Phoebe pulled a face, breaking into laughter. “I value my life too much.”
“What are the two of you whispering about back there?” Joanna turned, casting an envious eye at her sisters. “Please, do share the jest. I hate to be left out.”
Ellen giggled. “Phoebe was just saying how uncomfortable the beds are here.”
“That is not what I said,” Phoebe insisted, her skin prickling as she felt Daniel’s eyes on her. “I said that I do not sleep as well here as I do at home, which is not uncommon. Then, I said, rather foolishly, that Matilda is not always right.”
Joanna squealed with delight. “I shall tell her you said that!”
“No, you must not,” Phoebe replied, finally meeting Daniel’s black gaze.
His nose wrinkled slightly. “If the beds at Westyork are not to your liking, Miss Wilson, there is nothing preventing you from leaving. Indeed, if you would be more comfortable at home, I shall arrange for your carriage to be readied right away.” He sniffed. “But my mother has gone to great efforts to be hospitable, and I will not have you insulting her work.”
Phoebe flinched. “And I have told you once before that, if I must, I will fetch soap to clean out your ears so that you might listen properly,” she retorted before she could stop herself. “I did not say anything remotely insulting about your manor’s beds or your mother. Indeed, the only person I slightly insulted was Matilda, who would actually agree with my assessment. Moreover, I adore your mother! She is the very last person on this earth that I would insult, and Ididwant to leave, but she asked me to stay, and there is nothing I would not do for her.”
She stood there breathless, her chest heaving as she glared at Daniel. She still did not know what she had done to annoy him so endlessly, for it was not her who caught him in her arms—it was the other way around. It was not her who held onto him, long after she should have let him go. It was not her who had cradled the back of his neck and brushed her thumb against his skin, leaving the ghost of a caress that he could still feel whenever he thought of it.
“Goodness, you are so quick to anger, these days,” Joanna scolded. “What is the matter with you?”
What is the matter with me?
Phoebe almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it.
If I knew, I would remedy it.
“No, I think it was His Lordship who angered too quickly,” Ellen countered. “He misunderstood.”
Joanna waved a dismissive hand. “Well, let us all forgive one another and be pleasant. Otherwise, this tea will make for a very awkward afternoon, and I do not want any awkwardness. I just want to revel in the company and imagine what it will be like when I am a countess, having tea with all of the ladies who arenotin my glorious position. Though, I promise I shall not be boastful.”
“Yes, let us have a pleasant afternoon,” Daniel instructed, turning his back and striding onward, without so much as a word of apology.
Joanna ran after him, weaving her arm through his, enjoying the honor of being the one standing at his side.
Meanwhile, Ellen cast Phoebe a sideways glance. “Are you well, Sister? That was terribly unkind.”
“Always,” Phoebe replied. “I am always well.”
Ellen hesitated. “We could return to the manor if you want?”
“No, let us press on,” Phoebe urged, fixing a smile on her face.
I would not want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me scurry away.
* * *
As it turned out, refusing to be sent away was the best possible decision that Phoebe could have made, for in the company of Olivia, Evan, and her sisters, she did not even have to address or look at Daniel if she did not want to. And to make the afternoon even lovelier, Matilda, Leah, and Anna had arrived half an hour after the others, turning the tea party into a gathering that suited Phoebe perfectly.
“I confess it, I did say that you were not always right,” Phoebe teased, allowing herself some freedom to enjoy herself. “To prove the point, you once told me that I looked very becoming in mustard yellow. I walked into the ball wearing that awful gown—do you remember?—and the first thing anyone said to me was, ‘I did not realize this was a costume ball.’ I just about died on the spot, though I have since learned to laugh about it.”
Matilda howled with laughter. “I have warned you on many an occasion not to seek my advice on any fashions whatsoever. My sense of fashion is somewhere between Eton scholar and medieval peasant.”
“Oh, you say that, but we all saw you in that exquisite gown that Anna made you purchase,” Phoebe replied in earnest. “You could have been the diamond of the Season if you had not told every gentleman who asked you to dance that you had ‘ungainly calves’ and ‘the footwork of a lamed donkey.’ Though I cannot say that the looks on their faces were not worth it!”
Anna sighed. “You looked like a princess, Matilda.”
“I felt like a fraud,” Matilda replied, smirking. “And you four are the only ones whohaveseen me dance, so you can vouch for my warnings. Those gentlemen would only have suffered greater disappointment if they had danced with me and spent the next fortnight hobbling around with broken toes. Speaking of which, how is the patient? Are we all healed?”
Phoebe wiggled her foot. “Good as new. I think there is something to be said about your prescription of rest and elevation. Of course, I could not elevate it at the ball, or it might have causedquitethe scandal.” She snorted. “Can you imagine me sitting there with my foot on the table? I would have had my Society membership rescinded in an instant.”
