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"No, indeed," Victoria replied Unless you counted the pile of ash that had poofed all over her bedchamber She kept a bit of it in a s table "But we had a burial service anywayand, forgive me, but I cannot recall if you were in attendance?"
"Oh, no, I’m so sorry, my dear lady, but we had already repaired to the Country by then Grouse season" Lady Breadlington had the grace to look abashed, which had exactly been Victoria’s intention
Most of the twenty or so women who crowded the Grantworth parlor were not close friends of Victoria’s mother They were here because they couldn’t stand not to be the first to see the infaly, for love, and whose husband had died tragically littleAnd who hadn’t been seen in Society since, even after her year of , her shiny, knobby fingers closed over the top of her walking stick, "last tihter’s wedding in four days, and yet two days later"--she paused to catch a wheezing breath--"sets off on a voyage without his neife And never colea with satisfaction
She’d said exactly what had been on everyone’s mind
Victoria ic He was called away and hardly had the tiht at the time Victoria was in no condition," Lady Melly interrupted with a properly sad so with hiasps, and then eyes becarasp at and pat Victoria’s, and even a nose or two--the pointiest ones--tinged a bit red on the tips
Nothing could have been further from the truth, except that it had been Lady Melly’s baseless hope, but Victoria was delighted to have the conversation rerouted She glanced surreptitiously at the watch pinned to Lady Thurlington’s dress It was the only one large enough to read from across the tea table, but it was fastened upside down so that the elderly lady could look down and easily read it
Half past three She’d been here only an hour
Victoria endured another twenty minutes of sly queries and sympathy coated more thickly than the iced basil cakes before the opportunity for escape presented itself
"A turn around the park?" she said "Why, Mr and Miss Needleton, I should greatly enjoy that" She was up and out of her seat before her mother could protest
Mr and Miss Needleton--a brother and sister--and their other codale, were the only visitors who had not been overly inquisitive, and were also in close proxie of twenty
When Lady Melly opened herher, effectively sht have said Her nostrils filled with the sweet yet co milk rose scent her mother alore, she whispered, "I heard Mr Needleton has more than forty thousand a year"
Lady Melly stiffened under her hands, but when she pulled away, Victoria saw that herlook on her face as she examined the unfortunate Mr Needleton, whose squashed nose reseh Victoria had inherited a generous income from both her husband and aunt, Lady Melly was of the mind that one could never have too much money "Have a lovely ti she heard was, "--so glad to see her get out with young people her own age It’s been far too long, and--" The door closed, and she ith her new co her own curricle alongside the Needleton carriage, enabling her to divest herself of their company as soon as was polite But Miss Needleton was to have none of it
She was no irl, with flyaway hair of a nondescript brown, and soulful brown eyes In addition, she had an excuse that made it impossible for Victoria to decline her request that she ride in the carriage
"I knew Rockley when he was a young boy," Miss Needleton said "Perhaps if you sit next to me, I could tell you some stories about him"
Curiosity won out, of course Victoria clie with the help of Mr Needleton, whose pale cheeks flushed with pleasure as their gloved hands skidded against each other S her day dress skirts so that they didn’t infringe upon his sister’s or Miss Durfingdale’s, she realized how easy it could be for her to slip back into this world Perhaps too easy