Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
But now later had come. As I sat across from the young Mrs. Marcella Topwells, I was aghast at how childish she seemed. I did not wish to believe I had looked so immature at the same age, but the way she giggled, kicked her feet slightly, ate her cake with a twirl of her spoon, and, most importantly, the way she spoke was all evidence to me why Mama believed no girl was fit to marry at fifteen, nor sixteen for that matter.
She was a child.
“All my cousins shall be most jealous that I was given an audience with you, Your Grace.” She giggled once again. “We have all heard the Du Bell ladies are the finest and most amiable of the ton. And how even the queen holds you all to such high esteem. Gwendolyn and Minerva sought desperately to be invited to your mama’s ball earlier this season. But the invitations were of the greatest difficulty to secure. They even begged Mr. Winchester.”
“Prime Minister Winchester?” I asked, stirring my tea.
She nodded eagerly. “Yes. He and my uncle were discussing something or other around the same time, so all my cousins tried, not just Gwendolyn and Minerva, though they waited at the door.”
“How many cousins do you have?” I asked.
“Seven—six girls and one boy. My uncle obviously seeks another boy for good measure. But my aunt is quite advanced in age for that and always tells him he must learn to accept what is before him.” She giggled once more.
She spoke of her family and personal matters so openly that I was quite shocked.
“So you spend much time with your uncle Sir Zachary Dennison-Whit, I understand?”
She nodded, sitting up in her seat. “Yes, Your Grace. As I am now an only child, and my father is more advanced in age. My father thought it best for me to be amongst female company. It was much more female company than I expected, as the house is quite full. I am most pleased to be married now and a mistress of my own.”
Now we had reached the conversation I truly desired to have.
“And how did such a thing occur?” I asked, gently lifting my teacup to my lips.
“It was destiny.” She beamed, grinning from ear to ear. “I was going to London after visiting my father when my carriage got caught in a rut. It was only my maid and me and, of course, the driver. The sunlight was fading, and it began to pour. I feared we might have to send the driver up ahead or, worse, walk. That was when suddenly the dowager’s carriage arrived and there was Fitzwilliam. He dashed to my rescue, removed his coat, and held it over my head, bringing me to shelter within theirs. During the ride, I was able to speak with him.”
Damn the roads and the weather this season.
“The very next day, he arrived with my carriage and inquired as to the condition of my health. All my cousins were quite jealous, as he is most handsome, is he not?” she asked.
I smiled and nodded.
“My aunt sought to push Gwendolyn on him, but he had no interest in her. I found him to be smiling at me. My heart all but leapt from my chest.”
There was something amiss in this tale, not that I believed her to be deceitful. I was confused as to why the dowager would have been returning to London when she lived there? From what I had heard of her, she never left London, ever, as she had no other place to go.
“He wrote me a letter, seeking forgiveness, as he felt quite transfixed by my beauty and believed there was no chance for him in my eyes, since he was older. It was the sweetest of letters.”
“What did your aunt say?”
“She was displeased, as my cousins had not received suitors.” She giggled and took another bite. “She worries they never will.”
“Yes, all mothers worry so. But what did she say to you upon receiving such a letter? Did she not read it?”
She tilted her head to the side. “Read it? It is my letter. Why would she read it?”
“Did you not have your letters read by a chaperone or one with you when you were in the company of men?”
“No. I do have my maid, though.” She paused then added, “And Fitzwilliam is a true gentleman, always seeking to take care of me.”
“Quite well, then. And now you are married to him.”
“At first, my papa would not accept, believing me to be too young. It nearly broke my heart, and Fitzwilliam did not wish to disrupt our family. He even said we should part for the sake of peace. But I believe love needs to be fought for, so I wrote to my papa and my uncle and left with him.”