Chapter 21

Preparations To Debut

“The most important thing to always remember is to remain polite and cordial at all times,” Beatrice advised. “No matter what happens, and no matter what anyone says or does, you must keep your composure and always act like a lady.”

She did not know if she was the best person to give out advice, but she did have a lot of experience on what not to do.

Beatrice and Elizabeth strolled through the manor in their finest dresses. Elizabeth would debut soon, and while she was mostly ready, it did not hurt to make some final preparations. It also helped to take Beatrice’s mind off the recent article in the scandal sheets.

“What if someone says something in your presence that is not true?” Elizabeth asked.

Beatrice wondered for a moment if the Duke’s younger sister was talking directly about the scandal, but Elizabeth was not like that. It was an innocent question.

“Keep your hands clasped before you,” Beatrice replied. “It depends on what was said. If you know the statement is categorically false, then you might correct the person, but it should not be done in a way that makes them feel foolish, and you should refrain from accusing them of lying. If the comment is innocuous and will not harm anyone, it is often best to let it go. If the person who made the comment is ranked above you, it might also be best to ignore it. We must always strive for the truth but cause no offense first. The best advice I can give you is to trust your instincts in the matter.”

“I shall try,” Elizabeth said.

They passed through the landing at the top of the stairs leading down to the ground floor, and as they walked, Beatrice saw Edwin from the corner of her eye. She was supposed to be modeling appropriate behavior, but she found herself distracted for a second.

She looked over the balustrade and down at where he stood. He seemed to be standing there for no other reason than to take her in. He smiled up at her, and she returned his smile before inwardly cursing herself for losing her composure. If she could not keep her composure because Edwin had smiled at her, how was Elizabeth supposed to keep her composure when dozens of men smiled at her during her debut?

“Are you sure you have time for me?” Elizabeth asked. “I know your sister will also debut, and I don’t want to monopolize your attention.”

“I have enough time for you both,” Beatrice assured her.

The more she had on her plate, the less time she had to think about the scandal sheets. And seeing as she did not wish to be seen in public with the scandal on everyone’s lips, she had no better place to be.

“Another valuable skill is to be able to engage anyone in conversation. You will dance with many fine gentlemen over the coming months, and while they will be taken by your stark beauty, it is your conversational skills that will charm them.”

Now that she could not see the Duke, she was able to concentrate on the matter at hand.

“What can you teach me?” Elizabeth asked.

“Two things that have helped me are flattering the person and asking them to explain things to me as if I have no knowledge of the matter. Let’s try it. Pretend we are at a ball, and you have been asked what you like to do in your free time?”

“Well, I like to do needlepoint,” Elizabeth said.

“Needlepoint?” Beatrice asked brightly. “I have never been able to do that myself. You must have fine attention to detail and perseverance if you are able to do it as a hobby. How do you even make the string go where you want it to go?”

“Oh, it is called thread,” Elizabeth explained. She stopped walking and faced her. “It is really not all that hard, and I would be glad to show you if you wish. It only takes a little practice.”

“And now you have the chance of meeting again,” Beatrice pointed out.

It took a second for what she had done to register.

“You told me what you were about to do, but I was still flattered by it. Oh, that is wonderful and something I must try. You are a very astute teacher,” Elizabeth gushed.

“You are getting the hang of it,” Beatrice told her. She resumed her walk, and Elizabeth followed her. “Another thing you can do is ask follow-up questions to show interest. It does not matter if the man you’re conversing with is the most dull person in the world. It is up to you to make the conversation interesting. He might inform you that he went to business school, and you can follow up by asking him if he has any interesting stories from his time there. Or, if he likes to hunt, you might ask if he has ever been in danger while hunting. It does not matter if you do not like the chosen subject, you must still feign interest.”

“I am learning so much,” Elizabeth said. “I thought I was ready to debut, and I know I am, but all of this will make my debut much better than I ever could have expected.”

“Now, I have seen you dine enough times to know you have very good table manners. Your brother has taught you well. And the same goes for greeting people. You are always very polite when you meet someone new or a familiar face, so there are no issues there. What you might want to work on is your body language.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Elizabeth mumbled.

“Your posture and poise,” Beatrice clarified. “When you get excited, you often flail your arms a lot when you speak, and you slump and slouch more when you become caught up in a topic. For the remainder of the time before your debut, I want you to focus on keeping your head held high and your shoulders back.”

Elizabeth did so immediately, affecting a pose that made her look more sophisticated.

“You must believe you are better than everyone else. Even though that is not true for anyone, it will help your confidence shine through.”

“Except for Miss Jennings,” Elizabeth said conspiratorially. “Most are better than her, but she acts as if she is better than everyone else.”

“Yes, she does,” Beatrice couldn’t help but agree.

She did not know who had written the article about her, but Miss Jennings was at the top of her list of suspects. She had to forget about the whole thing. Edwin was dealing with it, so there was no need to dwell on it.

“Ah, here we are,” Beatrice said, indicating the large, bare room. “You are doing ever so well with your education so far, and I thought we might learn some more while having fun.”

“I like fun.” Elizabeth giggled.

In a corner of the room was a pianoforte and a hired musician, ready to play for the two women.

“I thought we would start with a waltz,” she announced.

“That will be just fine,” Elizabeth said.

“Can you play us a waltz, please?” Beatrice asked.

“Of course, Your Grace,” the musician replied.

“Who am I to dance with?” Elizabeth asked.

“Me,” Beatrice replied. “I shall do my best to lead.”

Elizabeth found it funny to dance with another woman, and they both looked ridiculous in their dresses, with Beatrice doing her best to act like a man.

The musician began to play, and Beatrice led the dance. She had no experience in leading, but she had danced with many men at balls, and she tried to remember how they had led the dances. It translated reasonably well, though she did almost trip over her feet at some point. Elizabeth giggled when she did.

On the whole, though, Beatrice felt that she did well. She was even able to stop at one point to correct the position of Elizabeth’s hand. When they were done, loud clapping came from the door.

Beatrice looked over and smiled when she saw the Duke standing there. She turned back and took Elizabeth’s hand, and then both of them curtseyed politely.

“One of the finest dances I have ever witnessed,” Edwin praised.

“Did you watch it all?” Beatrice asked.

“I did, indeed,” he replied. “Including when you almost somersaulted.”

Beatrice smiled again.

“My favorite dance was always the quadrille. It is done with more people, of course, but it can still be done with a couple.” The Duke stepped toward the middle of the dance floor with an outstretched hand. “You did extremely well, but my sister should see how a dance goes with a man leading.”

“Go on,” Beatrice urged.

“I was speaking about dancing with you, Beatrice. Perhaps Elizabeth can sit this one out and watch.”

Beatrice found herself stepping forward before she could say anything. The thought of dancing with her husband made her stomach flutter. They had not had time to make love again, and it would be the closest they would get to touching each other since then.

Beatrice took the Duke’s hand, and he pulled her closer to him, taking her waist. He gestured for the musician to start playing. Beatrice let out an excited gasp and quickly put her hand on his shoulder.

They moved backward and forward, turning together and holding hands for the Allemande. When they faced each other, the Duke made sure to hold her closer to him than was usually acceptable.

Beatrice knew she should have put some distance between them, especially when Elizabeth was watching and might repeat the intimacy at a ball, but she did not want to halt the dance. She could tell her it was inappropriate later and pass it off as a dance between a married couple.

She looked into his emerald eyes, and all her thoughts drifted to how he could make her feel with his hands. Holding his hand or having his hand on her waist was one thing, but having his hands all over her naked body was another entirely.

Since they had to leave the house to avoid learning to paint, there had been unfinished business. The Duke might have pleasured her multiple times over one night, but it was not enough.

Beatrice needed more and more and more.

It would be another thing that would take her mind off the new scandal.

Dancing with the Duke was a good distraction, but it was becoming too much of a distraction. Her eyes flicked to his lips, and she wanted to kiss him as they flowed around the room like water, but she would have to wait. The Duke smirked as if he could read her mind.

He spun her, and she let out another happy gasp. When he pulled her back in, she started giggling, and when he ditched the conventional steps and danced his own dance, she giggled even more. By the time the music came to an end, Beatrice felt on top of the world.

Clapping came from the door again, but it was from Elizabeth this time.

“That was wonderful!” she gushed. “My goodness! If I am to dance with a man like that at a ball, then I will be as joyous as I could be. The way the two of you moved around the room was magical. When did you have the time to practice your dancing? I have not heard music in the manor.”

“Perhaps we are naturally talented,” Edwin suggested.

“Hmm,” Elizabeth said. “Her Grace, perhaps, but I don’t think you have ever been naturally talented at anything, dear brother.”

“You should not say such things to me when I am still annoyed at you for running off that morning,” Edwin scolded. “If you irk me any further, I will make you attend the next painting lesson.”

“You would not be such a brute, would you? Did you see the painting Mother made? Do you know she wishes to hang it in the dining hall? I love Mother more than anything in the world, but she does not have any artistic talent. If the ghastly thing is hung where we eat, I will be put off my food forever.”

Edwin laughed. “I shall ensure you can still eat.”

“Thank you, Edwin,” Elizabeth said. “Perhaps you have some talent in making everyone else’s life better. I know you have done that for me. Still, you are surprisingly good at dancing, and I believe I have worked out why.”

“Why?” Edwin asked curiously.

“It must be because the two of you are in love. That is the reason you were able to dance so beautifully together without any practice.” Elizabeth placed her hands on her cheeks. “Oh, I will fall in love someday, and it will be wonderful.”

“I must go,” Edwin stated suddenly. Then he strode out of the room without waiting for a reply.

“Oh, my,” Elizabeth murmured. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, of course not,” Beatrice replied.

At least, not intentionally.

They were not in love, but they could not admit that to Elizabeth. To do so would be to admit that everything was a sham.

“His Grace is busy right now. It was a pleasant surprise that he took enough time off to perform the dance with me, and I hope you were watching carefully, even if he did perform some different steps at one point.”

“I thought there was something amiss,” Elizabeth admitted.

“There is something else amiss,” Beatrice said.

Elizabeth looked worried.

“You must not call me Your Grace anymore. I know I have been teaching you the proper etiquette and manners, but you must forego it on this occasion. We have become friends since I got here, and in the spirit of friendship and sisterhood, you must call me Beatrice. In public, we can follow convention, but in private, we do not need to be formal with each other.”

Elizabeth beamed as if she had just been given a present. “I would like that very much. I know you have not been here for very long, but I already think of you as my sister. Edwin chose a wife well.”

“He did, but I am biased,” Beatrice quipped.

Elizabeth laughed.

Someone cleared their throat at the door, and when Beatrice turned around, she saw that her husband had returned.

“We need to talk,” he uttered.

“Give me a moment, Elizabeth,” Beatrice said.

He surely cannot have a problem with what his sister said.

She walked over to him, and then he led her out of the room and down the hallway.

“We just received an invitation for supper,” Edwin announced.

Beatrice let out a sigh of relief. She had thought it was something worse.

“Will we attend, or have you said no?” she asked.

“It is a supper we must attend,” he informed her. “Your family has invited my family to dine with them tomorrow evening.”

“Oh,” Beatrice murmured. When she realized the implications, she gasped. “Oh! The scandal has got back to them, hasn’t it?”

“I believe it has, and I am sure they have something to say about it.”