“I have business of my own to run and a growing family to care for,” he said, sitting forward again. “But I’ll look into the matter of Montrose a bit as well. If I find anything useful, I’ll let you know. But can I give you another bit of advice before then?”
“Yes, please do,” Joseph said, wanting that advice more than he wanted tea.
Long’s smile widened. “If you want to be taken seriously as a man, you need to behave like a man. Don’t go into every situation fighting for your place. Assume that you already have the place and act accordingly. Men take their cues from us, so we need to show them how to treat us. Practice doing that, and I’m certain you’ll see a change.”
Joseph nodded gravely. He also felt a twist of emotion in his gut. Hadn’t he told Ellen the same thing just the other day? Wasn’t that the advice he’d given her about how she could improve her standing in society? It seemed that he needed to take his own advice as well.
He finished his tea and the scone Nora had brought out for him and passed a bit more time with Long, discussing less important things. The whole time, he was aware that he needed to get home, because Ellen was coming for tea.
By the time he donned his coat and hat again and headed home through the streets of Mayfair, a different sort of idea was beginning to form in his mind. He needed to take Long’s advice and his own. He needed to engage in the same making over that he had suggested for Ellen. They both needed to change the way they looked and the way they engaged with the people around them.
And then he stepped into the front parlor where his mother and aunt were having tea with Ellen just in time to hear his mother ask, “How much would you say your father is willing to settle on you?”
Joseph let out an impatient sigh and strode into the room. “Mama, you cannot ask Miss Garrett questions like that,” he said. Though honestly, he didn’t have the amount of attention for the matter that perhaps he should have. His thoughts were buzzing with too many ideas. “You cannot ask her any more questions at all,” he said in a rush. “There isn’t time for questions, because the lot of us need to go shopping.”
Chapter Eight
Utter relief swept through Ellen at Joseph’s statement that there would be no more questions. She thought she was handling herself well, but Lady Vegas still had a spark in her eyes that said she wanted to know more, and that it would be personal. She couldn’t imagine what further concerns the woman had. It wasn’t as though Ellen had kept her determination to marry Joseph a secret.
What truly excited her—enough to have her leaping out of her seat on the sofa and nearly spilling Lady Dorrington’s tea in the process—was the prospect of shopping.
“Where would you like to go? To Oxford Street? Bond Street? Will we be calling at one of the draper’s shops there or patronizing one of the new department stores? Oh! Harrods! Will I need—”
She stopped herself the moment she realized her enthusiasm wasn’t proper. Lady Margaret would never have become so excitable over a mere shopping trip.
To fix matters, she cleared her throat, smoothed her hands over her dull, brown skirt, stood a little taller, and said, “Thank you, Mr. Rathborne-Paxton. I believe a shopping excursion would be very pleasant indeed.”
Joseph stared at her. Ellen wasn’t certain, but she thought that the way his mouth twitched on one side was the beginning of a smile. Perhaps even laughter. And even across the room, she felt the heat of his gaze, almost as though he was enticed by her loud, erratic behavior. But that couldn’t possibly be the case. Joseph was the one trying to help her reform herself.
Lady Vegas and Lady Dorrington were slower to rise from the sofa, but they eventually put their teacups down and stood on either of Ellen’s sides.
“Joseph, what has brought on this sudden impulse to spend the little money our family has left?” Lady Vegas asked.
Ellen’s face went hot at the reminder that the Rathborne-Paxton family was a bit strapped for cash, despite their lofty titles and fine Mayfair house.
Joseph twitched slightly at his mother’s words, but he stepped forward and held out a hand to Ellen with a sense of determination to his movements.
“I’ve just been reminded that the surest way to impress the fine ladies of society is to be seen in the latest fashions coming out of Paris and the like,” he said, taking Ellen’s hand and helping her step away from Lady Vegas and Lady Dorrington. “And it has been indirectly suggested to me that I might do with a new suit myself.”
Ellen gasped in excitement. “You wish to make yourself over as well as me?” She didn’t wait for an answer before saying, “This is perfect. The two of us could coordinate the styles and colors of our clothing. We could purchase matching accessories. No one who saw us on the streets would have any doubt that we belong together.”
“Oh, good heavens,” Lady Vegas muttered from the sofa. She turned to her sister and said, “We’d best accompany them. There is no telling what these two young flibbertigibbets might get up to if left alone.”
Being called such a silly name had no effect at all on Ellen. She’d been called much worse, and recently too. But she didn’t like the flash of consternation and upset that dampened Joseph’s expression.
“Help me fetch my coat,” she said, resting her hand in the crook of his arm and tugging him with her to the hallway. “I cannot wait to see where we go and what sort of styles are available to us. Never fear, I will help you choose something that will make you look as fine and fancy as you are.”
As soon as they reached the hall and had a brief moment to themselves, Joseph sent her a look of sheepish thanks. He must have figured out that she was trying to shield him from his mother’s ridicule, but he didn’t address it outright, and she was more than willing to let it go. That would be part of her job once they were wed, after all—to support and uphold him, even if that meant standing as a guard between him and his mother.
Lady Vegas and Lady Dorrington joined them moments later, and there was a flurry of movement and excitement as they all donned their coats and had the butler, Flynn, send for one of the carriages.
“Oxford Street is not that far away,” Ellen said as they waited in the foyer for the carriage. “We could just walk.”
Lady Dorrington looked as though she might expire. “One does not walk whilst going about errands, Miss Garrett,” she said. “Walking is for the working-class.”
Ellen nearly sputtered with laughter. She peeked at Joseph to see what he thought. At first, he wore a sober expression, and Ellen thought he might agree with his aunt. But the moment he caught her amused look, his features softened, then pulled into a different sort of tension as he nearly laughed.
It was the tiniest of moments, but in it, Ellen felt as though Joseph were on her side, and as though it were the two of them against the world. She didn’t mind those odds at all, especially not if it meant they were together.