The Virtuous Ward - By Karla Darcy Page 0,30

his lips. Max patted her hand but noting the petulantly pursed lips that would augur no good for the remainder of the evening, he added, "Give me a smile, my dear. Once Amity is settled I will have time and occasion to consider my own future."

Chapter Six

The late morning sun filtered through the sheer curtains of Amity's bedroom windows. She lay still, arms behind her head and smiled at the beautiful day. Contentment filled her as she remembered the magic of the ball the night before. Thanks to Max the evening had been a total success; she was well launched in society.

For the first time since she had arrived in London she felt like herself. She had been so caught up in the excitement of all the new experiences that she had lost sight of the person she was. For the last several weeks she had been dominated by Honoria's personality and had tried to be someone she was not. She had resolved yesterday that she would take charge of her own life and see if she might make better use of her life. She had been living an artificial existence, letting others guide her and not being guided by what she knew was her own character and style. Perhaps her mistake had been in wanting so much to be approved of by both Max and Honoria that she allowed herself to be manipulated.

In her two weeks in London she had observed the cynical, jaded manner of the elegant fashionable set and hated the thought of presenting such a picture of boredom. She felt a true excitement with life and did not want to lose that feeling. She suspected that Max was correct in that she must behave in a more ladylike manner but she recognized that much of what her guardian criticized was basic to her character. She was impetuous by nature, prone to great bursts of enthusiasm and joy. It bothered her that in order to be acceptable she would have to adopt a superficiality that went against the grain. Much as she wanted to please Max, there must be some compromise she could work out to be both acceptable and herself.

Thus contented for the moment, Amity pushed herself up in the center of the bed and stretched her arms over her head in a satisfying stretch. She smiled at Muffin curled up at the foot of the bed. Every night when she went to sleep the dog was nestled on the rug by the fireplace, but when she woke in the morning he was snoring on the comforter. Now ready to start the day, she prodded Muffin with her toes.

"What a lazybones you are," she said.

Muffin opened one eye and viewed her with disfavor but Amity was impervious to censure. Throwing back the covers, she crawled to the foot of the bed, throwing her arms around the dog and hugging him. After a smothered snort of disdain, he favored her with a wet lick on the cheek and as she scratched between his ears, he emitted a low growl of contentment.

"Bout time you're moving," Betta said, peeking around the opened door of the dressing room. "I was just about to come and see iffen you had taken up the ways of the fashionable set and were plannin' to sleep until afternoon."

"I should have known better than to hire an uppity servant," Amity said, grinning at the young girl. She bounded off the bed, sticking her nose in the air in great hauteur. Her pose was ruined somewhat when she bumped into a small table and stubbed her toe but she tried to keep her face serious despite the giggles issuing from her abigail.

"Me mum would say that was the Good Lord's justice for being uncharitable to underlings."

"Besides it is extremely uncomfortable," Amity said, wriggling the toes on her injured foot. "It's not easy being elegant, you know."

While Betta whisked around the room, Amity dressed, asking the girl how she liked her new position. She was enthusiastic over her reception by the other servants. Betta had been apprehensive that the replaced Emily would be angry over her arrival but after talking to the parlor maid was assured that she was welcome. Amity's assessment of Emily and the footman's interest in each other had been correct. Betta described the mooning looks the two servants had exchanged much to Amity's entertainment.

After dressing Amity hurried downstairs to breakfast where Max was just finishing. Her guardian greeted her with congratulations for her