"I think that perhaps we are earlier than anticipated," Alice observed aloud, hoping once more to take her mother's mind off thoughts of marriage. She was grateful to her parents for the first two Seasons in which they had allowed her time to settle into the Ton without the worry of finding a husband and yet now that their gentle reminders and comments were beginning to hold more weight, she found she was still unprepared.
"I am sure that the Viscountess will not hold it against us," her mother smiled, and Alice struggled not to cringe as she added, "It shall give us extra time to prepare for the festivities."
Alice knew that by festivities her mother really meant gentlemen. It was slowly becoming more and more apparent that her parents' patience was coming to an end.They have always said that the third time is the charm and yet I do not feel very charmed,Alice thought, forcing herself to acknowledge her mother's comment with a smile and a nod.
The carriage drew to a halt then and moments later the door was being pulled open by a man dressed in exquisite dark green livery. It was instantly apparent that the Viscount took great care to ensure his entire household looked at their best.
The man held up a pristine white gloved hand and said, "Allow me, Miss Skeffington."
For a moment, Alice was surprised that the servant would have any clue as to whom she was, but then she heard the squeal that erupted from the top steps of the porch and guessed that Nancy must have seen them coming from one of the manor windows.
She had always ensured every guest received a personalised experience when attending one of her functions, something she had learned from her mother, and something that made Alice's head spin. She was not at all sure how her friend kept her head on straight.
"Oh, Alice, you are finally here!" Nancy exclaimed, practically running down the porch steps with her skirts held in her hands as the footman helped Alice from the carriage. Her mother remained inside as she always did whenever they visited Nancy, waiting for the squealing to die down before she produced herself after her daughter.
Alice could not help but beam a smile at her friend even as she was wrapped in excited arms that squeezed her as though her friend had not seen her in months. Wrapping her arms around her in return, Alice offered a squeeze of her own and the two women began to giggle as they finally pulled apart.
"It is so good to finally see you!" Nancy insisted, holding onto Alice's gloved hands in both of her own. She stepped back and glanced Alice up and down as though getting the measure of her. "You are looking well."
"Nancy, you saw me in London only two days ago," Alice chuckled, squeezing her friend’s fingers as she too looked her friend up and down. The two were quite opposite in appearance.
Where Alice was petite and slender with just the hint of a woman's body and fair of hair, Nancy was tall and curvaceous with brunette locks and striking blue eyes that now buzzed with excitement. She wore a powder blue dress that matched her eyes perfectly and it caused her slightly darker skin to glow with radiance. "You are looking quite glowing yourself."
"It is this country air!" Nancy insisted, letting go of one of Alice's hands to gesture at the manor behind her. It appeared that for once Nancy had not been over-embellishing her descriptions. The manor was just as she described it, at least from the outside. The manor itself was huge, made of pale stone and comprised of a main building with at least what appeared to be two wings coming off at east and west.
Every window was decorated with a flower bed, containing pale pink, yellow, and white flowers of all varieties and the topiaries that lined the entire building were cut to manicured perfection, as were the lawns that spread away on either side of the forecourt that was dominated by a huge fountain at its very centre.
A fountain featured a Roman woman in a toga, one breast just peeking from beneath was pouring water from a jug down into the white stone pool at her feet.
Water lilies danced upon the water and, for a moment, Alice allowed herself to imagine that she was once more a young girl playing at the edge of just such a pool, picturing the fairies that might use the lily pads to jump from one side to the next. The entire place held a magical beauty that took Alice's breath away and she had not yet even stepped inside.
"Are we too early?" her mother asked even as she stepped out of the carriage with the help of the footman. Suddenly remembering herself, Alice turned to offer extra help, not that her mother truly needed it though she was determined to prove to her that she was still indeed a good daughter.
"No, no, of course not, Viscountess Skeffington," Nancy announced, sounding overly formal and cheery all at the same time. It was something Alice was growing used to. After all, Nancy and Alice's mother were equals now, both married to viscounts, whether there was more than twenty years between them or not.
There seemed a newfound respect between the two of them, one of the few things about Nancy's marriage that did in fact cause Alice to feel some jealousy. "Please, allow me to give you the personal tour before everyone else arrives and then you must both rest. I am sure you have both had a long and arduous journey."
"Thank you, Viscountess Kendall," Lady Skeffington smiled at the younger woman and took the elbow that she offered to allow her to begin their guided tour. Alice fell in behind them, relieved that, at least for now, Nancy appeared distracted by her wish to show all that she had achieved, and her mother was all too willing to see it.
She would not make any kind of protest or even try to get between the two of them, all too happy to have her mother's attention distracted from her for a little while. A tour of such a big house was just what Alice needed for a brief respite from her mother's disappointment.
The tour of the house took more than an hour, beginning with the lower public rooms such as the airy parlour and the sun-filled drawing room, the musky smelling library and the quite off-limits study where Lord Kendall conducted his business, and ending with the upper gallery where many paintings of the manor’s previous residents hung.
Every room and hall were artfully decorated in pastel colours and furnished in dark wood floors and furniture with much paler soft furnishings to bring everything together. The smell of flowers clotted in the air from the many vases dotted around the place and the wreathes that decorated the bannisters of the many staircases.
By the time they had finished the tour, Alice felt as though she had walked several miles and she was more than a little pleased that Nancy had announced there were enough bedrooms for everyone to get their own. She could not think of anything worse than having to share a bedroom with her mother for the entire visit.
I would have had no peace from her,she thought the moment that she closed the door to her guest bedroom where Nancy left her after insisting that their maids would be sent for to ensure they were properly cared for before refreshments.
Her mother's own room had been directly opposite, just across the hall and Alice wondered whether even that might be too close if her mother took it upon herself to cross the hall to finish their earlier conversation.
Luckily for her, it appeared that her mother was exhausted also and by the time she heard the knocking on the door, she was certain that at least half an hour had passed.
Surely, it would not have taken her mother so long to come if she were so inclined and so she called, "Come in," as she pushed herself up from where she had kicked off her shoes to rest upon the bed.
"Forgive me, I hope I did not wake you, Miss Skeffington," Holly insisted even as she entered the room. Though the woman had been Alice's maid for several years now, she was still undoubtedly formal, curtseying and waiting for Alice's response before entering the room any further.
"I was not asleep, Holly," Alice assured the mousy-haired woman even as she swung her legs down from the bed. She added, "Am I to ready for refreshments?"