Miss Armistead Makes Her Choice

by Heidi Ashworth

  “Goodness, Aunt, you make my head spin! Shall it truly be as cold as all that in Scotland?”

  “Oh, no my dear, colder! My list is what one would need to survive the English countryside of a winter.”

  “Then, I suppose we had best get started. I should not like to shiver my way through winter.”

  “Exactly. And since this is not the same establishment at which we have ordered up your wedding gown, the seamstress shall require you to be properly measured out. When she is done with your measurements, I shall expect you to have considered and we will make a list of all that you will need, not just to survive the winter, but as a young bride. You will need warm underclothes, as well,” Aunt Augusta said with a sad little shake of the head.

  “I . .I suppose I had not considered the need for so many new clothes. It is fortunate that Papa was very open-handed with funds and I shall be able to bear the expense.”

  “Precisely, so you must not stint on a single thing. Remember, you must have gloves for every occasion and bonnets, too,” Aunt Augusta pointed out as she disappeared from the little room they had entered so as to leave Elizabeth alone with the seamstress.

  Elizabeth gave the seamstress only enough of her attention to do as she was bid. She turned the rest of her mind over to the tallying up of a new wardrobe and concluded that the purchase of several new trunks would be required to cart her clothing out to Scotland. She supposed ball gowns would be of little use in Sutherland, but she intended to have a new one made up as well; it would be well worn by the time she quit London.

  After what seemed like hours, an order for a grand, new, wardrobe for Elizabeth and several new gowns for Katherine had been successfully concluded, leaving the ladies free to dwell on the state of their stomachs.

  “I believe I have never been more famished,” Elizabeth’s Mama declared with an enormous sigh. “And, to think, I had little more to do than sit in a chair and admire everything upon which my eyes fell!”

  Secretly, Elizabeth thought that her Mama’s task of contenting Katherine in her present mood whilst placating the shop girl, whose patience had worn thinner than muslin in more than one instance, took the prize for most arduous of the day. “Well, then, Mama, you shall choose where we should go to take refreshment.”

  “Gunter’s! I should love it above all things! I have patronized his shop, of course, but it was so long ago. Elizabeth, do you know, they offer ices in the most exotic flavors; burnt filbert, bergamot, and parmesan of all things!”

  “Yes, Mama, I too, have been to Gunter’s once or twice with Aunt Augusta when I was last in London. I think it sounds a splendid idea. What say you, Katherine?”

  “Whatever you say should suffice for us all, I daresay,” Katherine replied with a saucy air. “However, if I had just now ordered up such a quantity of gowns, I should take care not to add to my figure or you shall not be able to get into them once they arrive.”

  Elizabeth subdued a gasp of dismay. “I am persuaded you are too kind, Katherine,” she said meekly. “I am not entirely certain what I have done to deserve such a good friend as you have been to me for so long and daresay you are perfectly correct. I shall only have a taste of Mama’s ice, depending on whether or not she chooses to eschew the parmesan.”

  Katherine’s only response was to take Mrs. Armistead by the arm and walk forward so briskly that Elizabeth and Aunt Augusta were quite left behind.

  “I should mind that girl if I were you,” she advised. “It is clear that she does not have your best interests at heart.”

  “I should be surprised if that were true, Aunt. She is not herself today for some reason. I expect I shall have it out of her when next we speak.”

  “Mark my words, Elizabeth, that girl is inclined to stir the pot.”

  Elizabeth knew not what to say that would not put her aunt in the wrong. As such, she found it best to remain silent for the remainder of their journey to Gunter’s. Once they had arrived, however, Elizabeth did her utmost to include Katherine in every remark.

  “I am so well looking forward to our dinner with the Lloyd-Joneses, are you not, Katherine?”

  “But of course,” she said, lifting her spoon in so pretentious a fashion that Elizabeth knew not where to look. She had never known her friend to put on airs and could not fathom why she should now so do.

  “And you, Aunt? Do you not anticipate that Katherine shall experience an evening of surpassing divertissement?” Elizabeth knew she overstated the case, but she was bent on teasing a more congenial mood from Katherine.

  “I am of the mind that we shall all enjoy ourselves immensely,” Aunt Augusta replied. “Mr. Lloyd-Jones was good enough to send his man to inquire of me what his menu for the evening should entail, based on the delicacies that are not easily obtained so far across the sea. I am persuaded you all, Katherine included, shall be delighted with the treats he has in store for you.”

  “Oh,” Elizabeth’s mama declared, “I can hardly stand the wait! I have so longed for a taste of good English cooking.”

  “You have experienced the best of English cooking whilst staying in my home this past se’nnight.” Augusta turned her nose up in the air.

  “Yes, of course. I hadn’t thought . .” Mrs. Armistead said into her plate.

  “What Mama means to say, Aunt, is that she looks forward to an entire evening dedicated to the sort of food we don’t often eat or simply cannot find in India. Do you not think that is just what she meant, Katherine?”

  Katherine favored Elizabeth with a mulish look and said nothing.

  “Very well, then, Katherine, if the very idea of dinner with the Lloyd-Joneses is to cause you such misery, I very much look forward to it having been eaten and done with.”

  All the ladies ignored this piece of impertinence and it was Elizabeth who was miserable as she watched her companions eat their delicious ices. Indeed, she felt so out of sorts that she thought perhaps she was sickening with something. By the time tea had been taken and the journey home commenced, she was persuaded that she was entirely unwell. It was with a great deal of relief that she took to her bed where she stayed for the remainder of the days left until dinner at Lloyd-Jones House.

  Chapter Seven

  By the morning of the dinner party, Colin felt that he must escape the house or run mad. Carpenters, plasterers, painters and seamstresses scurried hither and yon as they rushed to do the master’s bidding in time for the much anticipated dinner. In all the chaos, he had all but forgotten his promise to escort Analisa to her round of soirees and balls. He presumed that she was still inclined to speak to him when she arrived for the dinner she had so insisted upon, the dawning of which marked four days since he had last seen a living soul, save those in his employ. He hoped he still recalled how to make polite conversation for his guests, though he knew he had weightier concerns with which to flay himself.

  The newly decorated dining room was one such concern; green and blue draperies against walls papered in gold and mustard was a hazardous combination, but one he felt he must risk in light of the new painting. His purchase of it was the only choice of which he was absolutely certain and he had enjoyed repeating the blues, greens and reds, as well as the yellows and gold from the picture in the fresh decor of the room where it hung. Though Miss Armistead had admired it every bit as much as he, he felt no qualms in purchasing it; she had been given the opportunity.

  He thought it looked very well between the pair of long, paned windows that looked out onto green grass and blue skies that mirrored those on the canvas while the mahogany wainscoting complemented the skin tones of the natives pictured. The rest of the decor would have to take care of itself for he found he minded very little if it were far from perfect; it was now the room he loved best.

  “Beggin’ your pardon, sir, but I must get by.”

  Colin turned to find a worker as he strong-armed a floor candelabrum through the doorway and quickly stepped out of the way. As the man placed the enormous piece, one of a pair o
f Nubian slaves holding aloft a brace of candles, on its feet, Colin admired the rich Venetian paint colors that adorned the wood and gesso piece. He found that he greatly anticipated the moment when its twin was in place and the candles lit so as to fully illuminate the painting he had grown to love so much already.

  When all was in readiness, the candles were lit, as well as the fire in the grate. Colin drew back the draperies to allow in as much sunlight as possible, looked round the room and was greatly pleased. For the remainder of the day, he shadowed his cook to ensure she followed his instructions to the letter, hounded the butler as to the seating arrangements and forced himself to refrain from haunting the dining room. When evening finally arrived, he lingered over his toilette and, for the first time in recent memory, discarded one imperfectly tied neck cloth after another.

  By the time he was ensconced in the salon adjacent to the dining room to await his guests, he felt his nerves were standing on end. However, once he caught sight of green silk skirts emerging through the doorway, he sensed that all was right with the world. Those skirts were the precise shade as the upholstery on his new dining room chairs, the very same color of Miss Armistead’s eyes, and he knew, deep in his bones, it was the hue she would wear to his dinner party. When he looked up to behold the somewhat wan face of the girl in the green gown, he knew a bit of a jolt. It wasn’t only that the face belonged to Miss Hale; it was clear to see that green was not her color. It seemed almost as if the gown were wearing her rather than the other way around.

  And then Miss Armistead came through the doorway, utterly resplendent in her deep, red round gown, her eyes like pools of emerald fire, her black hair done up in dozens of glossy ringlets that framed her creamy face, and his world was turned entirely upside down. He knew in that moment that he was doomed to pine after another man’s wife for the remainder of his life. “I . . Miss Armistead, you look enchanting!” he exclaimed as if she were the sole occupant of the room besides himself. He remembered himself quickly, however. “As do you Miss Hale, Lady Augusta, Mrs. Armistead. We are to abide here for a time before dinner is served, but I own that I am most eager to proceed to the dining room.”

  “I have heard tell,” Lady Augusta replied, “that you have been at great pains to redecorate your dining room to your own tastes. I must say, we are all most eager to view it, however, wouldn’t it be best if we were to wait for your other guests?”

  For a moment, Colin thought she was jesting with him, and then he recalled that Analisa had not yet arrived. “Yes, of course, my sister; I daresay she shall arrive at any moment.”

  “And what of the other gentlemen invited?” Miss Armistead asked. “Hadn’t we best tarry here for them, as well?”

  Thunderstruck, Colin prayed the alarm he felt did not show on his face. “Oh, yes . . the other gentlemen. I don’t believe I have received acceptances from any of them. Perhaps Analisa has done.”

  “What is it I am to have done?” Analisa asked as she entered the room.

  Colin went swiftly to her side, drew her back into the hall, and firmly shut the door behind them as he dismissed the footman who lingered nearby; his attention seemed too sharp for comfort. “You shall be appalled when I tell you, but I failed to issue invitations to any save those already arrived. I don’t suppose you thought to speak to any of the gentlemen we considered, have you?”

  “But of course not!” Analisa protested. “I had thought you had that well in hand. I can see that you are helpless without a woman to serve as your hostess.”

  “I had thought you to be my hostess, Analisa. Was that not understood?”

  “No, it was not. Need I remind you that I am just out of the school room and as such am unsuitable for such a role?” she asked, a bit cross. “Well! We shall simply have to make do but it shall seem very odd, there is no doubt of that. I pray that we might count on Lady Augusta to refrain from speaking of this to her friends. As for the others, they will all be gone from London by the end of the season and we may breathe far easier then.”

  “Yes, but how might I excuse myself for such a lapse? There was so much conversation on the topic of having an even number of ladies and gentlemen, how do I explain?” Oh, no!” he cried as the whole truth dawned on him. “I told Cook that dinner would be for ten. I was very particular that she should have enough food for five hungry gentlemen. She will have my head on a platter, I have no doubt! And Evans! I insisted that he go out at the last minute and acquire more port as I was without any doubt that more was needed.”

  Analisa favored him with a most grave expression, whereupon her eyes began to twinkle and she dissolved into laughter. “Oh, Colin, it is above all things rich! I am persuaded we shall have a marvelous time, just the six of us, and no one shall be the wiser. But, yes, we must arrive at an explanation that bears scrutiny, to be sure!”

  “I am most relieved that you have arrived at the same conclusion as have I,” Colin said a bit disdainfully.

  “Yes, well,” she replied, quelling her laughter, “I believe we might do well enough if we simply tell them the truth.”

  Colin silently considered this proposal but found he must reject it. He could hardly claim that his mind was so taken up with what should be Miss Armistead’s wondrous reaction to his having built a room around a painting she admired that he simply forgot to invite the gentlemen. No, that would never do. “I suppose I might say that I had some rather onerous business matters that claimed my attention.”

  “Oh, Colin, you mustn’t! They know you have arranged to redecorate an entire room to be ready for this evening, and you have managed to do so in an exceedingly short period of time in spite of business matters, am I not correct?”

  “Yes, I have, but just,” he said wryly. “I could claim that, in my eagerness to have everything perfect for tonight, the inviting of the others slipped my mind.” It was close enough to the truth to slip as easily from his tongue as the issuing of invitations had his memory.

  “I suppose that will have to do. Now,” she urged as she adjusted his neck cloth and brushed a speck of dust from his coat sleeve, “you must simply loosen up. They will assume you are dissembling if you walk in there with your shoulders up around your ears.”

  Colin took a deep breath and allowed his shoulders to drop. “Shall I pass muster, then?”

  “Yes,” his sister said as she gave him a twinkling look. “I have always maintained that you are the handsomest of my brothers.”

  “I am your only brother, you dullard,” he taunted as he pulled her hand through to rest on his arm.

  “Yes, but if I were to say what I am truly thinking, you should become unbearably puffed up.”

  “Since I do not know what it is you are thinking, I am unable to comment as to your accuracy. However, I suspect I might say the same of you,” he said with a doting smile. “And now we shall sally forth and take our lumps, shall we not?”

  Together they pushed open the door and walked into the salon.

  “They are returned,” Lady Augusta announced as if the others in the room were quite blind. “Is there anything about which we should be aware?”

  “Nothing untoward, Lady Augusta,” Colin answered. “Only, it seems that we might go into dinner immediately if it is quite ready. I must apologize for our uneven numbers. I was so eager to arrange matters in the dining room that I neglected to issue invitations to any besides those already present. It is unfortunate but there is nothing to be done about it but eat twice as much as intended. I pray Cook shall not take me to task for working her harder than was needful.”

  “Then it shall just be us,” Miss Armistead replied. “I own, it is a pleasant notion and I find I am most anxious to take in the beauty of your newly decorated dining room.”

  Colin was so well-pleased that he wondered how he could bear the thought of Miss Armistead going off to Scotland for any reason at all whatsoever. “Then there is nothing for it but to proceed.”

  “Colin, I shall just pull the bell and remain here to
let them know below stairs that we shall be waiting in the dining room,” Analisa said.

  “Thank you,” Colin said with a wink for her eyes only. He hoped she knew how much he owed her and decided he must go out first thing on the morrow to arrange for flowers or chocolates or perhaps a jeweled pendant to be delivered to her without delay. “As it is a most casual affair, there is no need to proceed in any order,” he said in hopes that Miss Armistead would push her way past her elders to be led into dinner on his arm. As she did not, he was left with nothing to do but throw open the connecting doors from the salon to the dining room. Lady Augusta stepped forward in what he supposed to be expectations that she should have his arm, but he held his ground and indicated that they should pass into the room ahead of him.

  Last of his guests to enter was Miss Armistead, who uttered a gratifying gasp of delight as she turned about to take in all its charms. As her red gown swept the antique crimson and cobalt Persian carpet beneath her feet, he could not help but think how her ensemble might have been custom made for just such a room. Aside from the virtues of her gown, the blues and greens threaded through her long, red scarf were a perfect match for those of the draperies and the green of her eyes, as well as the emeralds about her creamy neck, all of which were of a hue with the velvet cushions of the chairs that encircled the table.

  He knew the very moment that she realized the single painting in the room was the same they had first seen together at the book shop. She did not immediately say anything but moved to stand by it when she thought the other ladies, who were wandering about the room in abject admiration, would take no notice of her. She glanced over to where he stood, perhaps to ascertain whether or not he watched, and when she saw that he did, she appeared to pause to consider. The allure of the painting seemed, however, to be more than she could withstand and it was not long before she turned to regard it openly.