care if I didn’t approve the treat for Emma. She took this job only after making sure I understood she would expect Emma to behave as if she were in fact the legitimate daughter of an Earl. It was clear Alice wanted Emma to have a life fitting my rank and when the time came be accepted into society. I understood this and respected it. However, it made for an odd relationship between the two of us.
“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Barton!” Emma squealed with delight as the hot chocolate was placed before her and the eggs and ham replaced with jam and biscuits.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Emma. No need to worry about your figure just yet is there.” She gave Emma a wink then stepped back with the unwanted food and left the room.
Emma smiled brightly over at me. “Mrs. Barton is my favorite in the world.”
“I can accept that,” I replied. “She is indeed a wonderful housekeeper.”
“She is my friend,” Emma corrected me.
“Yes, indeed. I believe she is the truest of friends,” I agreed.
We had found a balance within these walls. Emma had brought light and energy to the everyday schedule. Finding the right countess that would fit effortlessly into the household was important. Lydia Ramsbury had appeared to be all I had believed last night. However, she was a touch too quiet, too agreeable and I feared that Emma may be too much of a personality for Miss Ramsbury.
Possibly, I was judging her unfairly, simply because my attention had been elsewhere. Miss Miriam Bathurst had been difficult to ignore. Even after she had made it clear she wasn’t interested in my title or my attention. Smiling into my cup, I imagined her meeting Emma. I had no doubt the two would be quite a pair.
I knew little of Miss Bathurst, but I was going to rectify that today. I could not settle on Lydia Ramsbury until I was sure she was the match I, no make that the match… Emma required.
Chapter Six
Miss Miriam Bathurst
Rising early had always been something I enjoyed. A good book, a cup of hot chocolate and a slice of warm toast was my ideal morning. Awakening to dress and prepare for callers was not my idea of an enjoyable morning, yet it was to be my life for a time, it would seem. The sooner I found a husband, the sooner this ended and along with it, my freedom.
With a deep sigh, I felt so clearly in my soul, I made my way to the drawing room. At home, I would often find my mother and sister in the drawing room when it neared noon. My mother would be with her needlework and Whitney would be at the pianoforte. However, here in my uncle’s home, it was much different for my aunt Harriet wanted nothing to do with needlework or music.
A plate of chocolates was by her side as she sat rather unladylike on the sofa with her slippers abandoned on the floor and her bare feet, not even covered by stockings, tucked beneath her. In her lap lay a correspondence it would seem. My aunt wasn’t one to enjoy literature; however, she did find entertainment in letters from her family in New Orleans and in the gossip papers of which my uncle didn’t approve. He often complained of the cost of such scandalous society papers, but he would then soften when Aunt Harriet would flash her smile at him.
Aunt Harriet lifted her head from the letter she had been reading and beamed brightly at me. “You are a vision. The gentlemen callers will be more enamored this morning than they were last night.” She dropped her bare feet to the floor and held the paper in her lap toward me. “You must read this. My cousin, Adelle, wrote to me about our most recent family scandal.”
“Most recent?” I asked as I reached out to take the letter from her.
“Oh yes. My family tends to find themselves in compromising positions quite often,” she replied with a touch of pride in her voice that was both scandalous and amusing. Much like her bare feet.
“Alfred said something about expecting gentlemen callers I believe within the next hour. I’m to chaperone and there is a time limit on what is proper for their visit?” It sounded more like a question than a statement.
“It will be awhile still yet. No man of his ilk would arrive at a lady’s home this early,” Uncle Alfred said as he entered the