Page 14 of A Lady’s Mishap (The Lockwood Family #5)

14

E lodie sat at her dressing table as Molly skillfully gathered her hair into a loose chignon, the soft tendrils framing her face. She had managed to avoid her mother’s impending lecture by spending the last few hours at Anthony’s townhouse.

Molly took a step back and asked, “Do you like your hair, my lady?”

Elodie turned slightly, admiring her reflection in the mirror. “It is lovely,” she replied. “You have truly outdone yourself.”

“Shall we dress you now?” Molly asked, moving towards the gown draped across the bed.

As Elodie rose from her seat, the door to her bedchamber opened, and her mother slipped inside with her usual grace. “Good, there you are. I need a word with you.”

Elodie held back a sigh, bracing herself for the lecture she knew was inevitable.

Her mother sat down on the bed. “How is Miss Emma?”

That brought a smile to Elodie’s lips. “She is well. Stephen said something rather harsh to her, but Anthony and I managed to distract her with toys and games.”

Her mother’s brow knitted. “What did Stephen say this time?”

Elodie’s smile faded. “He called Emma’s mother a whore.”

“Wasn’t he married to this woman?”

Elodie nodded, a note of sadness in her voice. “Yes, but I believe he was only trying to hurt Emma. He was terribly unkind.”

Lady Dallington frowned. “How terrible. Well, I am glad you and Anthony were there for her.”

“Emma is a delightful girl.” Elodie stepped into her gown, and Molly began fastening the buttons down her back. “I do believe Anthony intends to raise her himself, given Stephen’s behavior.”

“How do you feel about that?”

Elodie shrugged, feigning indifference. “Why should it matter to me?”

Her mother gave her a knowing look. “I can’t help but notice you and Anthony seem to be growing rather close.”

Elodie made a face. “We are friends, Mother. Just as we always have been.”

“He did buy you a puppy.”

“Only because he thought it best to get two dogs so they would not be lonely.”

Her mother’s lips curled into a small smile. “Ah, I see.”

Molly stepped back to tidy the room as the dinner bell rang. Rising from the bed, Lady Dallington extended Elodie a hand. “We should go down to dinner.”

Elodie tilted her head, studying her mother’s expression. “Is that all you wanted to discuss?”

“No,” her mother replied, linking her arm with Elodie’s as they walked out into the corridor. “But we can discuss the rest on our way to the drawing room.”

“Oh, wonderful,” Elodie muttered under her breath.

As they moved down the hall, her mother glanced at her. “First and foremost, I want you to know I am proud of you for standing up for Anthony with Lord Danbury.”

Elodie’s surprise showed plainly. “You are?” That was the last thing she had expected to hear.

Her mother bobbed her head. “Yes, but as your mother, I would be remiss if I did not caution you to wield that sharp tongue with care. There are always consequences to our words.”

“Lord Danbury is a muttonhead.”

Her mother’s lips twitched, though she quickly composed herself. “True, but he is also quite influential in the House of Lords. Crossing him could spell trouble for your father.”

Elodie offered a contrite smile. “I’m sorry. I had not considered that.”

“I know,” her mother replied, patting her hand. “Which is why I am ending this lecture here.”

“Truly?” Elodie asked. “Your lectures usually go on for much longer.”

Her mother laughed. “Consider it my gift to you. And I am proud of how you handled the situation. But do not tell your father that.”

“I would not dream of it.”

Coming to a stop at the top of the stairs, her mother turned to face her fully. “You are truly shining as the diamond this Season. But remember, love can often be found in the most unlikely of places.”

“I will not marry for anything less.”

Her mother’s expression softened, and she placed a hand on her arm. “I have been blessed to love two men in my life. True love is not something to take for granted. When you find it, hold on to it with everything you have. Never let it go.”

“I promise.”

Her mother’s gaze grew thoughtful. “And I do not believe you will have to look very far to find that kind of love.”

Elodie pressed her lips together as she tried to hide her surprise. Did her mother think she harbored feelings for Anthony? Or… perhaps even loved him? No, that could not be. Anthony was—well, what was he exactly? More than a friend, certainly, but the rest was too uncertain to consider.

Thankfully, her mother seemed to sense her unease and did not press further. Instead, she dropped her arm with a warm smile. “Shall we join the rest of the family for dinner?”

Bennett’s playful voice echoed from the entry hall below. “Are you two engaged in subterfuge?” he joked, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he looked up at them.

“Not at all,” her mother replied. “Elodie and I were just talking.”

Bennett arched an eyebrow. “And what subject were the two of you so deeply engrossed in discussing?”

Her mother grinned. “Aren’t you being rather nosy?”

As Elodie descended the stairs with her mother, Delphine emerged from the drawing room. Delphine smiled at her. “Good evening, Elodie. I haven’t seen much of you today.”

“That is because she was at Anthony’s townhouse,” Bennett announced with a slight smirk.

Delphine’s eyes widened with surprise. “Alone?”

Elodie quickly shook her head. “No, I was visiting Anthony’s niece, Emma. We were playing games with her.”

“Still, were you alone?” Delphine pressed.

“No,” Elodie replied firmly. “Lady Kinwick was there with us the entire time. I assure you, we were properly chaperoned. But even if we weren’t, Anthony is a family friend. Being alone with him would not ruin my reputation.”

Delphine exchanged a telling glance with Bennett. “I am not entirely sure if that is true.” “Whyever not?” Elodie argued.

Bennett stepped forward, lowering his voice in a conspiratorial tone. “You see, Elodie, when a man and a young woman, such as you, begin to develop certain feelings?—”

Elodie cut him off with a huff. “I do not have feelings for Anthony.”

“Don’t you?” Bennett asked, his tone full of implications.

Elodie rolled her eyes. “It is entirely possible for two people of the opposite sex to be friends, you know.”

Before her brother could respond, their father entered the entry hall. “Let us all go into the dining room.”

With a glance over her shoulder, Elodie asked, “Are Winston and Mattie not joining us this evening?”

“They went to the theatre,” Bennett informed her. “You would have known that if you were not spending all of your time at Anthony’s townhouse.”

Elodie sighed. “It was only for a few hours.”

Bennett offered his arm to his wife. “I understand you are going on a carriage ride with Anthony during the fashionable hour tomorrow.”

“I am, but do not read too much into it,” Elodie said as they moved towards the dining room.

When they arrived, she took her seat across from Delphine, hoping Bennett would let the matter drop. But luck was not on her side.

Bennett settled into his chair beside his wife. “You do realize this is the second time you will be seen in Hyde Park with him during the fashionable hour?”

“Well done, Brother. You can count up to two,” Elodie quipped.

Bennett placed his hand up. “I am only saying that the gossips’ tongues may start wagging.”

Elodie retrieved her napkin and placed it on her lap. “This is ridiculous. Anthony and I are merely friends. Can we please change the subject?”

“All right,” Bennett relented. “What shall we discuss instead?”

Turning towards her mother, Elodie said, “I would like to commission a portrait of myself and Lulu.”

“Whatever for?” her mother asked.

Elodie leaned forward. “Lulu looks so distinguished in his waistcoat. I think it should be memorialized.”

Her father let out a quiet scoff. “A dog has no business wearing a waistcoat. And as for the portrait, you may have one commissioned once you are betrothed. That is the tradition in our family.”

“Can Lulu at least be part of it?” Elodie asked.

Her father’s response was swift. “No. A portrait is no place for a dog.”

She leaned back, undeterred. “But the queen has many portraits of her with her dogs.”

“Well, when you are the queen, you can do whatever you want,” her father said, reaching for his glass.

“Fine,” Elodie remarked. “Perhaps I will marry a prince and live far, far away in a tall tower. You may never see me again, but I will be surrounded by my dogs.”

“At least, in this scenario, you would have a husband,” her father retorted.

Lady Dallington shot her husband a warning look. “Dear, leave poor Elodie alone. She will find a husband when she is good and ready.”

“I hope she does not take too long,” her father said.

Elodie lifted her brow as she tried to keep her voice light. “Are you in such a hurry to be rid of me, Father?”

“On the contrary,” her father replied, his tone gentle. “I only wish to see you cared for, even when I am no longer around to look after you.”

“You are going to live a long life since I forbid you to die,” Elodie stated.

“Then I shall heed your command,” her father replied with a wink.

Her mother interjected, breaking the somber mood with a cheerful note. “Enough of this morbid talk. Let us eat before our soup grows cold.”

The sun was high in the sky as Anthony stepped out of his townhouse and strolled the short distance to Elodie’s main door. He knocked, and the door was promptly opened by the butler. Before he could step inside, Elodie slipped out, bonnet in hand, her eyes bright with anticipation.

“Shall we go?” she asked, her voice almost too eager.

He eyed her curiously. “Why the urgency?”

Elodie flashed him a sweet smile. “I am just anxious to spend time with you,” she said as she batted her eyes.

“The truth, if you please.”

Her smile faded, replaced with a sigh of resignation. “My mother is driving me mad,” she admitted. “She is insisting I perform a piece on the pianoforte at Mrs. Fletcher’s soiree tomorrow.”

Anthony looked at her, bemused. “And why is that such a problem? I happen to know you are an excellent player.”

Elodie turned her head slightly, though not before he caught a flicker of vulnerability in her gaze. “I do not enjoy performing in front of large groups. Playing for a small gathering is one thing, but an entire roomful of people?” She shuddered. “It is unnerving.”

A playful smile tugged at his lips. “I never thought I would see the day that you would admit to being nervous.”

She shot him a look. “You are not helping.”

Anthony grinned. “I am not trying to. I am merely trying to understand. Besides, you are the diamond of the Season. People will expect you to perform at the soiree.”

“Well, I never asked to be the diamond,” Elodie declared. “What if I make a mistake? One that I cannot recover from?”

With a gentle hand, Anthony touched her arm. “You won’t.”

Her brows knitted as she looked at him, her eyes unguarded. “How can you be so sure?” “Because everything will work out in the end,” he replied. “I don’t know how. But I trust that it will.”

Elodie frowned. “I have never heard someone say so many wrong things, one after another, in a row.”

Anthony chuckled. “You just don’t like hearing the truth.”

Placing the bonnet on top of her head, Elodie tied the ribbons under her chin. “What if I trip and fall on the way up to the pianoforte? I would be utterly ruined.”

He shrugged, as if his next words were inconsequential. “Then I would marry you.”

Elodie huffed. “Me? A ruined woman? I do think you need to set your sights a little higher, my lord.”

Anthony offered his arm. “Perhaps I already have. As we have discussed before, our children would be extraordinarily beautiful. The envy of the ton .”

She arched a brow. “Is beauty all you care about? What of love?”

“Oh, I have no doubt that if we wed, you would fall desperately in love with me, given time. I am quite likable, you know.”

“So say you,” she teased.

“Furthermore, I am a wealthy viscount,” he added, puffing out his chest with an exaggerated air. “You could do much worse.”

Elodie considered him for a moment. “What else do you seek in a marriage?”

Anthony hesitated, the truth lingering on the tip of his tongue. What he wanted to say was that he sought her as a wife. She was everything he had dreamed of, but he did not dare say that.

Instead, he met her gaze steadily. “That is easy. I want someone I can laugh with—every single day.”

“Well then, you would best find yourself someone hilarious because you, my lord, are remarkably unfunny,” she quipped.

Anthony shook his head, though his voice held amusement. “Why must you constantly insult me?”

“I suppose it is my way of keeping you humble.”

“That you do,” Anthony said as he helped her into the carriage.

As the coach slowly moved forward, merging into the flow of bustling carriages on the road, Elodie looked over at Anthony. “How is Emma doing today?”

“She is well,” he replied. “I feel as if I should apologize for my brother… again?—”

Elodie interrupted him gently. “There is no need, Anthony. You seem to forget that I know Stephen, and I know what he is capable of.”

Anthony clenched his jaw. “But to say something so cruel to Emma about her mother… it is unfathomable.”

“I agree,” Elodie said. “He was entirely wrong in doing so.”

Anthony let out a slow, frustrated breath. “Everything out of my brother’s mouth is wrong. It is as if he can’t help himself.”

Elodie turned to face him more fully on the bench. “You have done all you can for him.”

“Then why do I feel as if I haven’t done enough?” His voice was barely more than a whisper, but the weight of his words filled the space between them.

She grew silent. “What is it that you want?”

He furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”

“If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?”

With a blank look, he replied, “I don’t have time to think about such things. There is the estate to manage, meetings to attend, tenants to look after…”

She reached out, placing a hand on his arm, quieting his words. “But is that what you want to do?”

“I do what is expected of me.”

A rueful smile came to her lips. “I know you. You have always valued duty above all else. But humor me, just for a moment. What is it that you want out of this life?”

After a brief pause, he replied, “I suppose I would buy up land. Try to become one of the largest landowners in England.”

She yawned, a spark of mirth in her eyes. “That is your grand wish? Forgive me, Anthony, but that is dreadfully boring. Try again.”

Anthony grinned. “All right… I would travel. See the world. There are so many places I have only read about. Sometimes I think I would like to experience them firsthand.”

“That is my wish as well,” Elodie said softly.

“Then let us travel together,” Anthony declared. “We will buy a ship and sail off to distant lands, far from London’s endless demands.”

Elodie gave him a wistful look. “If only it were that simple.”

His gaze fell to her hand, still resting on his arm, and she quickly withdrew it, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she turned her head. Perhaps she was not entirely immune to his charms, after all.

The carriage reached Hyde Park and began rolling down Rotten Row. But coming towards them in the opposite direction, Anthony noticed Lord Montrose riding on horseback. His mood darkened instantly.

Elodie must have noticed his reaction because she asked, “What is wrong?”

“Lord Montrose,” he muttered, not bothering to hide his disgust.

Montrose had a smug smile on his lips as he reined in his horse beside their carriage.

“Lady Elodie. Lord Belview,” he greeted, tipping his hat with exaggerated politeness.

“Do not address Lady Elodie,” Anthony growled.

But Elodie placed a calming hand on Anthony’s sleeve, her voice a whisper. “It is all right. I do not wish to cause a scene.”

Montrose’s smile widened, his gaze lingering on Elodie. “You are looking especially lovely on this fine day, my lady.”

“Is it fine?” Elodie asked, glancing up at the gray sky. “It is rather cloudy and drizzly, do you not think?”

“Ah, but seeing you has brightened my day considerably,” Montrose said.

Elodie met Montrose’s gaze. “How is your nose, my lord?”

Montrose’s smile faltered for a brief second, his eyes narrowing. “It seems you are determined to dwell on unfortunate incidents from the past.”

“I suppose I am allowed a bit of honesty, considering I am a shrew,” she replied with an innocent look. “Is that not what you called me, my lord?”

“A beautiful shrew,” Montrose replied. “Would you care to?—”

“No.”

Montrose’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “You do not even know what I was going to ask.”

“Does it matter?” Elodie asked. “I have no desire to associate myself with you. In fact, every word you speak only reminds me of how thoroughly vapid you are.”

“Careful, my lady, or I will start to think you disapprove of me,” Montrose mocked.

Elodie straightened, fixing him with a withering stare. “I know very little about you, but everything I do know leaves me utterly unimpressed.”

Montrose tightened the reins in his hand. “One day, we will recount this amusing story to our children, and we will all laugh at it.”

Elodie visibly tensed. “I will never marry you.”

“You say that now…”

“I will say that always,” Elodie said firmly.

With a smirk, Montrose inclined his head. “We shall see about that,” he said before clicking his horse forward, trotting off with an arrogant tilt of his chin.

Elodie watched Montrose’s retreating figure with a look of utter disdain. “What an audacious man. He has some nerve.”

“That goes without saying, but you must never be alone with Montrose,” Anthony said. “I do not trust that man.”

“Neither do I. How he could ever think I would consider marrying him is beyond me,” Elodie declared.

Anthony leaned back in his seat. “I do not think he cares if you are willing.”

“Perhaps I should challenge him to a duel myself.”

“Absolutely not!” Anthony exclaimed. “Ladies do not fight duels.”

“Why? Are men afraid that we would actually win them?” Elodie asked.

Anthony cast an exasperated look at the sky. “Duels are not a matter to joke about,” he said, his voice coming out much harsher than he had intended.

Elodie’s voice softened. “I am sorry. I should not have brought up such a sensitive topic, knowing Stephen’s past involvement in a duel.”

“Stephen is an idiot,” Anthony grumbled.

“I do not dispute that.”

Anthony ran a hand through his hair. “Let us talk about something other than my brother or Montrose.”

Elodie’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she gestured towards two gentlemen seated on a nearby bench, both wearing solemn expressions. “Very well. What do you think those two are discussing?”

He glanced over, raising an eyebrow. “Likely something important.”

“Pudding, perhaps?” she guessed.

“Pudding?” he repeated with a laugh. “They are far too serious for that.”

Elodie tapped a finger against her lips. “You made a good point. What do serious gentlemen discuss when they are gathered together?” Her eyes lit up. “I have got it—whist. They are reliving every detail of their card game from last night.”

“You are terrible at guessing.”

“Oh? Do you think you can do better?” Elodie challenged.

Anthony studied the gentlemen with mock seriousness. “If I had to guess, I would wager they are discussing the state of the government.”

“I stand by my theory,” Elodie said. “And there is only one way to know for certain. You will just have to ask them.”

Anthony looked at her, half-amused, half-bewildered. “Why must I be the one to ask?”

“Because,” Elodie started with a wave of her hand, “you are seated closest to them. It is just practical.”

Anthony gave a resigned smile, settling back in his seat. “As entertaining as that would be, I am not going to approach them. Why don’t we enjoy the rest of the carriage ride in quiet?”

Elodie adjusted the brim of her bonnet. “I quite agree. I do prefer it when you are not speaking.”

“Of course you do. And to think, I did you a favor by taking you on this carriage ride,” Anthony said. “I’d think you would be nicer to me.”

“But it is so difficult to be nice to you,” Elodie retorted.