it was while the trays were being ferried into the room and set before the countess that the other visitors were announced.
Some failure of communication had clearly occurred. Perhaps no one had told the servants that Juliet was present, and other visitors were to be held back until she was removed. Whatever the reason, the earl and countess almost gawped in horror when Abbot intoned, “Mrs. Cornwell and Mrs. Stewart. Mr. Colin Cornwell and Mr. Stewart.”
The earl, who had only just sat down, jumped to his feet. Juliet was left in the middle of the room, holding a teacup and saucer designed for him. The countess glared at her so hard, Juliet wondered if she should hide behind the curtains.
And then the regal figure of Mrs. Cornwell, dressed in a fawn gown with matching hat and feather, sailed into the room ahead of a more vital lady in blue. The countess had to leave off glaring and push the table aside to greet her unexpected guests.
“Lady Cosland!” uttered Mrs. Cornwell. “I do hope you don’t mind such an onslaught! But my sister was determined to answer your call today, so I felt I should come to introduce her.”
“Oh, how thoughtful,” said Lady Cosland, always the perfect hostess. “We do not stand on formality here. We are happy to see everyone from Myerly.”
Juliet, with Dan’s name ringing in her ears, finally saw him saunter in behind his cousin.
“My sister, Mrs. Stewart,” Mrs. Cornwell said, not exactly with distaste, yet managing to convey she would not, from choice, have introduced such an inferior person to her ladyship.
“How do you do, Mrs. Stewart?” the countess said warmly. The earl, by comparison, seemed rooted to the spot, having stood at the first announcement. It was hard to imagine he had been humiliated, perhaps even heartbroken by this woman.
Mrs. Stewart was no longer young, but despite the lines of care around her eyes and mouth, she retained the kind of prettiness that comes from a happy disposition. Like Dan, Juliet supposed.
“You know my son, of course,” Mrs. Cornwell said regally.
Her son duly bowed and murmured respectful delight.
“And my son,” Mrs. Stewart said, her lips twitching as she realized her sister wasn’t going to trouble with that introduction. “Daniel Stewart.”
Dan stepped forward with his usual casual grace and bowed. “How do you do,” he murmured.
For a moment, the contrast between his dress and everyone else’s was stark. Colin, perfectly attired in a well-fitting coat of blue superfine and snowy white cravat, stood between the elegantly dressed ladies. Mrs. Stewart, Juliet guessed, had already accepted gifts from her wealthy suitor. Dan, quite clearly, had not. Although his coat was well brushed and clean, it was worn and mended at the cuffs. It was a little too tight across his shoulders, and even a shade too short in the sleeves. And yet, there was something about him that would always draw interested eyes. He felt no shame, no need to pretend. Careless of his outward appearance, he was comfortable in his own skin and not remotely overawed by his aristocratic company.
As the countess turned away, his gaze shifted and found Juliet, still standing in the middle of the room with the tea intended for her father. One of his eyes closed, so quickly and so discreetly, that anyone not staring would have missed it. Her breath caught. She wanted to laugh.
And then her father brushed past her, and the teacup wobbled precariously in her hand. She walked across and set it down by his chair. When she turned back, the earl was civilly shaking hands with the woman who had jilted him, smilingly observed by the woman he had married. The countess’s demeanor was as perfect as always, and yet somehow, Juliet suspected she was just a little on edge.
Of course, that could be Juliet’s fault. Her moment for escaping through the connecting door and back to her lonely chamber had passed. Juliet went forward with Kitty to greet the Cornwells and be presented to the Stewarts.
“My daughters, Juliet and Katherine.” And, of course, not by a flicker did her mother reveal anything other than pride in her daughters.
“Charmed to renew our acquaintance,” Colin Cornwell claimed. In the circumstances, he could say no less, but he did sound as if he meant it. As did Mrs. Stewart.
Dan merely smiled, bowed, and murmured, “How do you do,” as if he had never met her before.
Well, Juliet was not supposed to mention the stagecoach, and she had no intention of