“I think I might have to journey into town,” he said abruptly.
Caroline gasped. “London? Again?”
“Not London.” He paused. “Where was that shop you spoke of, with the beautiful gowns?”
Caroline considered the question, her finger hooked across her lower lip. “Butterworth’s Dressmakers? That is in town.” She cast him a warning look. “You must not buy me anything else for this party, or I shall feel quite spoiled!”
“You leave my purchases to my own discretion,” he told her, thinking of someone else. “Yes, I think I shall venture into town. Do not wait for me before you dine, though I hope I shall be back in time.”
With that, he left the ballroom at a brisk pace, forgetting to take his gulp of fresh air as he ran down the front steps and into the waiting carriage. He poked his head out of the window, shouting, “To town,” to the driver. For there was something he had to do, and once he had done it, he was quite certain that all unwanted thoughts of Phoebe would disappear.
There is a debt that I owe,and it must be paid before I can have peace.
Indeed, he far preferred that explanation to the alternative, for the alternative would be nothing short of a catastrophe.
CHAPTERNINE
It had been several months since Phoebe was last at Westyork, to celebrate the marriage of Olivia and Evan. Yet, it was a time earlier than that, that sprang to mind as the carriage trundled down the long, elegant driveway, toward the sprawling beauty of Westyork Manor and its famous gardens. A different occasion, a different party, where Phoebe and her friends had gathered in support of Olivia, who had been doing everything within her power not to fall in love with Evan.
Thinking back, Phoebe suspected she knew the exact moment when Olivia had fallen in love, for they had all been together in a wooden pagoda, just off the path that led between the manor and the dower house. They had been trying to come up with ways to get Olivia out of her arrangement with Evan, and though all of the women had offered sage advice, Phoebe remembered seeing a reluctance on Olivia’s face, as though her heart had already decided.
But Joanna has not expressed anything of that ilk,Phoebe mused, glancing over at her sisters, who were pinching their cheeks and primping their hair for the night’s party.She seems to want only the fame and envy that would come from marrying Daniel, rather than Daniel himself.
“Did I pinch them too hard?” Joanna caught Phoebe staring. “Are my cheeks too red? Oh, goodness, how shall I calm them before I see Daniel again?”
Phoebe put on a smile. “You both look beautiful.”
“As do you,” Ellen said shyly.
Joanna pursed her lips in mild disapproval. “It is not the fashion of the day, but I suppose it becomes you well.” She hesitated, seemingly realizing that she was behaving like a brat. “You have altered it very nicely.”
“Thank you.” Phoebe smoothed her hands down the front of the emerald-green gown, enjoying the way the raw silk felt beneath her fingertips: rough and smooth, all at once.
The gown had once belonged to their mother, left hanging in a wardrobe for years. She had thought of it when she realized she had nothing to wear to the party, and, with her father’s permission, she had made it her own, doing her best to be sensitive to the history of the garment while altering it to fit the modern aesthetic. It was not perfect, but, in some small way, she knew her mother would approve. Indeed, it was as if she was there with Phoebe and her sisters, watching over them.
“It is a shame that Papa could not join us,” Ellen said as the carriage halted in front of the magnificent, porticoed porch. “Do you think he will be all right without us?”
Phoebe smiled at her sister’s concern. “He will be delighted to have some peace. You know how he abhors social gatherings.”
“Did he always?” Ellen asked, her tone turning sad.
Phoebe’s breath caught in her throat. “No, not always.” She sighed as a memory popped into her head. “He used to wait in the entrance hall for Mama to come down the stairs, with this… expression on his face, like a child seeing real magic. He always opened his arms wide to her, pulling her into an embrace, and they would dance around the entrance hall for a while, even if they were late. And he would always,alwayssay, ‘I am the luckiest gentleman in the world.’ And she would smile back and say, ‘Then I must be the luckiest lady.’ I would watch from the landing, and they would both hurry back upstairs, kiss me goodnight, and then off they would go, smiling at one another as if they had only married yesterday.”
“I do not remember that,” Joanna said, frowning.
Ellen shook her head. “Nor do I.”
“I am sorry for that,” Phoebe murmured. “They always kissed you, too, when they put you to bed, but I was naughty and would stay awake later than I was supposed to. They would playfully pretend to scold me, but I do not think they truly minded.”
Ellen smiled, her eyes glittering. “I am glad you wore that gown.”
“On second thought, itisexceptionally beautiful,” Joanna conceded, her voice thick. “Indeed, you might well begin a fashion for taking old things and making them new again.”
The door opened, and two of the Westyork footmen offered their hands to help the ladies down from the carriage, as they could not afford footmen of their own. Surprisingly, as Phoebe accepted and paused to look up at the exquisite, grand manor, she felt rather excited for the night to come. That conversation, though sad, had somehow lifted her spirits, shifting her mood to one of contentment rather than apprehension.
“Girls, promise me something,” she said as her sisters flanked her. She brought to mind something Anna had advised, and decided that tonight, in the safety of Westyork Manor, would be the ideal time to test out her suggestion.
Ellen raised an eyebrow, no doubt bracing for a list of rules and reminders about behaving like ladies. “What, Sister?”
