Lady Cecilia Is Cordially Disinvited For Christmas

by Jeane, Sheridan

  Of course, she might be wrong about his character. After all, she hadn’t seen him in two years. People could change quite a bit in two years.

  “I bet it’s his father’s fault,” Evangeline said.

  “Or his mother’s,” Father added, proving he was listening despite the fact that his eyes were fixed on his open book. “Devin sent us the invitation to the house party this year, not Lord and Lady Vincent.”

  Cecilia and Evangeline exchanged glances. Perhaps they should have this conversation when Father wasn’t present.

  “I’m sure it was nothing more than an oversight.” The lie came easily to Cecilia, but repeating the comments she’d overheard Lady Vincent say in the village one day would do no one any good. Did Father need to know she’d called him impoverished? Or had described Evangeline as a hoyden? Instead, she held her tongue and turned to gaze out the window at the brown and gray winter landscape.

  She couldn’t shake her doubts about Devin. Was it possible that Evangeline and her father right? Could Devin have finally fallen under the influence of his parents? He probably still thought of her as that feckless young girl he’d left behind, the one who’d rushed headlong from one childish scrape to the next. He’d never even shared his thoughts regarding her new volunteer work at the orphanage. She’d mentioned it in her letters, but he’d never commented on it in any of his months-old replies. Surely he’d understood her desire to help children in need, hadn’t he? After all, she was only following in her mother’s footsteps.

  What if Devin didn’t see things that way?

  Cecilia’s heart gave a heavy thud and then seemed to stop beating for an instant.

  What if they’d simply grown apart?

  She took a calming breath as she shifted her littlest, coldest toe closer to the brick.

  She was merely letting her imagination run away with her.

  Wasn’t she?

  Devin might just as easily want to meet with her so they could move forward with an engagement. It had never been put into words, but he’d broadly hinted that this was what he wanted.

  It had been what she had wanted too.

  Her heart gave another heavy thud.

  Which would be worse? For him to marry her or leave her?

  She pulled her hand from her rabbit-fur muff and slipped it inside her cloak to check her pocket. Yes, the small box containing Devin’s gift was still there, just as it had been when she’d checked it on first entering the carriage.

  “What are you doing?” Evangeline asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I can see you’re doing something— oh, of course. You’re nervous about Devin’s gift. Is it because the woman is so scantily clad?”

  Cecilia snatched her hand from her pocket and stuffed it back into her fur muff. “Now you’re the one being ridiculous. She’s wearing Roman robes, which were quite appropriate for the time.”

  “But are they appropriate for a barrister?”

  “They’re fine,” Father said.

  “I’m not suggesting he wear Roman robes,” Cecilia said. “Please, Evangeline. Stop pestering me.” Was her sister in the right? Had she chosen poorly with this gift? She always worried about doing the right thing when she was with Devin and his family. He could be terribly straitlaced at times, but his parents were even worse. Lady Vincent clearly believed Mother’s illness was due to a weakness of character. She was forever telling Mother that she simply needed to put it out of her mind and try harder if she wanted to get better. As if consumption were nothing more than a cold.

  Lord Vincent was just as bad. After Father had been bilked in that railway development fiasco a number of years ago, Lord Vincent had crowed to anyone who would listen, bragging that he hadn’t invested in it as well. He conveniently left out the fact that he’d only backed out of the deal at the last minute due to a lack of funds.

  Cecilia’s family certainly had more than its share of bad luck. Cecilia and Evangeline had no other siblings, and with no son to inherit, their father’s estate would go to an estranged cousin. It was unlikely he’d be willing to financially support Father’s widow and children, so it was essential that Cecilia marry well. Of course, Father was in excellent health, but if their bad luck continued, something was certain to happen to him.

  She pushed that fear away. It was ridiculous to borrow trouble.

  “Do you think Mr. Montlake will ask you to marry him?” Evangeline asked.

  Cecilia tensed and then frowned at her sister. “I think you ask too many questions.”

  Evangeline rolled her eyes in that way only a younger sister could.

  Cecilia shot her a quelling glare.

  Evangeline stuck out her tongue.

  Cecilia found herself rolling her eyes too. In disdain.

  “Will he?” Evangeline insisted.

  “How should I know? Do I read minds?” Would he? Did she even want him to? What would she say if he did? Or worse, what if he didn’t?

  The thought of Devin breaking things off with her hit her like a blow to the stomach. The idea that he might not care for her as much as she did for him left her shaken.

  She needed to prepare herself for that eventuality because his silence could certainly be taken as evidence of his waning interest. And if it wasn’t? Then he surely needed to provide her with an excellent excuse for not contacting her.

  Did such an explanation even exist?

  The carriage turned off the road, and Cecilia caught sight of Lord and Lady Vincent’s home at the top of the hill.

  She’d find out soon enough. The next two days would chart the course of the rest of her life.

  2

  From the moment the carriage came to a stop, Cecilia could barely keep herself from running into the house and searching for Devin. She couldn’t bear the suspense a moment longer. She needed to see him. Needed to know his intentions.

  Lord Babbage exited first. Evangeline darted through the carriage door after him and ignored his offered hand as she jumped to the ground. Cecilia wanted to do likewise but forced herself to be more circumspect. After all, she was seventeen now, and that was young for an engagement. If she wanted to be seen as a suitable fiancée for Devin, she could hardly behave in such a childish manner. Instead, she accepted her father’s hand as she stepped onto the dry surface of the paving stones.

  Evangeline delicately shook mud from her foot. Somehow, she’d managed to step into the lone puddle next to the walkway leading to the front door.

  Cecilia took her father’s arm as her sister scampered toward the front door ahead of them. Being a responsible adult had its drawbacks at moments like these. All she wanted to do was run inside that house, track down Devin, and cajole him into proposing right away.

  Instead, she behaved like a proper lady.

  “I wish your mother could be here,” Cecilia’s father said. “She always makes these visits go more smoothly.”

  Cecilia patted his hand. “We’ll be fine. It’s only for one day.”

  He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sure you’re right.”

  Evangeline located the bristled boot cleaner by the front door and slid her foot through the device, brushing the dirt and mud from her shoe. By the time Cecilia and her father joined her, it was clean enough to allow her to enter the house without making a mess.

  The butler opened the door and ushered them inside, where they handed him their cloaks and hats.

  Voices drifted in from the direction of the drawing room, and Devin’s cultured laugh caught Cecilia’s ear. She grinned at having located him so quickly.

  Evangeline immediately began to move toward the source of the festive noises, but Father stopped her with a heavy hand on her shoulder. “You need to freshen up first. I believe your footwear could use some attention.”

  Cecilia glanced down and noticed the wet stains on Evangeline’s shoe and the hem of her skirt. Fortunately, her own clothing was immaculate. “I think I’ll let Lady Vincent know we’re here bef
ore I go to our room,” she said.

  Father nodded as he firmly redirected his younger daughter toward the staircase. “We’ll see you shortly.”

  As they headed upstairs, Cecilia followed the sound of voices into Lady Vincent’s cold and stately drawing room. The furniture was upholstered in a wintery shade of blue that Cecilia always found off-putting and incongruous in the dark, wood-paneled space.

  Devin stood out from the crowd. His height and bearing always made it easy for her to spot him. He was currently chatting with an elegantly dressed, petite young woman Cecilia didn’t recognize. She glanced down at her own traveling gown and wondered briefly if she’d made a mistake by not changing first. It wouldn’t have mattered, though. Even if she had, she wouldn’t look as fashionable as this woman did. Her dress was identical in style to one Cecilia had seen in a fashion plate only last week. None of her own dresses were as sophisticated as that one.

  She had to face it. Devin could do much better than to marry her— he could be with someone like the woman he was talking to. She was clearly someone of means.

  She’d believed he’d spot her the moment she walked into the room, but that had been a fantasy. An infantile delusion born from reading too many novels.

  Movement caught her eye, and she spotted Lady Vincent beckoning her. The woman wore an impatient expression, so Cecilia assumed she’d been trying to catch her attention for some time.

  Since her stated intention was to let Lady Vincent know they’d arrived, she should probably face the harridan.

  “Lady Cecilia, I see you’ve only just arrived,” Lady Vincent said. She managed not to punctuate her comment with a sniff of disdain, but it must have been an effort judging by the pinched expression she wore. She quickly introduced the woman with her, a Lady Judith Glassford.

  “It’s lovely to meet you, Lady Cecilia. We’re new to the area, and we haven’t had the opportunity to meet many people yet.”

  “You must be the family that purchased the Bertram estate,” Cecilia said.

  “Quite so. We find it to be most charming.”

  “You don’t live far from us,” Cecilia said.

  “In that case, you must meet my daughter, Miss Glassford. I don’t want to interrupt her conversation with Mr. Montlake, though. He’s such a learned man, don’t you think? Quite refined.”

  Cecilia sharpened her gaze. Why was she remarking on Devin in such a fawning manner? “Very much so.”

  Lady Vincent nodded. “Lady Cecilia has known our son since she was a baby. She and our daughter Belinda were such good friends growing up.”

  That caught Cecilia off guard. “We were?”

  Lady Vincent shot her a quelling gaze.

  Cecilia coughed. “Of course. Such good friends,” she lied, not sure why Lady Vincent had reinvented history in such a strange way. Cecilia and Belinda had barely spoken to one another, since Belinda was eight years older than she was. She searched her memory for an example of their friendship. “She was quite kind to me when I fell and skinned my knee. Has she arrived yet? I’d so love to catch up with her.”

  Lady Vincent looked disappointed. “She is reaching the end of her confinement and can’t travel now, but we hope to see her here next year.”

  “She already has two children, does she not?” Lady Judith asked. “How lovely for you when your grandchildren come to visit you.” She squeezed Lady Vincent’s hand as she eyed her daughter. “Mr. Glassford and I dearly love the idea of becoming grandparents someday. I hope we can one day share that joy with you.”

  “Is your daughter betrothed?” Cecilia asked.

  “Oh, my, no,” Lady Judith said, waving the words away as though embarrassed. “I’m just a hopeful mother.”

  Lady Vincent stared at Devin, as did Lady Judith. A moment later, the two women shared a conspiratorial glance. The pair seemed to be plotting something… something to do with Devin and Miss Glassford.

  As realization hit her, Cecilia went still.

  Lady Vincent and Lady Judith were attempting to matchmake.

  Cecilia stole a glance at Devin and saw him smiling at Miss Glassford approvingly.

  He liked her.

  This wasn’t good.

  Suddenly, Cecilia couldn’t seem to catch her breath. This couldn’t be happening. This stranger— this Lady Judith— had managed to make her doubt her future and turn her life upside down in the span of an instant.

  A movement at the door caught her eye, and she spotted her sister. Evangeline wore an expression of exasperation, which did not bode well. When Evangeline was exasperated, those responsible needed to avoid her or risk being sliced to ribbons by her tongue. Cecilia didn’t have the mental fortitude for an extended bout of verbal sparring right now. She’d be lucky to make it to her room without breaking into tears.

  “If you’ll excuse me, my sister has arrived. I need to speak to her.”

  She lurched toward the door. Apparently, her sudden movement finally caught Devin’s attention because he looked up and met her gaze. He immediately moved to follow her as if he somehow perceived her pain.

  She didn’t pause as she hurried toward her escape— and away from him.

  Not now. Please. Not here.

  Cecilia made it to the door, only to be waylaid by Evangeline, of all people.

  “You’ll never guess what they’ve done to us,” Evangeline said, obviously ready to launch into a long story of righteous anger.

  “Please, let me go. Devin plans to break with me, and I can’t bear to have it happen here— in front of all these people.”

  Evangeline immediately stiffened her spine. She glanced up to see Devin bearing down on them. “I’ll take care of this,” she promised. “Go.” She moved to stand between Cecilia and Devin, allowing Cecilia to escape.

  At the door, she glanced back to see if Evangeline had managed to waylay him. She needn’t have bothered. Lady Vincent’s hand rested firmly on her son’s arm, pulling at him and preventing him from taking another step.

  Cecilia managed to move at a normal pace until she reached the staircase. There, she grabbed her skirts in her fists and fled to the next floor, heading straight to the room she and her sister always used when they visited Lord and Lady Vincent. The door was shut, so she shoved it open and burst inside.

  But the room wasn’t empty. A man she didn’t recognize sat in a chair by the window.

  She barely stifled a scream.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” The man blustered as he bolted out of his chair.

  “I— I…” Cecilia peered around the room. It looked exactly the same as it had the last time she’d stayed here.

  “Cecilia,” Evangeline said from behind her. “We haven’t been given this room this year. Apparently, when Father told Lady Vincent that Mother wasn’t coming, she assumed none of us would be here and gave our regular room to Mr. Glassford and his family.”

  “I do beg your pardon, Mr. Glassford,” Cecilia said.

  He let out an irritated huff of disapproval. “How awkward. Apparently, we’ve displaced you. My apologies.” He stiffly bowed his head.

  More than you can possibly know, Mr. Glassford. “Not at all. Please excuse us.” Cecilia backed out of the room and shut the door.

  3

  Cecilia surveyed the bedchamber they’d been assigned. It was smaller than the one she and her sister usually used. Even the bed she and Evangeline would share was small. Apparently, their lady’s maid had already unpacked their traveling trunks. She’d done her best, but their gowns barely fit inside the tiny wardrobe. Bits of lace poked out from between the closed doors.

  “We’ve been demoted,” Cecilia said as she stalked over to the wardrobe. She yanked open the door and grabbed the day dress she’d planned to wear when she first saw Devin today. She really should have stuck to her plan. If she had, perhaps she wouldn’t have felt so completely inadequate when confronted by the sight of Miss Glassford chatting with Devin in all her modish finery.

  She sighed
. Of course she would still have felt inadequate. The woman was perfection.

  “That isn’t a surprise. Lady Vincent always finds fault with everyone in our family,” Evangeline said. “Why you’d want to marry her son, I’ll never understand.” Her eyes widened. “Not that I don’t like Devin. He’s a very nice man. It’s simply that his mother—” She shuddered.

  “I believe she’s found someone she prefers as a bride for him.”

  “No!”

  “Yes. And her parents happen to be the guests Lady Vincent assigned to our regular room.” The pink gown Cecilia wanted to wear was wedged so tightly inside the cabinet that when she extracted it, the two gowns next to it came along as well. With a sigh of frustration, Cecilia tossed her gown on the bed, then picked up the two fallen ones and shoved them back into the wardrobe.

  Evangeline let out a tut-tut of annoyance as she hurried over to the bed and began smoothing down the voluminous skirt so it wouldn’t wrinkle. “You know how devious Lady Vincent can be. You shouldn’t let anything she does bother you.”

  Cecilia fumed as she unbuttoned the top of her dark-gray traveling dress and shrugged it off. She untied the bow holding the skirt in place. It didn’t fall to the floor since her puffy petticoats held it in place. She pulled the skirt off over her head, moving slowly so she wouldn’t muss her hair.

  “You wouldn’t be so blasé about it if you’d been the one who was introduced to the mother of your replacement.” Cecilia’s voice was muffled by the heavy skirt. “Lady Judith Glassford, wife of Mr. Glassford.”

  “Lady Vincent certainly knows how to irritate you.” Evangeline’s voice came from much closer. A moment later, Cecilia felt her sister lift the heavy skirt away. While Cecilia would have tossed the skirt of her traveling gown on the bed, Evangeline carefully hung it in the wardrobe.

  “Did you notice the woman Devin was with? That’s her daughter.” Cecilia stared at the lovely pink confection she’d chosen so carefully. Since it was a day dress, it had a high neckline, but she’d chosen this design because of the V-shaped collar. Devin had once commented that she had a lovely throat. Ever since then, she’d chosen dresses that accentuated that particular feature. Silly, perhaps, but it seemed to please him.