Chapter 7
Having freshened up for lunch after seeing her mother down for a nap, Alice was relieved to find that lunch was to be served out on the back patio of the manor. A long table had been erected down the length of the mosaic surface and it had been draped in a fine white tablecloth that practically glowed in the sunlight.
Though many young ladies might have blanched at the idea of sitting outside beneath the sun with the chance of darkening their beautiful, porcelain white skin, Alice was more than happy not to find herself trapped in that stuffy dining room as she had been the night before at dinner.
Though Nancy’s new home was quite beautiful, and the rooms were all huge, they still felt claustrophobic with Alice’s knowledge of Nancy’s true intentions for planning such festivities. She could not help but wonder if she would feel any differently if it really was a housewarming event.
There would still be far too many bachelors for my liking,she realised, knowing that even if it had only been a housewarming, her mother and best friend would likely have still taken it upon themselves to try and set her up by the end of the week. It was in their nature.
Alice’s only relief was that her mother had been too exhausted from the events of the morning to join them for lunch. Having had breakfast and midmorning tea, gossiping with all the other ladies before they had gone off to indulge themselves in which activities took their fancy, Lady Skeffington was more than ready for a lie down before the afternoon’s events.
Alice was certain that would comprise of more gossip and idle laughter from the young ladies of the Ton, and she was more than a little pleased she had at least managed to let off a little steam with the dogs on the lawn before eating. Having to sit amongst all those men for the next hour or so would likely leave her in need of something similar.
It appeared that many of the guests had already arrived at the table and Alice noticed with some amusement that the few ladies at the table were all accompanied by maids who were standing behind their chairs, holding parasols to stop their mistresses from catching the sun. A couple of the young ladies even had sun hats on, tied with large ribbons to stop the wind from catching them.
Alice struggled to stop herself from rolling her eyes at their need to make themselves so self-important. She also pitied the poor maids who were holding the parasols. One or two of them were already beginning to look uncomfortable as though their arms were aching, yet they dared not to let one fall for fear of dropping the parasol on their mistress’ head and causing a scene.
Stepping out from the shadow of the door where she had stopped for a moment to observe the goings-on at the table, Alice scanned up and down the length of it in order to find herself a seat. It was not until Philip at the far end stood and waved at her that she saw there was a seat beside him.
“Alice, I saved you a seat beside me!” he called down the table to her and several of the guests turned to glance in her direction, causing her cheeks to blush slightly with embarrassment. For a moment, a part of her wished that her mother had not been napping because then at least she would not be arriving at the lunch table alone.
She quickly reminded herself then that if her mother had been beside her, she would have likely suggested something about Philip being ever so kind to offer her a seat, reminding her of just how much of a gentleman he was. Alice smiled at the man and began to walk toward him, stepping past the only other empty chair at the table where her mother likely would have seated herself had she not been upstairs.
All too late, Alice wished she had taken that seat instead. Upon drawing closer to Philip who was seated at the very end of the table beside the head where Owen was sat, she realised that on the other side of the empty seat he had saved for her was one man she was certain she could not sit beside for an entire hour without wishing to claw off her own skin.
Just as several of the other guests had turned to look at her, so had Lord Warrington, and his expression was entirely unreadable though if Alice had to have guessed, she was sure he would have been as discomforted by the thought of sitting beside her as she was him.
He merely offered her a curt nod of greeting, not bothering to open his mouth to give any kind of indication as to whether he was pleased to see her, and then turned his attention back to the rest of the table, leaving Alice to be guided into her seat by an overly smiling Philip.
“What is so amusing, Mr Tulk?” Alice asked even as she allowed him to pull back her seat and stepped in front of it, sweeping her skirts beneath her rear before sitting down so that she would not sit on the awkwardly and make herself look slouched.
Even though she did not look at him, she could feel Lord Warrington sitting beside her as if she could literally feel the heat coming off his flesh. Her heart hammered even as Philip edged her seat in beneath her and she found herself trapped between the two of them. For one wild moment, she felt the urge to grip hold of Philip’s forearm and beg him to switch seats with her.
“I am glad you finally joined us,” came Nancy’s voice from where she sat opposite her cousin at her husband’s side. When Alice turned to look at her friend there was a radiant and amused smile upon her face as though she knew exactly the kind of discomfort that Alice was currently experiencing.
Am I seated here because of you?Alice wondered silently, knowing that if she said the words out loud somebody might take offence. She could imagine that Lord Warrington might do so just to irritate her even more than he had the night before.
“Do not worry, you have not missed anything,” Philip assured her, and she felt only a small relief when he placed his hand upon hers on the arm of her chair for just a moment to squeeze her fingers reassuringly. Though she could still feel the tightness in her chest and the pounding of her heart, she knew that with Philip by her side she could at least find comfort in him, avoiding Lord Warrington at all costs by keeping herself preoccupied in conversation with him.
As the lunch went on and everyone turned to the business of eating, Alice became more and more aware of the fact that Lord Warrington appeared to have had quite the same idea as she. He spent the entire lunch conversing with the man beside him. Mr Gouldsmith appeared to be quite charming and whatever the two were talking about, they were quite animated and invested.
Though she told herself she was not interested in either of them, Alice found herself listening in on occasion. Although the two seemed to be having quite a respectable conversation, Alice was almost certain she heard an undertone of distaste in Lord Warrington’s voice. If she dared to glance at him, she was sure she could see a tension in his shoulders that was just making her fingers itch to ease.
“Are you quite well after your little embarrassment earlier, Miss Skeffington?” Philip asked, making Alice jump and she realised she had been far more invested in the noblemen’s conversation than she had intended. Feeling her cheeks begin to blush, she turned her face down toward her plate and skewered a piece of melon with her fork before turning to respond to his question, hoping that he would take any flush to her cheeks as a sign that she was still slightly embarrassed.
I know I ought to be embarrassed but why?she asked herself even as she forced a smile for her friend’s cousin. Why did it have to be wrong for a young lady to run about on a lawn with the dogs?Is it not appropriate for me to take exercise?she asked herself, though deep down, she knew the answer.
Though men expected their women to take care of themselves, they did not expect to have to see the progress, nor did they wish to see their wives behaving in such an improper manner in such a place where anyone might see them. Alice gritted her teeth both against the ridiculousness of it and against the fact that she had even thought of how men expected theirwivesto be.
“I do believe I am quite recovered, thank you, Mr Tulk,” she said, smiling, knowing that he was merely asking her such a question to keep her occupied. Having been friends with Philip for almost as long as she had Nancy, she was certain he could tell exactly how she was feeling.
He would have to be a fool not to be able to feel it,she thought, imagining that her discomfort was coming off her in waves. The thought caused her to glance over her shoulder at Lord Warrington, hoping that he would not be able to sense it also.
He does not know me as my friends do,she reminded herself firmly, also reminding herself that she had no desire for the nobleman to know her so well.
“I am glad to hear it,” Philip responded for all to hear. He then leaned in closer and whispered almost into her ear, “Though I must admit it was quite an amusing spectacle.”
This time when Alice blushed, it was not embarrassment, but amusement and her need to hold in her laughter for fear that she might draw yet more attention to herself. Though she was still quite annoyed with her friend for having planned this entire week around her need to make a match for her, she did not wish to risk Nancy’s reputation by making the Ton believe she accompanied herself with less than stellar young ladies.