Beth was greatly heartened by such a warm welcome from the other woman, and it was in high spirits that the two women descended to the waiting carriage. It was with great effort that Beth restrained herself from pressing her nose against the windowpane as they swept through the streets of London, but she did feel more comfortable asking Jenny about the different locations than she had with the earl, so they easily passed the few minutes driving to the fashionable shopping district.
As they pulled up in front of one store in particular, one of the viscountess’ footmen approached to open the door and let down the step. Jenny grabbed Beth’s arm gently before she could descend.
“One moment, Beth. I would just drop a word in your ear before we begin. We are a little earlier than is fashionable, so we will have a bit of time to ourselves, but you can be sure that before the morning is out you shall be deluged with introductions. Whether they guess who you are or not, every lady we come across will be avidly curious about my companion. Some ladies are better at discretion than others, but be assured, you will be interrogated today.” Geneva didn’t want to scare her young friend, but knew she had to warn her in order to be prepared. “I will endeavour to deflect the worst of it, but come what may, just stiffen your backbone and look down your nose at any who step over the bounds of politeness. Remember, you are a countess now. Very few will be your social equal or superior. You don’t have to answer any questions you don’t consider appropriate.”
Up until this point, Beth had not considered the magnitude of her new position in Society and she felt a thrill trickle down her spine at the prospect of such power. She had no idea how to wield it, but the thought that no one could abuse her here or openly look down their nose at her was a very exciting concept. She smiled gratefully at Lady Geneva, lifted her chin just slightly, placed her hand gently into that of the patiently waiting footman, and stepped down onto the busy street. Looking around her she couldn’t keep the excitement from her face as she turned to her friend who had stepped beside her.
“Jenny, I’m in London!” she declared in an uncharacteristically squeaky voice. “This is such a thrill! And the earl was kind enough not to put a limit on my spending for today, so let us get me decked out. I need to be ready for the deluge of invitations you say I am to receive.”
With that the two ladies linked arms and entered the gloriously feminine sanctuary of Celeste’s boutique. Beth had never seen anything quite like this shop in all her life. The dazzling array of fabrics in every colour imaginable was almost overwhelming to the senses. And the unique scent of freshly woven cloth combined with the perfume from the burgeoning bouquet of flowers near the front door carried a strangely soothing sensation straight to Beth’s senses. She felt oddly at home in this environment, despite never having stepped into such an establishment before. With a pang of regret, Beth wished her mother were there to see such a splendid place. With a slight shake of her head, she dispelled such a disquieting thought and stepped forward to be introduced to the proprietress who was currently greeting Lady Geneva exuberantly.
“Ah, yes, my dear Lady Geneva. Did I not tell you zat you vould look exzactly like ze princess in zis gown?” Madame Celeste demanded with pride as she looked at the vision she had created for one of her favourite clients. In her excitement, her accent deepened. She quickly brought it back under control as she turned to be introduced to the viscountess’ companion.
“What a privilege I am to be granted, my lady. To dress the newest member of the nobility is to be most famous, non?” she asked with almost a simper. “You grant me great privilege, my lady Geneva. And you, too, of course, my dear Lady Fulton.” She laughed, clearly recognizing the younger girl’s inexperience.
With a clap of her hands she got down to serious business. “So, you want to be very fashionable, yes, my lady?”
“Well…” began Beth, still unsure of how far into the depths of fashion she was comfortable to venture.
“Yes, very fashionable,” Jenny answered emphatically, taking control of the morning and directing the seamstress to produce various frocks. Recognizing that a small fortune was to be made with this one client, Madame Celeste demanded the presence of her assistants. They had all been in the midst of sewing various garments, which they were told to present to the ladies to display their skills as well as to demonstrate the different ideas they had for design.
Beth was relieved that most of the garments selected were deceptively simple and modest in their design. She was soon overwhelmed by the sheer volume of gowns and accessories her friend was deeming necessary.
“But my dear, Beth, this is merely to get you started!” Geneva declared, aghast, when Beth tried to stem the flow of clothing that was to be taking up residence in her wardrobes. “Leave this to me. You truly have no idea what you shall need.”
Lady Geneva also had a fairly good idea of which jewels the earl should have presented to his wife from his mother’s collection, provided the wretch, Lady Melissa, hadn’t filched them, and she made various selections with this in mind, planning to best showcase the jewellery and thus demonstrate Beth’s position as the Countess of Westfield. She made a mental note to speak of the matter to Justin at her first opportunity.
Beth gave up counting how many frocks, gowns, habits, and spencers had been ordered and applied her efforts to participating in the selection of cloth, colour, and style. Once she stopped fretting about the monumental expense this was going to be, she found she quite enjoyed the experience.
Finally, Lady Geneva called a halt. She was satisfied that her friend would be sufficiently outfitted for at least the first few weeks of the Season. From what she had seen of Beth, Jenny was sure she would be able to look after herself fairly quickly, at least as far as her wardrobe was concerned. As long as the earl didn’t muddy up the waters by balking at the bills the first time he received them, Jenny was pretty sure the countess could be counted on to keep herself suitably attired as befitted her new position.
It was too bad, Jenny mused, that she did not yet realize the role she would have to play in her husband’s political career. No doubt she would have been more comfortable if she had realized she was, in a sense, picking out a uniform for her new job as the earl’s wife. But Justin was worried that it was too soon to point that out to Beth, and that she should come into that information more gradually. With a mental shrug, Geneva decided that it was his place to decide. She was just happy to be able to help a little bit, since she really did like Justin’s bride and wanted her to make the best start possible.
During the concluding half hour of their shopping, Beth had been blissfully unaware of, and Geneva had been studiously avoiding, the various attempts of other ladies entering the shop to catch their eye and approach for an introduction. Unfortunately, Lady Geneva realized, these could no longer be avoided. With a gracious society smile pinned to her face after Beth had finished concluding her business with the seamstress, Jenny turned her to face the gathering bevy of other highborn shoppers.
Geneva surveyed the group and realized with a sinking heart that it was not the most congenial gathering of ladies she would have picked for Beth’s first introductions to Society had she had a choice, however things were now out of her hands and she just had to trust that Beth could handle the situation. When she turned to look at her friend, she was encouraged by the look of serenity upon the younger woman’s face.
“Elizabeth, I would like to introduce you to a few ladies,” began Lady Geneva as she drew Beth’s arm once again through hers in a display of solidarity, hoping Beth caught the omission of the word friends.
Lady Geneva had misunderstood the look on her friend’s face. Beth was privately terrified. In the group she was about to meet was Lady Cranfield, the large woman from the park a couple days ago, the one Justin had wanted to avoid. And Beth had caught the lack of the use of the term friends, so she was forewarned that none of these ladies were particularly chummy with Jenny. Beth forced her mind not to freeze with the nerv
es she felt creeping up her spine and managed to maintain a slight, calm looking smile while she braced for the introductions.
Jenny began with the proper social order, introducing Beth as Lady Fulton, Countess of Westfield, which, of course, produced a low buzz of astonishment amongst the small group, which was quickly stifled as Lady Cranfield stepped forward slightly and dipped into a curtsy. It was obvious she was observing the niceties, but she was unused to acknowledging a social superior.
“I am quite pleased to meet you, my dear, Lady Fulton. I believe I may have seen you in the Park with your husband, but my blasted horse wouldn’t cooperate with me and I was not able to catch you. Your husband’s sister is a dear friend of mine,” Lady Cranfield continued, her voice dripping with insincerity. “My husband, the viscount, you know, and I are hosting a rout tomorrow evening, I am sure the earl has received an invitation. Please consider it to include both of you.” With a reproving tone she added, “Obviously, had I known, I would have addressed it to you. I would be delighted to have the honour of your company.”
Beth managed to extricate her hand from the woman’s grasp, smiled politely, and replied, “That is most gracious of you, Lady Cranfield. Thank you for inviting us,” she replied without actually giving an answer.
Geneva was impressed with the countess’ tact and hoped fervently it would not desert her as she introduced her to the next lady clamouring for her attention. Lady Maria, Viscountess of Drysdale, was unable to hide her glee at the prospect of meeting the Earl of Westfield’s young, inexperienced-looking wife. Lady Maria, Geneva knew, was very involved with the politics of the day, having great influence on her husband who sat in the House of Lords, and her younger brother, with whom she had an extraordinarily close relationship, who was vying for a seat in the House of Commons.
After Geneva’s grudging introduction, Lady Maria clasped Beth’s hand in apparent warmth, extending an invitation to visit her during her next “at home” day saying, “Not to brag, my dear Lady Fulton, but my cook does amazing things with cake, and you really must come and share a cup of tea with me. I would love to become acquainted with you. Maybe we can be of assistance to one another since our husbands are both of such a political bent. Tell me, my dear,” she continued in a rather condescending tone, “what is your husband’s stand on the East India Company’s situation?”
Instinctively recognizing that the lady was devising some sort of trap, Beth managed to withdraw her hand from the other woman’s grasp and smiled politely, countering with an inquiry of her own, “Are you well acquainted with my husband, Lady Maria?”
“Oh yes, my dear, the earl and I have been great friends since my come out some years ago. He and my dear husband, the Viscount of Drysdale, you know, sit together in the House of Lords. They are great chums.”
Lady Geneva could barely suppress her reaction at this bold-faced lie and was hastily trying to decide how to extricate her friend from this conversation. She needn’t have worried as Beth managed beautifully on her own.
“Oh, that is wonderful, Lady Maria. Since you are such chums you can ask my lord for yourself, or perhaps your husband knows the earl’s thoughts on the matter. As we are newly married, we have many other things to discuss at the moment. I am sure you understand. Thank you for your generous invitation for a visit. It would be most pleasant to share a cup of tea someday.”
With this noncommittal answer, the lady had to be satisfied, for the time being at least. While she was angered by the countess’ lack of cooperation, she couldn’t help but admire the young woman’s self possession. With more polite murmurings, Lady Maria bade the remaining ladies adieu, completed her purchases, and left the dress shop behind.
With a relieved smile, Geneva then drew forward Lady and the Misses Sumner, the wife and daughters of Baron Sumner. Lady Sumner was a socially grasping woman who would use any possible connection to put forward her rather vacuous daughters. Jenny had yet to spend much time with either girl, but had a low tolerance for their mother, who was one of the biggest gossips of the ton and tried desperately to be above her station. She would be thrilled to be able to spread it around that she had been the first to meet the new countess.
“Oh, what an honour, to be sure, my lady,” she giggled. “Please let me introduce my two girls to you. They are having their come out together this year. Not ideal, mind you, but what can you do? Sadly, we had a death last year, so we could not come up for the Season.” After a barely perceptible pause she carried on. “This dear girl is our second born, Charlotte, and this other lovely girl is Charmaine. Our dear son, Frederic, the baron’s heir, is jaunting about Europe just at the moment, but he should be here for part of the Season, so you should be able to meet him as well. Children are such a blessing, my lady, which, no doubt, you shall soon see for yourself.”
While she was talking, her daughters were blushing and shuffling, but had nothing to add to their mother’s dialogue. Lady Sumner clapped her hands in delight and continued speaking. “Oh, I thought of just the thing, we could have you and your dear new husband over for a lovely dinner. Our cook is really quite wonderfully inventive with beef, my lady. My mouth just fairly waters at the thought of her scrumptious dinners, do say you will come.”
Rather than being offended, Beth was amused by the woman’s chatter and thought that she would actually enjoy time spent in her company. But mindful of Lady Geneva’s watchful eye, the young countess was gracious but noncommittal. “Thank you so much for the hospitable invitation, Lady Sumner, and it is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of your lovely daughters. Sadly, I cannot answer for my husband’s schedule so it would be best if you send an invitation and we shall see if we can make it.”
Lady Sumner had to be satisfied with that, but considered it a feather in her cap nonetheless that she would be able to claim acquaintance with the young Lady Fulton. Won’t her neighbours just be green with envy, she thought with glee, if the earl’s carriage were to be seen in front of her house. She gathered her daughters and they departed from the shop, not even bothering with whatever they had come to purchase in their haste to spread the tale to all they could meet.
Thankful that Lady Cranfield, too, who had been watching the introductions with a gimlet eye, had departed, Geneva turned to the last woman patiently waiting to be introduced. Lady Rogers, the quiet wife of Baronet Rogers, was smiling in a friendly, not overbearing fashion, as she stepped forward to clasp Beth’s hand.
“How do you do, my lady?” she asked calmly. “I am so pleased to meet you. My husband is acquainted with Lord Fulton and will no doubt be pleased that the earl has found his countess.” She didn’t elaborate, nor claim any special relationship, and Beth was made comfortable with her right away.
Since Lady Geneva too was comfortable with Lady Rogers, she suggested they adjourn to the teashop next door to get better acquainted. Lady Rogers smiled graciously and accepted the invitation, however she had a quick transaction to arrange with Madame Celeste. They agreed to meet next door in fifteen minutes; whoever arrived first should order for all of them.
Pulling Beth from the dressmaker’s shop, Jenny laughed and declared they absolutely must visit the milliner two doors up before they stop for their cup of tea, and then they really would be done for the day. So, Beth managed to bear up under yet more purchases knowing that an end was in sight since they had agreed to meet Lady Rogers momentarily.
Chapter Eleven
By the time she was able to extricate herself from that lovely shop, she was the proud new owner of three adorably impractical bonnets. Her father would have fits if he ever caught sight of her in any one of them, but her mother would nearly swoon at their loveliness. And her dear old Molly would no doubt go into gales of laughter at the sight, Beth thought with a homesick smile. It was hard to believe she could ever be homesick for that place, but she truly did miss her Mama and Molly. And Max, of course, but that really went without saying. If only he were here, she thought with sadness. He wouldn’t have been
able to accompany her on this shopping trip, but he would have known just how to handle all the ladies clamouring for her attention, and he would have definitely found it hilarious that she, Elizabeth Marie Dunseith, was garnering such interest. She paused for a moment, mentally composing letters to each of them, thinking how she would describe the dressmaker’s shop for her mother’s benefit and the various new acquaintances to amuse Max.
Homesickness would do her no good so Beth gave herself a mental shake, plastered on a smile, and determined to enjoy herself as best she could. It was a relief to sit down to something so mundane as a good cup of tea after the exotic pleasures of such an extensive shopping outing.
The three women were sitting comfortably enjoying their cups of tea with biscuits that seemed to just melt in their mouths, when Beth looked up and hers felt as though it turned to sawdust in her mouth and nearly choked her. Lady Melissa had just walked in and was heading their way.
“Ah, my new sister, Elizabeth, how lovely to run into you,“ Lady Melissa declared with absolute insincerity. She would never reveal with what haste she had contrived to find her after her ‘dear friend’ Lady Cranfield had shown up on her doorstep to crow about meeting the new countess.
After their only other meeting, Beth was unsure how to proceed with her husband’s sister gushing over her presence. She looked to Geneva for help, but she too was at a loss at the apparent change in the usually obnoxious woman’s bearing. It was fairly obvious her behaviour was all a pretence, as she could barely bring herself to greet Lady Rogers, who was apparently beneath her notice socially. However, what were the polite, noble ladies to do?
Before she realized quite how it had happened, Beth found herself being ushered out the door by her sister-in-law, Lady Melissa, after a hasty leave taking from her new friends. She had managed to get in a promise to Lady Jenny that she would visit her the following morning to discuss the various invitations they had received. Then she was being handed up into the Merivale carriage, since Melissa had promised to see her home.
The Debutante Bride: A Sweet Regency Romance (Ladies of Mayfair) Page 10
