do so,” she said, surprising Delilah with such a statement. “I am sorry, Delilah. I did not think that your uncle would be so furious and I certainly never imagined that Lord Coventry would not wish to dance.”
It was not something that Delilah had immediately believed, despite how fervent her uncle had been in telling her that Lord Coventry simply did not dance. She did not think that she had been the one to convince him to dance, for she had not said a word about it. He had been the one to offer to take her to the floor, but mayhap she had been wrong to dance with Lord Fitzherbert in the first place.
“I do not think that Lord Coventry felt obliged to dance with me, Lady Newfield,” Delilah said, glancing at her godmother and feeling a little awkward as she spoke against her uncle. “My uncle did not want me to dance; that was the only concern he had. It was not that Lord Coventry did not wish to but rather that I had chosen to disobey him.”
“Regardless,” Lady Newfield said firmly, “he should not have struck you.” Her eyes narrowed. “I shall make certain it does not happen again.”
Delilah shook her head, fear clutching at her. “Pray, do not, Lady Newfield,” she said desperately. “I should not like him to become angry with you also.”
Lady Newfield’s lip curled. “Have no fear, Delilah,” she replied steadily. “He shall not dare lay a hand on either myself or you again. Now.” Taking in a deep breath, she looked at Delilah again and smiled gently. “Now, are you ready for me to take you out into town today?”
Delilah’s eyes widened in surprise. “Into town?”
“Yes,” Lady Newfield said, her smile growing steadily. “We are to go into town and purchase you a few more new gowns.”
“But I already have a new gown,” Delilah replied, her heart thumping quickly as she began to panic about her uncle. “I do not think that Lord Denholm would wish to give me any more gowns or incur any more expense.”
“Nonsense,” Lady Newfield replied with a wave of her hand. “I shall be purchasing such things for you, not because your uncle has not the funds to do so, but rather because he might throw up something of a fuss if I had all the bills sent to him.” Rising to her feet, she beckoned Delilah to do the same. “Now, ask your lady’s maid to set your hair so that a curl falls over your cheek. There are cosmetics that can be applied also if that does not suffice.”
Delilah found herself led away, and, within the hour, she was ready to go into town—albeit a little afraid that her uncle would suddenly appear and demand to know where she was going. Her bonnet was set just so, her hair curled and set in place. All in all, she looked quite the perfect young lady, ready to see all that London had to offer. But she felt nothing but dread.
“Now,” Lady Newfield said as Delilah picked up a pair of silk gloves, running her fingers down over the material and struggling to believe that the large number of items ready to be purchased were all for her. “What else is it that you require?”
“I—I do not think I require anything further,” Delilah replied as Lady Newfield looked down at the gloves Delilah held. “You have been very kind, Lady Newfield.”
“New gloves!” Lady Newfield exclaimed, smiling beautifully as Delilah looked at her in surprise. “Of course. You must have at least two new pairs.”
“Two?” Delilah gasped as Lady Newfield nodded. “I do not need more than one, surely, and I already have—”
“Delilah,” Lady Newfield said, putting her hand on Delilah’s arm. “You have been given very little in this life. You have had very little choice. As your godmother, it was very difficult for me not to know where you were or what had happened to you.” Her smile was soft, but her eyes were glistening with tears. “Allow me now to do these small things for you. For it will not only bring you joy but it will bring me some also.”
Knowing that she could not argue, that she could not refuse, Delilah only nodded, a lump forming in her throat as she saw Lady Newfield’s smile grow. She then plucked the gloves from Delilah’s hands and took them to the dressmaker, adding them to the list of things that she was already purchasing. Smiling to