A Short Sharp Shock

Chapter 2

In the appalling silence that followed, I saw Mama hastening toward me. From the other direction, our hostess was floating diffidently toward us, like a reluctant ghost.

"Is anything the matter?" Tallullah Snowden asked, as if hoping the answer would be Not At All.

"Not at all," Mr. Neimand said jovially. "Everything is quite all right, my—Miss Snowden. I've just explained everything to Miss Turner, and the matter is settled."

If he thought he could get rid of me that easily, he was mistaken. "Not quite settled, I'm afraid. I am simply brimming over with questions today. And if you will not talk to me, perhaps Miss Snowden will be good enough to answer them."

I bared my teeth at her in a bright grin. Miss Snowden drew back, her dark eyes opening even wider. One long-fingered hand rose up like a pale lily and settled near her throat.

"Do not be afraid," Mr. Niemand soothed her. "Miss Turner is feeling a bit hysterical, that's all. Her mother will look after her."

He grasped my upper arm to propel me towards Mama. I struggled to free myself. "Let me go."

At that moment, Mama arrived at my side, dispensing imperious glares to anyone unwise enough to catch her eye. Suddenly a babble of inconsequential chatter sprang up as the guests took a renewed interest in their costumes.

"That will do, Mr. Niemand," Mama said briskly. He dropped my arm and stepped away. No one disobeys Mama when she speaks in that tone of voice. Then she turned to me, incinerating me with a look. "Lucy, you will join Maude and Florence and choose your fancy dress outfit. Mr. Niemand, a word, if you please."

From long experience I know that Mama's glares don't cause actual death, but they do come close. As I obeyed, I glanced at Mr. Niemand's face and felt an ignoble sense of satisfaction. Mama would settle his score.

Chin high, I hastened across the ballroom to stand with Maude and Florence Gilbert, who are particular friends of mine. They live just down the road from us in Kensington. This party was the most exciting invitation they (or I, to be honest) had ever received and we all had high hopes of meeting our beau ideal at Snowden Hall. Well, I had hoped to wrest an explanation from Mr. Niemand, and even an apology, for his cruel treatment of me, but Maude and Florence dreamed of meeting their future husbands. Their mother had been feeling too unwell to accompany them, so in pure desperation they had agreed to accept their older brother William as their chaperone.

He stood beside them. There is something of a Norse god about Mr. William Gilbert. He reminds me of Thor, the god of thunder, big and golden-haired and fierce. All that he lacks to complete the effect is a giant hammer. As a chaperone, he was a mixed blessing, as one might say. On the one hand he was not inclined to watch his sisters' every move when they chatted with some amiable gentleman, but on the other, he was far more likely to thrash a potential suitor for smiling too boldly at one of his sisters.

Still, he was preferable to Mrs. Gilbert, whose vigilance never ceased. I can't imagine how my poor friends were ever to find beaux, with their mother playing the dragon over them all the time. They both deserve worthy gentlemen, and I'm not saying that simply because they are my friends. They're both pretty and accomplished. Florence is quiet, tall and willowy, and a talented pianist. Her younger sister Maude was a bit shorter and a bit blonder, with a bold and vivid temperament.

"Lucy, why haven't you chosen your fancy dress yet?" Maude shrilled. She hugged a red brocade gown with an Elizabethan neck ruff to her front."How does this suit me? Sir John says we shall have our photographs taken. In our costumes!"

I glanced at Maude in surprise. Watching others preen and pose was far more entertaining than having others watch me. "Have our photographs taken? Whatever for?"