”

“How could she even dream to become Lady Trowbridge when she was not even on the list?” Julia grumbled as her maid helped her pull on her corset.

Almost as soon as the words left her lips, she inwardly cursed herself. How could she have been so careless as to let slip that particular piece of information? If her mama were ever to find out about the list of candidates the Dowager Marchioness of Trowbridge had drafted for Andrew… why, there was no telling what she would do!

Lady Powell’s ears were ever so attuned to the slightest news that she instantly swiveled on her heels. “What list?”

“Why… the list of every eligible bachelor’s mama, of course!” Julia replied quickly. “Or is it something the young ladies have fabricated amongst themselves?”

“Oh.” Lady Powell immediately relaxed before glaring sternly at her. “Every mama has her own list, I would assume. Even I had my own list of the gentlemen that your father and I approved of for you and your sister.”

“Was Lord Trowbridge on your list, or did it simply have Lord Cosby on it and no other?”

Lady Powell narrowed her eyes. “Well, you were not on every mama’s list yourself, my dear, so there is no need to be so arrogant.”

But I was on the list of the Dowager Marchioness of Trowbridge.

Julia smiled to herself. For her, that was the only list that truly mattered.

“Well, I suppose there is no need to tell you to be careful tonight.” Lady Powell sighed as she stepped back to admire Harriet’s handiwork once more. “You truly have a way with hair, Harriet.”

Julia crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, “You make it sound like I would be much less presentable if it was not for Harriet.”

“This gown also sets your complexion off perfectly,” Lady Powell continued as if she had not heard her daughter complain. “I daresay that the Marquess will be happy to see it on you tonight.”

In the past, Julia had never thought that her mother was capable of saying anything that would cause her to blush, but at the mere mention of Andrew, she found herself unable to stop the warmth creeping up her cheeks.

The mere thought of him has had me blushing uncontrollably for the past few weeks that it has become almost embarrassing.

And knowing Andrew, Julia knew he would take pride in that very accomplishment.

“I think you should wear the diamonds tonight,” Lady Powell added thoughtfully.

Julia whirled around. “But, Mama, you never let us wear the diamonds.”

“Not tonight, dearest,” her mother told her happily. “Tonight, you are courting the Marquess. You cannot just wear your regular jewels.”

It was a testament to how much her mother valued this match. To bring out the family’s diamonds meant that Lady Powell was even happier with Lord Trowbridge than she had been with Lord Cosby.

Julia looked at her mother’s reflection in the mirror as she fastened the necklace at her nape.

“Darling, why are you looking at me like that?”

Julia shook her head and smiled. “Mama, are you proud of me?”

“Because of the Marquess? Dear me, no!” Lady Powell laughed. “I have always been proud of you, my dear—you and your sister both. You have grown up to be brilliant young women although I wish you could just tame your temper a little bit, and your sister could do with a little more confidence.”

Julia choked out a laugh.

“But I have raised two daughters, each beautiful in her own way,” Lady Powell continued. “What I want for the both of you is that you will find a man who is deserving of everything that you are.”

“Like Papa?”

“You could do much better than I did, darling, but do not tell your father that.” Lady Powell winked conspiratorially, and Julia could not help but laugh.

“I have always wanted to have a marriage like yours and Papa’s,” Julia admitted softly. “One of mutual respect and affection. Nothing at all like…”

“Like what you see all around you?”

Julia nodded.

“Well, let me tell you a secret,” Lady Powell began, her voice dropping to a whisper, “attraction might come at you like a hurricane. It will take you by surprise and leave you breathless, but building a true, lasting marriage takes more than that. If your father and I were not so set on making our marriage work, I daresay we would not have gotten to where we are right now.”

She reached out and fixed the necklace that now rested on Julia’s chest with a wistful smile.

“My hope is that you and Mary can both find a husband who would be willing to face trials with you. Everything is so easy when you are courting, but nothing is as hard as making things work when adversity comes knocking at your door—and believe me, it will!” she warned. “So, you had best be on your guard, my dearest girl. But I believe there is nothing in this world you cannot overcome.”

Julia blinked back the tears stinging her eyes at her mother’s words. Just like Andrew had noted, her mama had always appeared to be stalwart, but there was a softness behind her strength. A grace that was tempered by the trials she had weathered in her own time.

“I hope I can be just as strong and graceful as you are, someday, Mama,” Julia choked out. “I really do.”

“Well, you are already strong enough, darling, I shall give you that.” Lady Powell laughed. “The trick lies in knowing when to be strong and when to bend. Now, do not cry all over me! You will ruin Harriet’s hard work, and we have not got much time before the ball!”

She dabbed fretfully at the corners of Julia’s eyes with a silk handkerchief before ushering her out the door. Outside, Mary was already done with her own preparations.

Turning back, Julia gave her mother a soft smile. “Thank you so much, Mama. For everything.”

Nothing in this world was perfect, but for a moment, she could believe it was. She could believe that, out there, Andrew was truly waiting for her, was truly eager to see her tonight. She could believe that all was right with the world, that she could be happy.

If only for tonight.

* * *

Andrew had never been one to be fastidious with his appearance. He was nothing at all like the other dandies who fretted over how exactly to fold one’s cravat or how to affect a certain gait that was deemed fashionable.

But for the third time that night, his valet brought out another jacket and a whole array of jeweled stickpins for his cravat.

In all honesty, he was at his wits’ end when Selina came sailing into the room with laughter shining in her eyes.

“My, my… I do not believe I could recall a time when you were so consumed with what you are supposed to be wearing,” she teased. “Could this be due to a certain young lady with red hair?”

It was most certainly due to that particular young lady, but he was not one to concede to his sister’s playful taunting.

“Well, I cannot possibly offend the young lady and her family by dressing so shabbily, can I?” Andrew retorted.

“You must not.” Selina grinned. “Or Mother will never forgive you, and you know how she is.”

Andrew grimaced. “I do not need reminding.”

“I received word that she is exceptionally pleased about your courtship with Julia.”

Will she just be as pleased when we call the courtship off at the end of the Season?

“I daresay she would be just as pleased had I asked for the hand of Lady Amanda Thornton.”

He saw his sister wrinkle her nose from her reflection in the mirror. “Lady Amanda Thornton? Brother, even you can do better than that.”

Andrew grinned at her. “I take it that you do not like her overmuch?”

“I do not like her atall.”

Coming from Selina, that was truly saying something as she was unbelievably nice to most people. Apparently, her good graces did not extend towards Lady Amanda Thornton.

“I take it the young lady has offended you somewhat?”

“Well, before she set her sights on you, she wanted to marry William.”

Ah… so therein lies the problem.

Selina could be nice to anyone, but she was fiercely protective of her husband.

As if Barrington needs protecting. The man is completely besotted. It would be the height of idiocy for one to attempt anything with him.

“I daresay that she has set her sights on somebody else completely, now that you have declared yourself off the marriage market,” Selina continued.

“Really? Who?”

“Why, Lord Cosby, of course! I saw them talking earlier this afternoon. They appeared excessively close, mind you.” She then dropped her voice to a low whisper. “But I have heard that all is not as it seems with the Viscount. Have you noticed that Miss Ferguson is currently not in attendance?”

Andrew did notice that, but he had all but forgotten about her. With his focus almost entirely on Julia, he hardly ever noticed the presence of other women.

“Rumor has it that he is keeping Miss Ferguson well out of the way to prevent her from divulging… well, whatever it is he needs to hide.” Selina shrugged delicately.

“You know that you’ll need to be a little more specific than that,” Andrew remarked wryly.

His sister threw her hands up in frustration. “Well, I am not some sort of investigator. How am I expected to know these things?”

“Yes, you had best leave it up to your husband.”

“You make it sound as if William is some sort of dubious character…”

Andrew just shot his sister a pointed look. She had no idea of half the things her husband worked in the shadows, and it was probably best it remained that way.

“And take care of Julia,” she added. “If anything happens to her, I shall never forgive you!”

“All right, all right.” He smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, earning himself a scowl. “Now, go back to your husband before he turns the whole of Colman Park upside down, looking for you.”

After Selina left, Andrew could not help but frown as he pondered over her words. While it was quite possible that Lady Amanda might wish to exact some sort of petty revenge on Julia, it was highly unlikely that Lord Cosby would wish to harm her.

After all, the man had wanted to marry her once. It would not look good for his reputation to harm her for having rejected him. It was far more likely for the Viscount to turn on Andrew himself for whatever perceived slight he might have committed against him.

If he did, then Andrew hoped the man was a good shot or an expert fencer because it would be incredibly unfair if he was not.

Besides, he liked a good challenge, and if the Viscount was foolish enough to tempt fate, then who was he to refuse him?