“Hmm… I had not thought of that,” Sarah said, pensive. “Oh my goodness! This is… I have no words! I have never seen anything so… so…” She trailed off, wide-eyed as the majesty of the transformed gardens came fully into view.
It truly was a fairy realm with avenues of stalls and stands lined up around the centerpiece of Round Pond where candles floated across the glittering water on flowery wreaths. There must have been thousands of them, lighting up the large pond and dotted throughout the water were islands of rock where men and women perched with gleaming fishtails. Mermaids and mermen in real life. And as there were rowboats docked along the edges of the pond, Leah suspected there might be the opportunity to row past those merfolk.
In the distance, it seemed the carnival stretched ever onward, all the way up to the stretch of the Serpentine known as “The Long Water.” Horse riders charged around a ring that had been erected, perform death-defying tricks as they turned somersaults and balanced on the saddles with nothing but their hands. Away to the east, Leah saw colorful roundabouts and ups-and-downs and carousels, alongside swings shaped like boats that could carry four people at once.
Elsewhere, various bands of musicians played, accompanying the antics of tumblers and contortionists and knife-throwers and sword-swallowers and fire-eaters and oddities of all kinds, including a dancing dog in fairy wings who howled along to the music. There were puppet shows and theatricals taking place all across the gardens, providing entertainment for all tastes, while there did not seem to be any formal dining but merely an array of sellers who were offering their wares for free. Everything must have been paid for already.
“Darling, I think I might faint,” Sarah whispered, her eyes so wide that Leah feared they might fall out of her head.
But just as she was about to answer, Leah’s gaze fixed upon a vision in phoenix red with giant feathery wings to complete the image. She wore a golden circlet around her head, her long, copper hair shining in the light of a thousand torches and candles, her beautiful face ethereal. A fairy queen, by anyone’s standards, deep in conversation with Nathaniel.
“I think I might too,” Leah whispered back, for the lady in red was none other than the Countess of Grayling, the heroine of the Spinsters’ Club.
Nathaniel halted mid-sentence as he caught sight of Leah walking toward him, pulling her mother along. He had known the lavender gown was beautiful, but he could not have anticipated just how beautiful it would look upon Leah. She looked as if she belonged in the fairy realm that the Countess had created, even without a pair of shining wings.
“Leah…” was all he could say, as she neared.
The Countess chuckled softly. “You must be the young lady that my dear friend cannot cease talking about.” She offered her hand to Leah, who just stared at the slender fingers as if she had never seen a hand before. “You are Lady Leah, are you not?”
Leah blinked, snapping out of her trance. “Uh… me? Y-Yes, I am. It is… it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady. You are… you are… famous amongst my friends. We… adore you!” she blurted out, her cheeks flushing the prettiest shade of pink.
The Countess gently took Leah’s hand and held it. “No, it ismypleasure to makeyouracquaintance.” She glanced at Nathaniel. “You did not say she was the most beautiful creature in all of England. Goodness, we ought to turn this spectacle into a wedding at once.”
“A wedding?” Sarah squeaked, equally in awe of the woman before her.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel tried not to stare in horror at his friend’s jest. He had informed the Countess that Leah was just an acquaintance, a friend, so why would she say a thing like that? He had been very firm in that regard. Too firm, perhaps.
The Countess laughed. “I am teasing though I do hope I shall be invited when the day comes. I promise, I do not always wear such ostentatious gowns.” She continued to hold Leah’s hand, ignoring Nathaniel’s stare. “My friend Nathaniel tells me that you are one of the famed Spinsters’ Club that I have heard so much about?”
“Um… yes, my lady,” Leah replied.
“I shall have to invite you all to my manor one day, so I can meet the ladies that are causing such a stir in society. I, myself, like to cause chaos now and again,” the Countess said, smiling fondly at Leah. “But you must not forget something vitally important.”
Leah tilted her head to one side. “What is that, my lady?”
“If you ever find a good man, a truly good man, you should not let him go out of stubbornness,” she explained. “I have been plagued with a lifetime of bad gentlemen of every kind, and so I know without doubt that I shall be happier alone for the rest of my days, but if you are blessed with a gentleman of good heart, good character, and good soul, keep him. Adore him. Be adored by him. And be outrageously happy forevermore.”
Leah’s gaze flitted to Nathaniel, and his heart leaped into his throat. Her enchanting, melancholy eyes brimmed with something like hope, their sparkle popping bubbles inside his chest, making his skin tingle. Of course, he knew that the Countess was not talking about him; she knew of his secret identity as a champion boxer, she knew of his long-suffering history, and she knew that he was not the sort of gentleman that any woman should be saddled with, for in his veins lurked the darkness of a cruel man, and only boxing kept him at bay. He was certain of it, for his father had always told him that they were exactly alike.
And Leah does not think the Countess is talking about me either,he told himself, feeling the bubbles in his chest dissipate as he forced his mind to remember that it was all for show. Their coy looks, their shy smiles—they were all part of their own theatrical.
“Now, I must tend to the rest of this beautiful horde,” the Countess announced, letting go of Leah’s hand. “It was my honor to meet you, Lady Leah, and I do mean what I said about inviting you and your sisterhood to my residence. Expect an invitation.”
With an elegant curtsy, the Countess sauntered off into the throngs, welcoming all those who had come to bask in her generosity and infamy. She would be hounded by gentlemen all evening, eager to try and make a wife out of her, but nothing could persuade her into matrimony, ever again. In that, Nathaniel guessed that she and Leah were aligned.
“Oh my goodness,” Leah gasped as though she had been holding her breath throughout that entire encounter. “She is… everything I had hoped. I must tell my friends. I must… Fiddlesticks! They are not here.”
Nathaniel laughed. “It is a delight to see you, too.”
“Oh, and she is delighted to seeyou,” Sarah cut in, her tone panicked. “Of course, you are, are you not, darling? Tell His Grace how delighted you are to see him again.”
Leah gave her mother a strange look. “Apologies, Nathaniel. I am still reeling. I shall recover and find my propriety again in a moment, once my heart has ceased racing.”
“You are not well acquainted with the Countess, are you?” Sarah turned her worried eyes on Nathaniel. “You seemed very familiar.”
Nathaniel understood the concern. “She is an acquaintance from long ago when her father’s summer residence bordered ours. The sister I never had.”
And a devout follower of boxing…he neglected to add, for he did not wish to add that to the list of things that society disapproved of the Countess. Nor did he want to explain how that had reunited the old friends, one evening at a boxing match in Limehouse where she had been attired as a man, and he had just won his last fight of the night.
