I am not some circus attraction to have a gentleman's attention brought to,she thought grimly, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Mr Gouldsmith, allow me to introduce you to Lady Skeffington and her daughter, Miss Skeffington, my dearest and most treasured friend," Nancy stated, though Alice was certain that the fine and exaggerated words were more for her benefit than his. Mr Goldsmith greeted her with a brilliant smile all the same and kissed her hand in greeting as he had done Nancy's.
"I am absolutely sure that the two of you must have grown up together, drinking the same water," he announced, looking Alice in the eye as he added, "It must be so as you are also quite beautiful, Miss Skeffington and I can see where it has been passed from."
He glanced at her mother, extending the compliment to both the Skeffington women, and Alice had to admit that his words did not cause her to recoil. Though he was clearly overly complimentary, he was quite pleasant, and she found herself wondering whether there might be two men she might be able to divide her time between to get through the week.
As if she saw the thought in Alice's gaze, Nancy jumped on the opportunity, "Mr Gouldsmith am I right to believe from my husband that you enjoy reading?"
The gentleman, with his dark blonde locks and his hazel eyes, glanced at Alice out of the corner of his eye with a charming look of endearment before answering the lady.
"You are not mistaken, my lady," Mr Gouldsmith responded with a polite nod.
"Then you must share some time in the library with my dear friend, as she also loves to read," Nancy announced and, although Alice found the suggestion intriguing for Andrew was quite handsome and quite pleasant, she could not help but think,His presence shall not make up for the fact that I am furious with you!
Unwilling to stop the gentleman from distracting her from her anger with her friend, Alice put in, "I am sure that Mr Gouldsmith has better things to do than spend time in a stuffy library with me."
"On the contrary, Miss Skeffington, I would be quite pleased for the company," Mr Gouldsmith announced with a smile and Alice was surprised when he once more kissed her knuckles. "Though, if you shall excuse me for now. I must find my room and my friend, Lord Kendall."
Alice was quite surprised at the flutter his second kiss to her knuckles caused within her. Perhaps it was the way he had squeezed her fingers that had taken her by surprise. She refused to believe that it was anything else. Yet she found herself watching the dark blonde gentleman as he made his way into the manor behind one of the servants.
“He is quite charming and handsome, is he not?” Nancy commented as if she saw the way that Alice was watching him. Neither had the chance to continue the conversation because yet more guests were arriving, and Alice grumbled to herself as she realised, she would not be able to find the chance to scold her friend for the fiasco she had pulled her into.
***
"Are you well, miss?" Holly asked that even as she finished piling Alice's hair into a fashionable updo atop her head, pinning it in place with emerald hair pins that sparkled in her golden hair. It was as if the maid had seen the look of determination on Alice's face as she stared at herself in the vanity table mirror where she sat on the stool, silently allowing her maid to tend to her as she stewed over all that had happened that day.
"Yes, Holly, I am quite well," Alice responded, finally deciding on what she was going to do. "I have come to a conclusion, Holly."
"What might that be, my lady?" Holly asked, only glancing at Alice in the mirror before she turned her attention to collecting her mistress's evening gloves.
"I have decided that I do not care as to the motives of my mother and my friend," Alice announced firmly, both to her maid and to herself, "I am determined that I shall have fun this week, no matter what."
Silently she added to herself,Perhaps Philip and Andrew might help me to get through this week unscathed.Though she was sure that Philip would, she was less certain of Andrew. Having only met him for a few moments, she found that he was pleasant enough and far less boring to look at than the other guests that Nancy had invited.
In fact, Alice found herself wondering what Nancy had been thinking to invite Baron Colton and his brother. The two were known for being dreadfully dull.Perhaps they were an addition in the hopes of putting me off her true reasons for this event,Alice thought, unable to stop from smiling at the fact she had already figured it all out and they had not even gotten through the first dinner yet.
Dinner.Alice cringed already determining that if she could, she would ensure she found herself sat beside Philip or Andrew or at the least beside her mother who would stop any gentleman from boring her too much.
"I am glad to hear you say so, miss," Holly responded, offering a smile into the mirror. Alice found herself wondering whether the maid had been notified by her mother of what was going on.
Was she in on all of this or merely an innocent bystander?Alice tried to imagine that Holly had betrayed her and yet the idea simply would not stick. Though the Viscount had been the one to hire her and the Viscountess often gave her all the marching orders, it was Alice to which she was loyal. The maid had often whispered warnings in her ear whenever her mother was in a foul mood or up to one of her tricks.
Determined to be sure, Alice asked, "Holly, are you aware of the reasons for this week?"
As soon as she saw the confusion on the maid's face, Alice was aware that it was genuine, unlike Nancy's own confusion upon the porch steps that afternoon. Without needing to hear the words, Alice added, "You were not aware that my mother and Lady Kendall have hatched a scheme to put me in front of as many unmarried gentlemen as humanly possible this week?"
Holly's eyes widened as Alice spoke and she was more certain than ever that her maid had known nothing of the situation.
"No, my lady, never!" Holly stated quickly, her voice trembling as though she feared that her mistress might blame her for her lack of warning. "What are you to do, miss?"
"What can I do but go along with it and pray I come out at the end of the week unscathed?" Alice asked with a shrug. She gave one last tug on her evening gloves to be sure that they would not fall and checked the clasps on her emerald earrings before pushing herself to her silver-slippered feet.
"How do I look?" She asked the maid, spinning. She was quite impressed with the lack of movement in her hair, knowing that Holly always did a good job to ensure her thick, glossy locks would not fall from their place.
"Quite elegant, miss," Holly announced, her eyes shining with admiration at Alice's emerald green brocade gown. When she had first been fitted for it in London, Alice had insisted to her mother that the cut was too tight and yet now she knew why her mother had told her she was talking nonsense. The Viscountess had wanted her trussed up like a prized pig, ready to be paraded about her best friend's house for all the bachelors to bear witness.
"Then we had better get on with it, shall we?" Alice sighed, knowing she had dragged out getting ready long enough. She had rested, bathed, and taken her time to dress, using every moment to try and calm herself so that she would not cause a scene during dinner. Now, she felt even less prepared than when she had been furious.