“Ah! Lord Arundel! There you are!”
“Mrs Maltravers.”
“We were just looking for you, were we not, my dears?” she asked her daughters.
The three girls giggled in unison.
Daniel replied politely enough, giving them a slight bow and then making the necessary introductions.
Faith, Hope and Charity, Annabelle repeated to herself with amusement as he named them. Somehow the giggling girls did not suit their idealistic names, but they seemed good-humoured enough, and she thought they would provide Caroline with some companionship of her own age.
“Now you promised to show us the water garden,” said Mrs Maltravers girlishly, tapping Daniel with her fan. “And we are not about to let you disappoint us, are we, girls?”
A chorus of giggles followed her sally.
But Daniel said, “Unfortunately, I must ask you to wait a little longer. I am just escorting Miss Langley back to the house.”
“Oh, pray don’t worry about me,” said Annabelle, feeling the danger of being too much with Daniel. “I can manage quite well from here.”
Mrs Maltravers beamed at her. “Well, now, if that isn’t handsome. But won’t you come with us, Miss Langley?”
“Thank you, no. I must see if my maid has finished unpacking my things.”
“Quite, quite,” said Mrs Maltravers, not displeased to be able to secure such an eligible gentleman for the sole entertainment of her three unmarried daughters. “Well, then, let us go,” she said, beaming up at Daniel.
The last thing Annabelle heard as she strolled back across the lawn to the house was the high-pitched giggling of Faith, Hope and Charity as they jostled each other to claim his arms.
She returned to her room, where she found that Sally had indeed finished unpacking her things. A glance at the clock showed that she had an hour before dinner, so she luxuriated in a scented bath before choosing which dress to wear. As she looked at each one in turn she thought how lucky she was to have inherited her fortune, for before it she had had to dress in far less fashionable style. The gown she chose was of the latest design with a stand-up ruff at the back of the neck, a lace-trimmed bodice and six inches of embroidery around the hem.
“I see you’ve chosen your best frock. I knew you’d want to make an impression,” said Sally.
“On Lord and Lady Carlton?”
“No, miss. On the gentleman you were walking with.”
“I don’t suppose it will do any good to pretend not to know what you’re talking about?” asked Annabelle.
“No, miss, none at all. A very fine gentleman he looked. In fact, he looked a good deal like Lord Arundel to me.”
“You know very well that he was Lord Arundel.”
“Well?”
“Well?”
“Sweet on him, you were, not long since.”
She sighed, for she could keep nothing from Sally. “Perhaps I was, but unfortunately, he was not sweet on me.”
“He gave a good impression of it,” remarked Sally.
“It was a flirtation and nothing more, at least on his part. He saw me as someone to pass the time with.”
“Then more fool him,” said Sally. “All men are fools.”
“Then it is a good thing we neither of us wish to marry, for neither of us would want to live with a fool.”
Sally grunted in reply, and proceeded to help Annabelle to dress. Chemise and drawers went on first, followed by a pair of clocked stockings and light stays. Then the evening dress, with its high waist and long flowing skirt.
Annabelle adjusted the scoop neckline and straightened the lace that adorned the bodice, then slipped her feet into dainty satin slippers. She seated herself in front of the mirror so that Sally could dress her hair. She arranged it in a fashionable chignon and then teased out delicate ringlets around her face, before adding the feathered headdress.
“There,” said Sally with obvious pride. “It’s done.”
Annabelle stood up. Sally fastened a string of pearls round her neck and then Annabelle pulled on her long white evening gloves and went to collect Caroline. Caroline, she was pleased to see, was in a demure white muslin, with satin slippers and a simple string of pearls. No doubt she had wanted to wear something more dashing, but had been dissuaded by her maid.
The two of them went downstairs, to find that the drawing room was already full of people.
“Have you met Mrs Maltravers and her three daughters?” Annabelle asked Caroline.
“Unfortunately, yes. I have never met three sillier girls,” said Caroline.
However, she went over to join them and they were soon laughing together.
Laura wandered over to Annabelle, saying, “It is good to see the young people having fun. And now there is someone I would like you to meet: Lord Fossington.”
Annabelle sighed.
“Now, Annabelle, you have not even met him yet. He might be everything you ever dreamed of.”
“You are right, of course, dear Laura. Pray introduce me.”
Laura led her across the room and made the introduction.
Lord Fossington was a tall man of military bearing, handsome in a rugged way, with a scar across one cheek.
“Miss Langley,” he said. “I was hoping to have an opportunity to speak to you. I believe you know Mrs Granville, my aunt?”
They talked of their shared acquaintances, and of his time in the army, where he had served faithfully for many years.
“How do you like being at home again? Is it very dull after being in the army?” asked Annabelle.
“On the contrary. I have had enough of war. I like being in the country. The quiet suits my nerves,” he said, as he led her in to dinner. “But perhaps it sounds boring to you?”
“I must confess I like the bustle of London. But in the summer, there is nothing I like better than the country.”
They took their places and to her secret delight Annabelle found herself sitting opposite Daniel. He looked up as she took her place and there was unmistakable admiration in his eyes.
As the soup was brought in, she saw him open his mouth to speak to her but Mrs Maltravers, seated to her right, began to talk about the latest scandal. Mrs Maltravers denounced Princess Caroline, the Regent’s wife, as a national disgrace. “Running round Europe like a lightskirt. Setting up home in Spain—”
Italy, thought Annabelle, not realizing she had mouthed it until she caught sight of Daniel’s amused expression, and the two of them shared a secret smile. They continued to glance at each other and smile throughout dinner, though Annabelle did her best to keep her eyes away from him. She could feel all too clearly the attraction she had felt the year before, so that she was relieved when it was time for the ladies to withdraw.
“We must have an outing tomorrow,” said Mrs Maltravers, as the ladies settled themselves in the drawing room.
“Oh, yes, Mama. A picnic!” exclaimed Hope.
“May we, Lady Carlton?” asked Faith.
“Oh, please say we may,” entreated Charity.
“I see no reason why not,” said Laura. “As long as the weather holds.”
“It is sure to,” said Caroline, caught up in the idea.
“And what do you think?” murmured a deep voice in Annabelle’s ear.
She turned to see Daniel, who had just entered the room with the other gentlemen.
“I think it will probably rain!” she said mischievously.
“So you are not in favour of a picnic?”
“On the contrary, I am looking forward to it,” she said, “rain or shine!”
“You have a rare gift for enjoying life,” he replied with a smile.
“I shall go on horseback,” declared Faith.
“And so will I,” declared Hope.