Unlike Jane, she smiled and laughed as she greeted some of the guests she was familiar with, a feat Jane had always marveled at. She had never been able to manage her feelings as her sister quite easily did.
“Oh, Sarah, he should have found a husband for you instead. You would make the perfect wife for such a man if he is as Father described,” she said, as the clogs in her head began to turn.
Sarah shook her head at her sister, offering a small laugh. At the age of four-and-twenty, Sarah remained unwed herself, now a spinster according to the ton, and yet, Jane knew any man would be lucky to have her as wife.
She should not have said it aloud. She knew that her father had no regard for Sarah, and called her ugly and useless since 3 seasons had passed with her sister failing to catch the attention of any man.
It was not that Sarah was ugly… it was that her quietness extended even to situations with suitors. The very thing that would make her a perfect wife had made it hard to hold the attention of suitors long enough to actually become one.
Jane wondered if she could make this man see how much better Sarah would be for him than her.
“Do not get any ideas in your head, Jane,” Sarah warned.
Jane grinned. Of course, her sister knew her enough to know she was already entertaining thoughts on how to turn this situation around. If only her father knew her just the same way so there would be no need for conversations as this.
She laced her hand with Sarah’s, still wearing her wide grin as her mood started to lift.
“You have to admit, it would be more logical for Father to marry you off first before he thinks to do the same with me,” she said.
“Ah, but that would only be true if it were not for one important fact,” Sarah said, her eyes filling with a familiar glint.
“What fact might that be, Sarah?” she played along, excited to experience this side of her sister that only she got to witness, especially since she absorbed the role of mother to Jane.
“Father would much rather I remain a spinster than be stuck with you if he married me off,” she stated, laughing at the shocked look on her sister’s face.
“Sarah, I cannot believe you just said that,” Jane said, feigning upset.
She burst into laughter when Sarah only stared at her with raised brows, not buying herhurtact. Jane gently shoved Sarah with her shoulder before pulling her close once again.
“You are lucky I love you, else I would take offence to that,” Jane said, intertwining their fingers.
“I could very much say the same to you, dear sister of mine. Only I could put up with you and Father, and your constant bickering.”
She put her hand on her chin in a dramatic fashion.
“Perhaps you are right. I should take you up on your offer and set my sights on the marquess so that I could be out of the house before you and Father set each other off again.”
Jane’s mouth dropped open as Sarah giggled, the action causing her face to crinkle and her eyes to turn into slit, causing her blue eyes to disappear behind her lids.
Jane stared at her as her lips formed into a smile. Her sister was beautiful and even more so when she let go of the need to mother her and allowed herself to be happy and smile.
“Ah, Lord Lewis, I had wondered whether you weren’t coming.”
Jane startled as she heard her father’s voice. She looked at her sister who had returned to her somber mood whenever their father was around and sighed quietly.
“I apologize, Lord Dowding. I was detained by some unforeseen circumstances,” he said, bowing slightly.
“That is no matter,” the viscount said before pointing at his daughters.
“These are my daughters. My older child, Miss Sarah Dowding, and my younger one, Miss Jane Dowding,” he said. “Girls, this is Lord Lewis, the Marquess of Pennington”.
Jane curtseyed, as did her sister.
“It is a pleasure to be in the company of such lovely ladies,” the marquess said, although his gaze remained fixed on Jane.
Sarah smiled at him while Jane remained silent. There was something about his gaze that set her off. Yet she knew not to mention it to her father as it would only be seen as an excuse and would only make her father lecture her even some more when they returned home.
“The dance is about to come to an end. Might I ask you to join me for the next dance, Miss Jane? That is, if your card is not already full,” he asked, offering her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
