Isabella and Faith exchanged a warm embrace momentarily, and then Faith left the room.
Isabella lay back on her bed after placing the broach carefully on her bedside table. She thought back to what Faith had said and allowed herself to hope that this festive season might be when she finally found genuine love. She prayed that she would be as lucky as Faith had been when finding a husband.
***
The next few days went by quickly, and soon it was the day of the Christmas Ball that was to mark the beginning of the festive house party at the Evermere estate. The house was a hub of activity, with servants bustling in and out of every room, making the final preparations before the guests began to arrive.
Eleanor was in and out of the kitchen all day, finalizing details with the cook for the menu for the evening, and the housekeeper was running up and down the stairs, barking out orders to the maids as they made the final preparations for the guest bedrooms.
Isabella stood in the hallway with Daphne, observing the buzz of activity around them.
“Do you think we should stay and help?” she said doubtfully.
“No, I think we would be better off out of the way,” Daphne replied. “Your mother and the housekeeper clearly have everything under control. Honestly, I think we are rather in the way.”
Isabella nodded. “That is just what I think, too,” she said. “And we have agreed to go and help Ruth with her baskets for the poor, anyway. We cannot let her down.”
“Indeed,” Daphne agreed. “Come, let us go now before someone tries to dust us!”
Isabella giggled and took her friend’s arm. They left the house and strolled along the gravel driveway that brought them to the edge of the Evermere estate, and then along the path into the village.
It was a perfect winter’s day. The cloudless sky was a deep blue, and the air was crisp and cold. Isabella shivered a little and tightened her muffler around her shoulders.
“I love winter so much,” she said, looking up at the bright sun shining over her head. “I only wish it wasn’t quite so cold!”
Daphne laughed. “I think that is rather the point of winter.”
“Well, I suppose so,” Isabella conceded. “I do think it is my favourite time of year, the lead-up to Christmas. I think the build-up is almost better than the day itself, don’t you think?”
“I’m not sure about that,” Daphne replied. “I do enjoy the gift giving and the feasting, I must confess.”
Isabella smiled. “I enjoy all that, too. And everything will be so much more festive this year, with a houseful of guests.”
“Are you at all nervous about the house party?” Daphne enquired as they walked along the lane.
Isabella shook her head, then hesitated for a moment. “I was about to say no, Daphne, and to deny any feelings of nerves, but the truth is more complex than that, as I am sure you can imagine.”
Daphne nodded. “I am sure that being the daughter of the host and hostess of such a grand gathering as this must bring some anxiety.”
“Yes, and it is not just that. Of course, I shall have to be with them in the receiving line at the ball tonight, which makes me feel rather nervous. But the fact is that I am now twenty years old. Everyone will be expecting me to marry soon.
Everyone will be watching me and wondering which gentleman will get to claim me as his own.” She paused and fingered the broach pinned onto the collar of her cloak. “I want some control of that decision, Daphne, and I do not want to make the wrong choice.”
Daphne glanced at the broach, too; Isabella had shown it to her at breakfast that morning and told her briefly of its significance and the conversation with Faith the previous night in her chamber.
“You have that broach, at least, to remind you of the value of true love,” Daphne said.
“Indeed,” Isabella replied. “And I could not wish for a more beautiful talisman to guide me through the party. I think that I shall wear it every day to help me remember what is most important to me when making these decisions.”
Daphne tilted her head and looked at Isabella a little coyly. “So, have you thought any more about the duke?”
“The duke?”
“The Duke of Harbridge, of course!” Daphne replied. “Surely you must have thought about him a little since he appears to be a match favoured by your parents?”
Isabella sighed softly. “I confess I have not thought of him very much,” she admitted. “What would be the point? I have only met him once, as far as I can remember. I hardly know him. Of course, I will be polite to him at the gathering and try to get to know him better, but there is no point in thinking of it beyond that at present. He may not even like me all that much when he meets me again. It is far too early for everyone to be getting so excited.”
Daphne looked at her friend in surprise. “You are strange sometimes, Isabella. I am sure that if it were me, and I might be destined to marry a duke, then I would be able to think of nothing else! Just imagine, you might be a duchess!”
