The following morning, Julia invited herself into the guest bedchamber before Catherine had even dressed for breakfast, eager to discuss the evening at Wyndham Hall. Catherine did not find her cousin's intrusion unwelcome; she enjoyed the closeness they shared, particularly as it reminded her of her dear sister Bessie at home. What she did very much mind, however, was the aim of Julia's visit, as Catherine had no desire to discuss the previous evening's events at length. But from her cousin's breathless arrival as she made her way hastily over to Catherine's bed, it was clear that she was in great need of a companion to listen to her tales, and so Catherine decided she would do Julia this honour even if she had no wish to recount her own evening.
"Oh, Catherine!" gasped Julia, barely a moment after she had entered the bedchamber, "I cannot stop thinking about how perfectly lovely last night was! Was it not the best evening you ever had?"
"You appear to have enjoyed it immensely, cousin. Pray tell, is there anything in particular which can account for your satisfaction?"
"You do tease me, Catherine!" laughed Julia, causing Catherine to start in alarm.
"Indeed you are mistaken, cousin," she told Julia urgently, "I had no intention of teasing you. What do you mean by this?"
"Only that I should have thought it were obvious to you, of all people, the cause of my happiness last night. Was it not so?" enquired Julia, looking a little put-out.
"You will have to enlighten me, I am afraid," said Catherine lightly, although an unwelcome suspicion was forming at the back of her mind.
"Why, Lord Russell, of course!" exclaimed Julia, and Catherine's heart sank as her fears were confirmed. "After his singling you out right at the beginning I feared you might keep him to yourself all evening, but after dinner he sat with me almost the whole time! Did you not see us sat together whilst you were playing the pianoforte? He entertained me immensely all evening; such a charming gentleman, and so animated in conversation – did you not find that when you spoke with him, Catherine?"
"He is indeed very comfortable in company, it would seem," Catherine replied, feeling quite unsure of how best to broach the subject of Lord Russell's character with her cousin, who had clearly come to esteem him greatly during their short acquaintance. Before she could say anything more, however, Julia went on.
"And his family! Are not his family the most agreeable people you ever met?"
On this Catherine felt she could make no positive reply without being untruthful, but Julia continued without waiting for a response.
"Miss Russell is such an accomplished young lady, and incredibly beautiful! Why, she will be the talk of the town when she is presented to society for her first season – yet still she is so modest! Lord Russell dotes on her, as does her mother, of course. What a dear old lady the Dowager Viscountess is, managing to remain cheerful despite the hardships she has faced. I do wish Papa had encouraged us to make their acquaintance sooner!"
Catherine privately felt it was more than likely to have been reluctance on the late Viscount Russell's side which had prevented the acquaintance from forming until now. She could not quite understand how she and her cousin had managed to form such vastly differing opinions from her own on Lord Russell and his family. After Lady Russell's rude comment Catherine did perhaps have a biased opinion of the woman, and she would admit that at least part of her dislike for Miss Russell was caused by jealousy – but her judgement of Lord Russell, she felt, was unclouded. How, then, had she and Julia come to such different conclusions about his character?
Catherine began to realise that perhaps her cousin's sudden infatuation with the young viscount far exceeded anything she had imagined thus far. If this indeed was the case - though the thought gave Catherine no pleasure - it was of the utmost importance that she should provide Julia with an insight into her thoughts on Lord Russell's true nature, before an attachment could properly form between them.
"Dearest Julia," she began carefully, hardly knowing the right words to use, "I feel from this account of the evening that you like Lord Russell a great deal. Is that so?"
Catherine tried her best to speak softly and gently, making it clear that she enquired out of concern rather than to pry into Julia's affairs unnecessarily. She felt very grateful of the closeness between herself and her cousin at that moment, otherwise she would have been blushing horribly at the thought of making such private enquiries into another lady's business. But although Catherine herself did not blush, Julia did; her cheeks coloured in quite a becoming way, and she gave a rather high-pitched, self-conscious laugh as if she did not know whether to be pleased or not.
"He is so handsome, Catherine – and so amiable!" Julia replied, still flushed. "Yes, I will admit that I do like him very much."
"It is as I thought," said Catherine gravely.
"But – Catherine!" exclaimed Julia indignantly, evidently noting her cousin's lack of jollity at the declaration. "Whatever do you mean by this solemn behaviour? Why, one might think that you are not happy for me! Pray do tell me what you are thinking, for I cannot bear the thought of you not sharing my joy!"
Catherine gave a troubled sigh before replying.
"You must not think that the cause of my unhappiness is due to any ill-feeling towards you, dear cousin," she told Julia earnestly. "Why, it is the complete opposite! I think only of your happiness when I say that I do not think a match with Lord Russell would be prosperous."
"Not prosperous!" exclaimed Julia incredulously. "Not prosperous, indeed! What could be more prosperous than a match with a man of his consequence, and such a charming one besides?"
"I cannot disagree with you on the first point, but on the latter I have reason to believe that Lord Russell is not as charming as you find him – at least, not the real Lord Russell."
"The 'real' Lord Russell – what nonsense is this?" cried Julia, who, much to Catherine's horror, was now becoming quite worked-up. "Why do you speak to me in riddles, Catherine? I beg that you stop this and tell me plain what you mean, this instant!"
"What I mean, Julia, is that I think Lord Russell's charming behaviour is nothing but an act in public, so that people do not become aware of his rakish ways," said Catherine exasperatedly.
As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted uttering them; no good could come of speaking with such bluntness about the man Julia so admired. Sure enough, her cousin instantly bristled, cheeks flushing with anger this time.
"And what rakish ways are these?" Julia demanded. "What proof have you of these severe allegations you make against Lord Russell?"
"I have no proof as such, Julia, but my aunt believes him to be a wild gentleman," said Catherine desperately. "And I myself detected falseness in his nature when he was conversing with me last night."
"I detected no such falseness," retorted Julia. "He certainly behaved in a more gentlemanly manner than Professor Lawes – I hardly heard him say two words to anyone."
Except Miss Russell, thought Catherine bitterly. The memory was still etched unpleasantly at the forefront of her mind, and she became distracted for a moment as she tortured herself with the image of Professor Lawes' warm smile as he bestowed his praise upon the beautiful, accomplished Miss Russell, whilst sparing herself only a pitying glance. Lord Russell had indeed acted in a more gentlemanly manner than the professor; she could not argue with that. She did, however, feel certain that there was more to the dashing young viscount than his wit and charm, but there was to be no convincing Julia at this moment.
"There, so he cannot be all that bad," said Julia, satisfied.
Catherine simply remained silent. She had grown weary of this discussion, felt guilty at having distressed her cousin, and simply wished for the subject to be done. At least then she might be able to venture outside and have some quiet, peaceful time of reflection alone.
What her cousin said next, however, put an end to all that at once.
"I hope you shall not be this disagreeable with Lord Russell himself when he comes to visit later. He said that he would call on me today, and that he might bring Miss Russell along as well. How exciting this is! To be called upon by a viscount and his sister!"
"Exciting indeed," muttered Catherine wryly, but luckily Julia was too wrapped up in her own thoughts of Lord Russell to notice.
***
It was not without suffering on Catherine's part that Lord Russell's visit passed. He did indeed bring Miss Russell, and this was almost more unwelcome to Catherine than the man himself. Lord Russell engaged Julia's attentions almost as soon as the exchange of civilities between the parties was done, leaving Catherine with the task of entertaining Miss Russell. This proved rather less strenuous than Catherine had anticipated; it seemed Miss Russell wished to do all the talking, and as she recounted the evening at Wyndham Hall Catherine found it adequate to merely nod or agree politely every so often, without actually having to listen fully.
Thus the visit proceeded, and Catherine was just beginning to wonder whether it would be highly improper not to invite them to stay for tea when Lord Russell declared that they had better return to Wyndham Hall.
"Yes, brother, we had better return," agreed Miss Russell. "We have had rather a busy morning, Miss Taylor," she added to Catherine, "for Professor Lawes called on us not long after breakfast."
"He was ever so attentive to Eleanor - was he not, dear sister?" said Lord Russell.
"He was – polite, brother – but I cannot think what else you mean," replied Miss Russell, appearing puzzled.
"Oh, come now!" cried her brother. "Did he not congratulate you once again on your fine playing last night? In fact, I do believe exquisite was the very word he used. Am I correct?"
Miss Russell coloured slightly and lowered her eyes bashfully, the image of humble modesty. As Catherine glanced at the pretty young woman, however, she began to question the sincerity of Miss Russell's actions. Could it be that she who had wished to sit and talk of nothing but herself for the past half hour was so opposed to receiving praise? This seemed unlikely, and so Catherine came to the conclusion that it must be merely an act. If this was the case, she wondered at Professor Lawes' falling for the sweet charms of such a foolish woman. If he were as intelligent as his title suggested, then surely he could see straight through it?
There was of course the other possibility, which was that Professor Lawes had seen through the false modesty, and found it endearing. Could it be true? Was this the sort of flirtation men liked?
Men were peculiar creatures.
"During Professor Lawes' visit we were able to invite him to the ball which we are holding at Wyndham Hall this Saturday," said Miss Russell now.
"The invitation is extended to Miss Cavendish and Miss Taylor, of course," smiled Lord Russell, "along with Mr Cavendish, and Sir William and Lady Cavendish. We would be truly honoured to have you all attend. And if you are to attend," he added, turning now directly to Julia, "might I be so forward as to engage you for the first two dances, Miss Cavendish?"
At this Julia made a display which made Catherine feel quite ashamed; simpering and swooning as if she might faint right away! Thankfully Julia managed to compose herself enough to utter a reply, and with that Lord Russell and his sister took their leave.
Julia excused herself, professing a need to lie down quietly for a while, leaving Catherine alone at last for some reflection – and the more she thought things through, the more displeased she became. That Professor Lawes should visit Wyndham Hall that very morning, and declare once again his praise for Miss Russell which was by now far beyond common civility, was surprising indeed! Catherine could not decide whether she was more vexed at the further insult to her own playing, or the increasing evidence of an attachment to Miss Russell on Professor Lawes' side. She very much hoped for the former, for Catherine could not entertain the idea of wanting Professor Lawes to notice her and like her. She had more respect for herself than that.
As for attachments, it seemed that Lord Russell was indeed fond of Julia. He certainly must be, for in engaging her cousin for the first two dances at the ball Lord Russell was presenting her to all in attendance as his favourite. Catherine still felt a little uneasy about the viscount's character, but if he did want to make Julia happy then she could not stand in his way.
Whether or not anything was to come of the attraction between Julia and Lord Russell, Catherine could say with almost certainty that her cousin would have a better time at the ball than herself. Were it not for Julia's happiness, Catherine almost wished that Sir William would decline the invitation, for she predicted nothing but another miserable evening for herself.