“Of courseyouwouldn’t, Miss Hawkins.”
“Would you be so kind as to enlighten me as to why you would say it like that?” It was Elizabeth’s turn to mock.
“We have already established you harbour atendrein your heart for America, the land that provides the freedom and opportunity for the dregs of mankind to rise above the muck they were born in. You most likely think it progress that nowadays merchants and people of trade are proudly parading their daughters’dowries in front of impoverished nobility, diluting the noble bloodlines of England!”
His entire face was twisted in distaste as he pointed around them with his chin.
Elizabeth wanted to take a step back, but was locked in the embrace of the waltz.
Dear God, does this man hate me, too?She shook the thought off, realising that she hadn’t really expected a different answer from him. She was aware of who he was and what he stood for.
“Why don’t you propose matrimony to an impoverished gentleman’s daughter, then?” Elizabeth said, thinking of Elinor, who was desperate for a rich husband.
“Ah,” he said. “Marrying a girl like that almost guarantees that your house will become a sort of caravanserai for her relations and you shall become the Bank of England.”
“I don’t know what a caravanserai is,” Lizzie admitted.
“It’s a sort of inn in the East,” Talbot clarified without any judgment on his face.
“I’ve never stayed at an inn,” she said stupidly, then took a deep breath and returned to the topic at hand. “It is said that grace is God’s unmerited favour, and I view titles and being nobility like I do that grace. These things are not the result of hard work, unlike a successful merchant’s hard-earned money,” she said and lifted an eyebrow, attempting to affect the same haughtiness she’d seen on his face so many times.
Talbot’s nose twitched, but the music stopped, and he thus lost his chance to reply. Elizabeth felt elation and apprehension warring in her stomach.
“Where to?” he asked as he started escorting her off the dance floor.
“The refreshments, please.”
For all its exclusivity, the refreshments at Almack’s were, quite frankly, sad. Tea, lemonade, some stale-looking cake, bread, and butter – that was all they offered.
“Do you think the refreshments are better at Wiltshire balls?” she asked Talbot, who actually had to bow his head to hide his laughter at Lizzie’s dejected face.
“Are these not to your liking?”
“I could eat a wheel of cheese right now.” Elizabeth sighed and shook her head at herself as she took a glass of lemonade. “I’m glad my aunt isn’t here to hear me say that in front of a duke.”
“I’ll lead you to her right away.”
Elizabeth shook her head with an affectionate smile.
*
Three days later, Mary led a confused Elizabeth to the kitchens of the Mayfair house.
“I’m telling you, Ma doesn’t know what to do with it. It saidMiss Elizabeth Hawkinson the packaging, which was weird since you don’t make the orders at the shops.”
When Elizabeth saw the wheel of cheese in the middle of the large wooden table, she burst out laughing. Mary frowned.
“What is it?” She asked impatiently.
Elizabeth briefly explained the conversation she’d had with Talbot at Almack’s regarding the food, but Mary’s frown remained fixed.
“I don’t know, Lizzie. Why is the rude dukeling sending you gifts all of a sudden?”
“He’s mocking me, that’s just his way. Don’t worry about it.”
Her friend wasn’t convinced.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Just be careful, alright?”
