“My lady,” her maid Mary said quietly. “Lady Felicity’s coach just arrived.”
And just that quickly, the real world came crashing back around Bella. All of her worries and anxieties for her future washed back over her.
Bella glanced toward the Park Lane entrance and spotted her friend stepping from a carriage bearing the Prestwick crest. She blew out an anxious breath, even though she was relieved to see her friend.
Bella closed her sketchpad, handed her supplies to Mary and pushed off the park bench.
Lissy waved her hand in the air, her ever-present smile upon her face. “There you are.”
Bella returned her friend’s gesture. Then she glanced back over her shoulder at her lady’s maid, and she inwardly grimaced. It would be next to impossible to keep Mary from overhearing her conversation with Lissy. Although she’d always considered Mary to be the loyalist of maids, Grandfather did pay the girl’s wages, and Bella hated to make the servant choose between her loyalties.
Feigning a cheerful smile, Bella started toward her friend, who was traveling with a maid of her own. Blast it all! It was one thing to hope Mary wouldn’t tell anything she might overhear today, and quite another to hope the same from a servant who wasn’t even in Bella’s employ.
“It is a rather perfect day for a walk,” Lissy began brightly as they started toward Rotten Row together. “I’m so glad you suggested it.”
“Me too,” Bella replied, glancing slightly behind her to see how close the two maids planned to follow. Closer than she would like, honestly. Not that she could say anything without causing undo attention, so she focused on the path before them and couldn’t help but chew her bottom lip.
She needed Lissy’s council and any help she could offer, but the awfulness of her situation still stung her heart. She would rather not have to repeat anything her Grandfather had said about her to another living soul. She rather wished she’d never heard the words herself.
Within a few moments, they joined the throng strolling the park. Bella glanced from one man to another along the path. Would Lord Peasemore do? What about Lord Haywood? Or maybe handsome Lord Ericht, she certainly wouldn’t hold his Scottishness against him, not if he’d overlook…well, everything about her; odd, as she apparently was.
“So what did Gillingham do last night that caused a scene?” Lissy asked.
Bella’s face warmed at just the memory of the previous evening. “He retched across some fellow’s boots, right in the middle of the Astwick ballroom. I won’t ever be able to show my face there again.”
Lissy gasped in response. “He didn’t!” At Bella’s nod, her friend added, “Oh, Bella, that is truly awful. Who was the fellow?”
The handsome man’s face flashed in Bella’s mind. He’d been so kind to try to steady Elliott on his feet. But the glare he cast her after Elliott had retched upon him made her wince even now. “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him before and I’m rather certain he’d like to never see me again.”
“Well, then he’s not worthy of thinking about,” Lissy remarked practically.
And with that, Bella supposed she was in agreement. She couldn’t spend time wondering about the green-eyed gentleman when her whole future was at risk. Her whole future…Bella turned her attention back to the gentlemen walking along Rotten Row. Lord Weybourne was a friend of her cousin Chase’s, wasn’t he? No, he had a darkness about him, even if he could be brought up to scratch. Lord Glentworth, perhaps. Or possibly Mr. Parnham. Would one of them make a decent husband? And if so, how could she possibly entice one of them to offer for her, and within the next thirteen days?
Lissy bumped Bella’s shoulder with her own. “You seem a bit on edge. Is everything all right?”
Again, Bella glanced over her shoulder, hoping the two maids couldn’t hear their conversation. The two were still closer than Bella wished, so she threaded her arm through Lissy’s and drew her friend closer as they walked. “I need a husband!” Bella whispered urgently in Lissy’s ear.
A look of terror splashed across her friend’s face. “Why would you possibly want one of those horrid creatures?”
Because it was either that or end up in the Prussian countryside with her awful cousin. “Did you hear Lucinda Potts ran off to Gretna Green with Lord Brookfield?”
“I certainly hope you’re not considering something equally rash,” Lissy replied, the look of terror hadn’t dissipated one bit.
A Scottish wedding might send her grandfather straight to his grave. “I don’t know that an anvil wedding is necessary. A perfectly respectable wedding at St. George’s will suffice. But I need a husband, or in the very least, a fiancé. And I need him quickly.”
Lissy stopped mid-step, and she glanced over her shoulder toward their maids. “We’re just going to sit a while.”
Then she directed Bella toward a nearby bench.
“Sitting isn’t going to change my mind,” Bella whispered only loud enough for Lissy to hear. And it wasn’t going to change her situation either.
But Lissy shushed her, continuing to lead Bella toward the empty bench. “Rushing into a marriage is the worst possible thing you could do, Bella. You can take that from me.” Lissy dropped onto the bench and tugged Bella down beside her. “It’s one thing to turn your life over to a man you love and trust, and quite another to do so with a man you barely know.”
Which was why she so desperately needed Lissy’s help. “I don’t have a choice with the timing.” Bella met her friend’s gaze. “Besides, it’ll be better with someone I choose rather than the awful man Grandpapa has in mind for me.”
Lissy’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Your grandfather?”
Bella nodded, relieved Lissy was beginning to see how dire her situation really was. “My cousin. Johann von Guttstadt, Count of Hellsburg.” Bella shivered at just the thought of the man. “What a perfectly apt name that is, by the way. He is most definitely a horrid creature, as you say. And not one I want to spend the rest of my life with. So I have to find a husband quickly, before Hellsburg arrives in Town.”