But surely that wouldn’t cause the stares. Was she imagining it?
“Why are people staring at you?” Aunt Ebena demanded in a whisper.
No, not imagining it.
They waited through the receiving line until they reached Lady Fairmont, resplendent in violet satin with an amethyst pendant the size of a walnut at her throat. “Ebena, so good of you to come.” Lady Fairmont kissed the air above Aunt Ebena’s cheek.
“Tania, you remember my niece, Lady Alethea Sutherton?”
“Of course.” Lady Fairmont beamed at Alethea, who curtseyed.
“Lady Fairmont, later in the evening, might I have a word—” Alethea began, but stopped at a look from Aunt Ebena. They continued on and Lady Fairmont greeted the next person in line.
“Tania would forget any meeting you arranged with her in the receiving line,” Aunt Ebena said. “Try to find a moment with her later in the evening, when fewer people are attempting to speak to her.”
Lady Fairmont’s ball was small, limited to the size of her two drawing rooms with the connecting double doors thrown open to expand the dancing area, and a card room and supper room, yet it was one of the largest residences in Bath. The elegant furniture had been removed to make way for the dancers and the musicians in a side alcove, although many chairs in both classical and Egyptian styles graced the walls, several already occupied by guests. The rooms were packed with far more people than could comfortably fit. The musicians had not yet begun, and Alethea wondered how people would clear a space for the dancing.
“I see Mrs. Nanstone,” Aunt Ebena said. “She detests me and would be only too happy to tell me why everyone is staring at you as if you’ve grown tentacles. Go somewhere and be unobtrusive.” Her aunt bustled off through the crowd.
The only people not glancing her way were Lord Dommick and his party. His mother and sister sat at chairs speaking to Lord Ian and Lord Ravenhurst while Lord Dommick stood nearby, his posture upright. He did not look tense, but something about him made Alethea think he was not comfortable in the close room with people chatting and occasionally bumping into him. He was all politeness, but there was a stiffness at the edges of his mouth. Alethea realized with a start of surprise that he may not like small rooms and crowds of people. Just like herself.
He happened to glance her way. Alethea did not expect him to notice her in the midst of so many people, but he found her gaze,perhaps because her height set her above most of the women in the room. He froze for a moment as if something had surprised him, then with a tiny shake of his head, he blinked. He nodded his head to her, and she returned his gesture. At least he was not staring and pointing as others were doing.
In her London season, she had been a stone lighter, awkward and insecure. She would have obeyed her aunt’s instructions to be unobtrusive by hiding in a dark corner, preferably behind a fern.
But she was not that girl anymore. So, instead, she held her head high, relaxing her shoulders to belie the pounding of her heart, and adopted a polite mask. She decided to emulate Aunt Ebena’s excellent strategy and walked toward the cluster of women who appeared to be deriving the most enjoyment from her discomfiture.
Alethea had not been overly impressed with the calibre of Bath misses she’d met this past year while going out in society with her Aunt Ebena. Most of them were daughters, nieces, granddaughters, and grandnieces to Aunt Ebena’s friends and acquaintances, and a rather large percentage of them resented being stuck in mouldy Bath with their elders rather than somewhere that possessed more young, single men.
They made Alethea feel rather long in the tooth, because at the advanced age of twenty-eight, she was firmly on the shelf, whereas most of them were still in the fresh, nubile state of mind where dreams of dukes falling madly in love with them still formed the chief of their
“Why are people staring at you?” Aunt Ebena demanded in a whisper.
No, not imagining it.
They waited through the receiving line until they reached Lady Fairmont, resplendent in violet satin with an amethyst pendant the size of a walnut at her throat. “Ebena, so good of you to come.” Lady Fairmont kissed the air above Aunt Ebena’s cheek.
“Tania, you remember my niece, Lady Alethea Sutherton?”
“Of course.” Lady Fairmont beamed at Alethea, who curtseyed.
“Lady Fairmont, later in the evening, might I have a word—” Alethea began, but stopped at a look from Aunt Ebena. They continued on and Lady Fairmont greeted the next person in line.
“Tania would forget any meeting you arranged with her in the receiving line,” Aunt Ebena said. “Try to find a moment with her later in the evening, when fewer people are attempting to speak to her.”
Lady Fairmont’s ball was small, limited to the size of her two drawing rooms with the connecting double doors thrown open to expand the dancing area, and a card room and supper room, yet it was one of the largest residences in Bath. The elegant furniture had been removed to make way for the dancers and the musicians in a side alcove, although many chairs in both classical and Egyptian styles graced the walls, several already occupied by guests. The rooms were packed with far more people than could comfortably fit. The musicians had not yet begun, and Alethea wondered how people would clear a space for the dancing.
“I see Mrs. Nanstone,” Aunt Ebena said. “She detests me and would be only too happy to tell me why everyone is staring at you as if you’ve grown tentacles. Go somewhere and be unobtrusive.” Her aunt bustled off through the crowd.
The only people not glancing her way were Lord Dommick and his party. His mother and sister sat at chairs speaking to Lord Ian and Lord Ravenhurst while Lord Dommick stood nearby, his posture upright. He did not look tense, but something about him made Alethea think he was not comfortable in the close room with people chatting and occasionally bumping into him. He was all politeness, but there was a stiffness at the edges of his mouth. Alethea realized with a start of surprise that he may not like small rooms and crowds of people. Just like herself.
He happened to glance her way. Alethea did not expect him to notice her in the midst of so many people, but he found her gaze,perhaps because her height set her above most of the women in the room. He froze for a moment as if something had surprised him, then with a tiny shake of his head, he blinked. He nodded his head to her, and she returned his gesture. At least he was not staring and pointing as others were doing.
In her London season, she had been a stone lighter, awkward and insecure. She would have obeyed her aunt’s instructions to be unobtrusive by hiding in a dark corner, preferably behind a fern.
But she was not that girl anymore. So, instead, she held her head high, relaxing her shoulders to belie the pounding of her heart, and adopted a polite mask. She decided to emulate Aunt Ebena’s excellent strategy and walked toward the cluster of women who appeared to be deriving the most enjoyment from her discomfiture.
Alethea had not been overly impressed with the calibre of Bath misses she’d met this past year while going out in society with her Aunt Ebena. Most of them were daughters, nieces, granddaughters, and grandnieces to Aunt Ebena’s friends and acquaintances, and a rather large percentage of them resented being stuck in mouldy Bath with their elders rather than somewhere that possessed more young, single men.
They made Alethea feel rather long in the tooth, because at the advanced age of twenty-eight, she was firmly on the shelf, whereas most of them were still in the fresh, nubile state of mind where dreams of dukes falling madly in love with them still formed the chief of their
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