behind false bravado. She would go soon. In the country she could pass the days more proficiently. But once she’d decided to leave, desperation and a sense of bitter failure made her feel quite ill.
Chapter Fifteen
The day before Selina was to depart for the country, a caller sent up her card and insisted on waiting for an answer. Selina studied the name printed in embossed silver: Lady Rowntree.
Selina paused, both curious and hopeful of information. “Please show Lady Rowntree to the drawing room, Hawkins.” She left the linen she was sorting and went to her bedchamber to tidy her hair.
Moments later, she found a pretty woman of a similar age to herself, sitting on the satin settee. At Selina’s entrance, she rose and curtseyed gracefully.
“Lady Halcrow, thank you for seeing me. It’s rash of me to call like this, but I’ve long wished to meet you. My husband, Lord Rowntree, is a friend of the earl’s of long standing.”
“Please do sit, Lady Rowntree.” Selina had never seen such an elegant costume. Certainly not in any of the fashion magazines Anne so eagerly perused. The lady’s crimson wrap was trimmed at the collar and cuffs with spotted ermine. The matching fur hat covered most of her hair, except for her auburn fringe.
“Is your husband an army man, Lady Rowntree?”
“No, not the army. He and Lord Halcrow were at Cambridge together, and these schoolboy friendships seem to endure, do they not?”
Devereux had told her nothing of his friends. Selina turned to the tea tray the maid had placed at her elbow. She opened the tea caddy and added spoonfuls of tea to the silver teapot. It helped order her racing mind to perform the ritual. She poured in hot water and replaced the lid, leaving it to steep. “Milk?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“I’m afraid my husband hasn’t mentioned Lord Rowntree,” Selina said, offering the lady a plate of dainty cress sandwiches.
Lady Rowntree took one and bit into it with small teeth. With a nod, she took the china teacup and saucer with the Halcrow crest in gold. “I am here with a request, Lady Halcrow. I hoped to persuade you to accompany me this evening. There is still a dearth of good company in London, and I find myself with an extra ticket for the ballet. Pygmalion is to be performed at the Royal Theatre.”
“How good of you to think of me.” Selina stirred sugar into her tea. “I wonder how you discovered that I’m here in London alone, Lady Rowntree.”
“Did you think you could come here unobserved?” she said with a tinkling laugh. “The new Countess of Halcrow is the talk of the drawing rooms. I have only one ticket to offer, and you seemed the perfect choice, as we are both without our husbands. Lord Rowntree is away from London on business, and I’m in sore need of feminine company.”
“I confess surprise that my arrival has been so quickly noted.”
“The ton thrives on gossip, Lady Halcrow. I don’t indulge in it, but I confess I’ve wanted to meet you since your husband told us of his marriage.”
Selina bent her head over her cup. “Oh? When was that?”
“Why, when was it?” She tapped her cheek. “One loses track of time. A few weeks now it was. He said you were indisposed and unable to accompany him.”
“A cold has kept me in the country,” Selina said. If Devereux was in London, why didn’t he stay at Halcrow House? “I should be delighted to join you, Lady Rowntree.”
Lady Rowntree laid a gloved hand on Selina’s arm. “Amelia, please. Let us dispense with formality. I feel we shall become firm friends.”
Selina smiled. “Selina.”
“Selina. It’s unusual for me to take an immediate liking to someone. I am not in the habit of it, I assure you. I know we shall have a most pleasant evening together. My cousin, Mr. Brocklehurst, will escort us.”
It was not the ballet on her mind when Selina dressed for the evening. She was keen to learn more about Devereux tonight. She’d chosen the Pomona green
Chapter Fifteen
The day before Selina was to depart for the country, a caller sent up her card and insisted on waiting for an answer. Selina studied the name printed in embossed silver: Lady Rowntree.
Selina paused, both curious and hopeful of information. “Please show Lady Rowntree to the drawing room, Hawkins.” She left the linen she was sorting and went to her bedchamber to tidy her hair.
Moments later, she found a pretty woman of a similar age to herself, sitting on the satin settee. At Selina’s entrance, she rose and curtseyed gracefully.
“Lady Halcrow, thank you for seeing me. It’s rash of me to call like this, but I’ve long wished to meet you. My husband, Lord Rowntree, is a friend of the earl’s of long standing.”
“Please do sit, Lady Rowntree.” Selina had never seen such an elegant costume. Certainly not in any of the fashion magazines Anne so eagerly perused. The lady’s crimson wrap was trimmed at the collar and cuffs with spotted ermine. The matching fur hat covered most of her hair, except for her auburn fringe.
“Is your husband an army man, Lady Rowntree?”
“No, not the army. He and Lord Halcrow were at Cambridge together, and these schoolboy friendships seem to endure, do they not?”
Devereux had told her nothing of his friends. Selina turned to the tea tray the maid had placed at her elbow. She opened the tea caddy and added spoonfuls of tea to the silver teapot. It helped order her racing mind to perform the ritual. She poured in hot water and replaced the lid, leaving it to steep. “Milk?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“I’m afraid my husband hasn’t mentioned Lord Rowntree,” Selina said, offering the lady a plate of dainty cress sandwiches.
Lady Rowntree took one and bit into it with small teeth. With a nod, she took the china teacup and saucer with the Halcrow crest in gold. “I am here with a request, Lady Halcrow. I hoped to persuade you to accompany me this evening. There is still a dearth of good company in London, and I find myself with an extra ticket for the ballet. Pygmalion is to be performed at the Royal Theatre.”
“How good of you to think of me.” Selina stirred sugar into her tea. “I wonder how you discovered that I’m here in London alone, Lady Rowntree.”
“Did you think you could come here unobserved?” she said with a tinkling laugh. “The new Countess of Halcrow is the talk of the drawing rooms. I have only one ticket to offer, and you seemed the perfect choice, as we are both without our husbands. Lord Rowntree is away from London on business, and I’m in sore need of feminine company.”
“I confess surprise that my arrival has been so quickly noted.”
“The ton thrives on gossip, Lady Halcrow. I don’t indulge in it, but I confess I’ve wanted to meet you since your husband told us of his marriage.”
Selina bent her head over her cup. “Oh? When was that?”
“Why, when was it?” She tapped her cheek. “One loses track of time. A few weeks now it was. He said you were indisposed and unable to accompany him.”
“A cold has kept me in the country,” Selina said. If Devereux was in London, why didn’t he stay at Halcrow House? “I should be delighted to join you, Lady Rowntree.”
Lady Rowntree laid a gloved hand on Selina’s arm. “Amelia, please. Let us dispense with formality. I feel we shall become firm friends.”
Selina smiled. “Selina.”
“Selina. It’s unusual for me to take an immediate liking to someone. I am not in the habit of it, I assure you. I know we shall have a most pleasant evening together. My cousin, Mr. Brocklehurst, will escort us.”
It was not the ballet on her mind when Selina dressed for the evening. She was keen to learn more about Devereux tonight. She’d chosen the Pomona green
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