It had been a rather eventful day for Katherine. Given the events of the morning, she had no intention to leave her room, but Eloise wouldn't allow it. They had resumed their daily activities and even joined everyone for a small luncheon.
It was astonishing to see that lord Bradford, who was usually absent at such affairs, had decided to join them.
Marchioness sat at the head of the table, adjacent to her son and as the second highest ranking lady in the house, lady Janssen sat opposite her, at the other end of the table. Katherine was thankful to have been seated on the far end of the table, next to Eloise and her mother, which was a most convenient distance to avoid participating in any conversation which might have involved him.
Her eyes focused on the food laid on her plate, as she silently listened in on the ongoing conversation about the Pankhurst ball, that was going to be held tonight.
Marchioness had extended the invitation she had received to all her guests and encouraged everyone to attend. They all seemed to be very enthusiastic about the party. Eloise in particular was quite giddy.
"I hope you'll attend the ball tonight," she said "Everybody seems to be thrilled about it."
"I haven't quite decided yet. You must know, I have very few proper evening dresses, and only one that is appropriate for a ball." Katherine replied
"You should censure yourself less, I am sure you'd look exquisite in any dress you put on" Eloise complimented "Besides, you must come. If for nothing else, but to vex my cousin. He appears to be looking your way very frequently, you see"
She did not dare look at him or in his direction but could feel his gaze upon her. Memories of this morning must be fresh in his mind, which could be the reason for his intent stare, she thought.
"Look at him, he looks so serious. Someone might mistake him for a prison guard from the Tower of London" Eloise's remark almost caused her to choke on the wine she was drinking. She had to try hard to not laugh.
"Is everything alright over there, Miss Hughes?" asked lord Bradford, turning everyone's attention to her.
Drat, the man. "Yes, sir. Everything is fine. I might have been a little too hasty in consuming my drink. That's all." She replied calmly
"Take care my girl, you should sip your wine slowly, like a lady." Said Mrs. Briggsby reprimanding her "Or you'll drink more than you ought to, which would be very unladylike."
"Look at your cousin Eleanor, she is a fine example of how a lady should carry herself at the table." She further added
"You flatter me, mama," said Eleanor with a faint blush. "I am sure this was just a small slip-up on Katherine's part. She had a simple country upbringing, you cannot blame her, for her lack of modern civility. If she had the fortune of mingling in fashionable society like us, she would have been just as proficient"
She nodded in acknowledgment and resumed eating her tart without replying to the subtle taunt directed at her. Once everyone had gone back to their previous conversations, she turned to Eloise and whispered in ears "You must stop making these humorous remarks about your cousin, in his presence. Or you'll get us both in trouble."
"I can make no such promise," said Eloise cheekily.
"Well then, do not complain that I didn't warn you when we are taken as prisoners in the Tower of London" Katherine giggled. They continued the rest of the meal in silence, passing each other a smile here and there.
A few hours later, ladies began assembling in front of the grand staircase. Dressed in their fineries, they were waiting to board the carriages, to the ball.
Katherine noticed a disgruntled look on her aunt's face upon her arrival, but that didn't phase her a bit. "So, I see you have decided to join the ball. I had thought you might choose to abstain from such high society engagements, given that you don't have much experience in such areas." Said her aunt " But since you have decided to attend anyways, do remember to display proper etiquette. I expect you to not cause our family any embarrassment."
"Do not worry, I'd be by your side," Eloise whispered from behind her. She looked stunning in her fashionable light blue dress, which had a laced neckline.
Soon, they were joined by Sybilla and Eleanor. While Penelope was yet to make an appearance.
"Dear cousin, it is brave of you to join us" said Eleanor in a fictitious voice "I fear you might find this soiree entirely dull. Especially if none of the gentlemen ask you to dance. Which very likely might happen." Laughed Eleanor as she pulled out a small looking glass from her reticule, to examine her curls.
"Do not pay her any mind, she is just afraid that she will not have enough dance partners because all the men will be enchanted with you" said Eloise in a low voice "You are very pretty, and any gentleman would be blind indeed, not to see that"
This remark did not go unheard and as if out of spite, Eleanor accidentally hit a nearby candlestick while attempting to put her looking glass back into her reticule. This caused a burning candle to drop onto Katherine's dress.
The sheer horror on Sybilla's face after watching this was alarming. "Oh heavens! What have you done Eleanor?" she said frantically "Are you alright Katherine? Have you been injured?" She asked with a worried expression.
"I truly am sorry, cousin. I didn't mean to harm you." Eleanor said with feigned concern "such a shame your pretty dress is ruined by all that wax"
All eyes were now turned towards them, with Katherine as the centre of the spectacle. For a moment they all remained silent. But when Katherine could bear it no more she bowed and fled the scene without a word. Soon tears came streaming down her face. When she was finally alone in her bed, she broke down into a sob. The cruelty of her cousin towards her was exceedingly wicked and her conceit so offensive.
How a blood relation can show such unkindness to another, was beyond her understanding. Especially when she had given her no reason to dislike her.
After a while, she heard a soft knock on her door. This must be her maid who had come to check upon her. "I am quite alright Abigail, I am unharmed I assure you." She said calming her sobs
"It is a comfort to know that you are alright " came Eloise's voice from the other side of the door , which was a bit surprising . She immediately opened the door to find her and three of her maids, who all marched straight into her bedchamber, immediately upon her opening the door.
"What are you doing here? You will miss the ball if you do not leave soon with the rest of the ladies." Cautioned Katherine
"How could I leave you alone? After what happened downstairs." Eloise tried to examine where the candle had damaged Katherine's dress. "I dare say, your cousin Eleanor is extremely wicked to harm you like this. I shan't be surprised to discover that she is a witch. With her coy smile and blushing cheeks, She conceals a mean soul!"
"Do not distress your mind by thinking of her. She didn't harm me, I was protected by my chemise and stockings, which kept the scalding hot wax from touching my skin." Katherine said
"Unfortunately this was my only ball gown, and I am afraid it is ruined beyond mending. Thus, I cannot join you tonight. But you must leave now before you miss the carriages. I will be fine" she reassured Eloise.
"Nonsense, I will not leave you. Not even if you wish to. You are far too pretty to sit alone in your bedchamber and sulk." Eloise was determined
"My maids have fetched a few dresses, you may choose the one you like the best and you can keep rest of them for future balls. This way you'll have no excuse to not attend the balls." Eloise picked out a white silk dress with golden embroidery. "This dress matches your complexion well. Once you've changed, Sienna will redo your coiffure. She is my french maid, she is very accomplished at such things"
"This is quite generous of you, I am not sure if I deserve such kindness" Katherine knew any protest would be futile. Eloise once determined, was stubborn as a mule. So she obediently followed her instructions.
In half an hour's time, they were ready to depart in their carriage. The one that was left behind for them was large enough to seat them both and their three maids. As if it wasn't enough, Eloise had also taken two footmen in addition to the coachmen. Six servants to transport two ladies to a ball was a little excessive in Katherine's opinion, but she didn't comment on it.
"How did you manage to convince your mother to let you depart later than everyone else?" She asked finally "It must have been very difficult, given that it was for me and I know she doesn't approve of our friendship."
" I told her my curls were coming loose and I needed to adjust them to the style that Arthur prefers in a lady and the rest of it was a breeze." Replied Eloise "besides I promised her I would take plenty of servants to chaperone us." Now there was the explanation for all the maids and footmen
When they entered the Pankhurst manor, they found a crush of people. Musicians had taken their place at the top center and it appeared that dancing would begin any minute.
They found their party, standing in the left corner of the room. Marchionesses and Lady Janssen were in the front with Eloise's three cousins, the three Miss Janssens, standing meekly by lady Janssen. Only new addition to the party was Mr. Kenmore and Lord Bradford
Katherine's own family wasn't too far either, they stood directly behind the Janssen ladies, peeking through the crowd.
"Eloise, Miss Hughes, ah! you have come just in time. The dancing is about to begin." Exclaimed Marchioness, who was much too excited about the soirée.
"I believe the gentleman will soon start pouring this way. Given that we have so many young ladies in our company." Said, Mrs. Janssen
"It would be prudent of you gentlemen to ask them for a dance before all their dance cards get filled, there are only seven dances you know," said Marchioness to her son and his friend
"Capital idea! my lady" chimed in Mr. Kenmore and then proceeded to ask Eloise to stand with him for the third dance, which she duly accepted
"Would you oblige me for the fourth dance, Miss Hughes?" Katherine's eyes went wide with shock when Lord Bradford asked her this question. He was the last man she expected to dance with tonight. She was very sure that he would wish to avoid her after the morning debacle, but since it would be considered extremely rude to refuse him, she politely nodded her head in acceptance.
"And I shall like to have the 5th dance with you." He then turned to Eloise. "As you wish cousin" replied Eloise.
Soon lady Pankhurst came over and began making introductions. As predicted by Lady Janssen, there were a number of gentlemen who wished to be introduced to their party and before she knew it, Katherine's dance card was filled from the 4th set through the 7th. She found her dance engagements a bit overwhelming but she could not refuse any one gentleman without refusing them all. Besides, she could not just stand in a corner and refuse everyone, such behavior from a lady at a ball, was considered uncouth and ungracious.
"I feel a bit suffocated, what with all this crowd and perfumes mixed in the air" she whispered lightly in Eloise's ear, "I think I am going to get some air, maybe I'll find a balcony or a small terrace." to prevent accruing more dance partners on her card, she decided it was best to remove herself from the situation. " I shan't go too far"
With this, she left the hall when everyone was too engrossed in their conversations to notice her absence.
Roaming around the lobby she chanced upon lady Pankhurst's conservatory, which was dimly lit by the light coming from the main hall. This appeared as a perfect place to have some solitude, maybe she could find some lavender to soothe her nerves, they were after all her favourite flower.
She started looking around the conservatory to see if she can find some lavender, she depended more on her sense of smell than sight, as it was hard to recognize flowers in such dim light.
While amidst her search she heard someone enter the conservatory behind her. Not wanting to be discovered alone, she quickly concealed herself in a dark corner behind a few tall plants.
"I need to have a private word with you before I leave for my meeting," said a male voice. she instantly recognized the aristocratic tone of the voice, for it belonged to none other than Lord Bradford.
She could not make out the figure of his mystery companion, however. But she was consumed with curiosity to find out who his secret lover was. For, who else could he be meeting in a dark secluded area, outside the ballroom?