ready to ensure that Lady Wilhelmina’s clothing was properly set out and cared for, and that the debutante was dressed and ready for each and every occasion.
Marianne helped milady with her hair and toilette before each event, and she stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, sometimes nodding off in a chair in Wilhelmina’s bedchamber, waiting for the young lady to return so Marianne might help her undress and prepare for bed.
After the Season had ended, Marianne had enjoyed a respite from the social whirl—that is until Lady Copperpot had announced last week that the family would be packing up and traveling to Devon to attend Lord Clayton’s house party.
Despite Lady Wilhelmina’s beauty and family connections, the young lady had not secured a match during her first Season. It was the source of much discussion and angst between mother and daughter. In fact, the Copperpots seemed obsessed with seeing to it that Lady Wilhelmina secured an engagement as soon as possible.
So, when Lord Copperpot had received an invitation to Lord Clayton’s summer house party, there had been considerable joy in the household on Hertford Street in London. Apparently, Lord Clayton had a number of friends who were bachelors, each of them highly eligible.
Marianne had just picked up the last article of clothing that had been left on the floor—a delicate pink satin reticule—when the door opened and Lady Copperpot and Wilhelmina came traipsing into the bedchamber.
“I’m not pleased, I’ll tell you that,” Lady Copperpot said, dropping her golden shawl from her shoulders onto an emerald-green velvet tufted chair near the door. Her voice took on a nasally quality when she was irritated, and she was most certainly irritated at present.
“They might still arrive, Mama,” Wilhelmina replied, kicking off both of her silver slippers and dropping her own silver shawl onto the center of the floor. Marianne scrambled to pick up all three of the items before making her way back to the wardrobe where she neatly arranged both the slippers and Wilhelmina’s shawl.
Marianne had learned in this position that she should be fast and efficient, stay out of the way, and say very little. It was quite unlike her position with Lady Courtney, who often asked her opinion on things and dined with her and spoke to her and never dropped clothing in the middle of the floor.
“I doubt it,” Lady Copperpot replied to her daughter. “I specifically asked Lady Clayton if either Lord Kendall or Lord Bellingham intended to join the party, and she was quite vague. If they were coming, surely she would have said so.”
“One of the young ladies said that the Prince Regent might attend,” Wilhelmina told her mother. The poor girl was always trying to please her mama, who never seemed pleased with much.
“Think, Wilhelmina,” Lady Copperpot snapped, “what good will a visit from the prince do for you? The man is already married. We need eligible gentlemen here, and there are no two more eligible gentlemen than Kendall and Bellingham.”
Marianne made it her business to look busy arranging the articles of clothing in the wardrobe, but they were all already perfectly arranged. She was nothing if not orderly and efficient, but she did like to overhear Lady Copperpot and Wilhelmina’s schemes. It usually gave Marianne an idea of how well things were going and how long they intended to stay. Apparently, they hadn’t got off to a good start at this particular house party. That did not bode well.
Lords Kendall and Bellingham. Marianne had heard those names before. Mostly because she’d also made it her business to remember all of the names of the eligible bachelors who Lady Copperpot and Wilhelmina discussed. There were scores of bachelors, and all of them were ranked by the ladies in order of eligibility.
The only names that had been higher on the list than Kendall’s and Bellingham’s last Season were those of the Duke of Worthington, who was apparently a drunken lout—although a young, handsome one—and the Marquess of Murdock, who was no longer a part of their discussions because he had become engaged to the fortunate Lady Julianna Montgomery during the Season, thereby crushing the hopes of many a mother/daughter pair.
Kendall and Bellingham, however, hadn’t been present at any of the events of the Season. At least as far as Marianne could discern, and apparently, the two gentlemen remained eligible, as evidenced by Lady Copperpot’s desire for them to attend the house party.
“Surely, there will be others here, Mama,” Wilhelmina offered in a gentle voice,