Izzy hopped on the pavement and took in a deep breath as the footman helped Vita get out of the car behind her. The trees of Grosvenor Square wore their green foliage and the grand brick houses were being readied by their servants for the Season. They removed sheets from the furniture and opened windows wide, chasing away the stagnancy of winter.
Izzy looked up at the white and red façade of her father's Georgian house, then turned around to face the central garden. Most of the rich families must have already arrived from their country estates and settled in the capital for their three-months stay, but she was glad this was her permanent home.
Vita's maid helped the footman with the luggage, and Izzy looped her arm with her friend's before dragging her inside the house.
"You'll be pleased to know Father has had a bathroom installed on each floor, as well as radiators in each room and hallway," she said. "We don't need to worry about being woken up by a maid lighting the fire in the bedroom chimney at an ungodly hour now."
Vita nodded vaguely, gazing around her in silence. Although Weatherly was way passed its grandeur, she was still hard to impress. They made their way up the skylit staircase to the first floor.
"We also have electric lighting," Izzy went on, "new mirrors in the ballroom and new fitted carpet in the drawing room, imported from Brussels."
"You sound like an estate agent," Vita said. "I'm not looking to buy the place, you know."
Unsure whether she was joking or not, Izzy let out a slight laugh. Since Vita's return, she liked to pretend everything was back to normal, and acted as if it was indeed. They walked up to the second floor, and Izzy led Vita to her own suite of rooms. She opened the door with a flourish, and stepped inside.
"You remember my bedroom," she said, checking that the rosewood sofa was free of clutter and plumping a pillow on her four-poster bed.
She pointed at the room next door, "Your bedroom is still next door, with the dressing room next to it – your maid will sleep there – then the bathroom. This is going to be so much fun!"
She clapped her hands in excitement, while Vita surveyed the stuccoed walls, the marble chimney and the ornamented ceiling, expressionless. Eager to get at least a smile out of her, Izzy opened a window and beckoned her closer.
They both leaned onto the windowsill and peered out. Izzy pointed at the south-east corner of the square, where half a dozen sports cars were parked outside a house.
"Do you see those cars?"
"Yes," Vita replied, an eyebrow raised quizzically.
"That's where the Bentley Boys live," Izzy said, her eyes sparkling. "The racing drivers, you know? They rent the flats in that corner and they have those crazy day-long parties that everyone tries to get an invite to."
A mischievous smile tucked at the corner of Vita's mouth. "Then we positutely have to get ourselves invited!"
Izzy laughed. "We do!"
"Shall I start unpacking, my lady?"
Vita's maid stood on the bedroom's threshold, with the suitcases at her feet.
"Yes, Louise," Vita said, abandoning the windowsill.
She grabbed a suitcase and led her maid with the rest of the luggage into the dressing room.
"But," Izzy followed, flustered, "I'm sure your maid can manage alone. Tea will be served in the drawing room anytime now."
Vita waved her concerns away. "No one will mind, will they? Your mother isn't even here."
Izzy pursed her lips, suppressing a sigh. For all her snobbish ways, Vita had this ridiculous habit of treating staff like they'd been friends in a former life. That was what being raised by servants led to.
Already Vita and the maid were storing dresses on hangers and stockings in drawers. Izzy stood with her hands on her hips for a minute, then sat on the bed and crossed her arms until they were finished.
She counted at least a dozen evening dresses and twice that number of day outfits. For someone who hadn't been planning her Season, and whose family wasn't as wealthy as it used to be, Vita still had a lot of clothes.
"How did you buy all of these?" she asked.
It was vulgar to talk money, but she was curious, and Vita was her best friend.
"I have an allowance, you know," Vita said. "And Archie pays most of my bills anyway."
The topic didn't seem to make her uncomfortable. Then, nothing ever seemed to make her uncomfortable. Unless someone mentioned her kidnapping.
Eager to change the course of the conversation, she turned to her own wedding prospects, and asked:
"What did you think of Mr. Lang?"
Vita stood up, unfolding a dress from a suitcase. "He's handsome enough, I suppose. And rich. And well-educated."
"Mama said I should forget him," Izzy said with a pout, "because Father will never approve of him."
Vita laughed. "Your father won't approve of any suitor unless he's royalty."
This made Izzy smile, for a just a moment, because it was sadly quite true. Then Vita caught sight of the falling corners of her mouth and sat next to her on the bed.
"What's important is what you thought of him."
Izzy's cheeks flushed despite herself. "Isn't he gorgeous? And the perfect gentleman? I can't believe he invited us to Ranelagh! This is going to be the berries!"
Vita shook her head, her eyes wrinkled with a mocking expression. "In love already?"
"No!" Izzy slapped her lightly on the arm. "And don't be mean!"
She almost said more then, but remembered the maid next to them and caught herself. Reading her hesitation, Vita turned to the girl.
"Thank you, Louise, I think I'll manage now."
The maid slipped out of the room, and at last they were alone. Vita tilted her head to the side, waiting for Izzy to speak.
"Well?" She said when Izzy's breath caught in her throat with apprehension. "What is it?"
Izzy let out a sigh. She might as well get this over with.
"I need to find a husband this Season."
Vita blinked in confusion. "Yes, it's every girl's dream, isn't it?"
Izzy grabbed her friend's hands in hers, forcing her to lean forward. "You don't understand. I have to find a husband this summer. I have no choice."
Vita's shoulders tensed. "What do you mean?"
"In the past few years," Izzy explained in a low voice, "my father made a few bad business decisions. He invested in the wrong things, trusted the wrong people, I don't know, these things are complicated." Now that she'd started talking, words seemed to rush out of her of their own accord. "I didn't know how to tell you at first," she went on. "Then there was the horrible business of your disappearance... but you came back, and I waited for as long as I could, but now that you live here, you need to know." She took in a deep breath, to steady her thrashing heartbeat. "We moved to America because Father thought things would be better over there. But they weren't."
Vita's eyes were wide with understanding. "Are you saying your father has no money left?"
Shameful tears welled up in Izzy's eyes, and she nodded.
"My mother is talking about divorcing him." Anguish filled her voice. "And I don't know how long he can keep his bankruptcy a secret. So you see? That's why I made my parents come back to England for this Season. I must marry this summer, because when autumn comes, I'll be the penniless daughter of a divorced couple and the centre of the scandal of the century!"
She fell silent, breathless. Vita's mouth hung slightly open for a second, before she composed herself and closed it.
"I see," she said, her tone calm and lady-like.
"Are you angry at me for not telling you sooner?" Izzy asked in a small voice. "I've been dying to tell you, but—"
Vita dismissed her concerns with a wave of her hand. "Don't be silly. I'm glad you've told me now."
Izzy took in a breath, her hysterical pulse calming down. Vita wasn't angry with her. She still had her friend.
"Listen," Vita said, squeezing her hands reassuringly, "I'll help you, all right? If you say we've got until September to find a solution, then that's plenty of time to do so."
Izzy knew what the solution was: getting married as soon as possible. But she was too eager for Vita's support to contradict her.
"I'll accompany you to every event you'll want to go to," Vita added, "and I'll speak with as many obnoxious people you need. I'll even be polite with some of them."
Izzy snorted, half-crying, half-laughing. "Thank you."
Vita raised a mocking eyebrow. "Don't thank me yet. I didn't promise I wouldn't kill anyone."
Izzy burst out laughing.
***
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