Lucy Muir by The Imprudent Wager Read Free Book Online Page B

couples complacently, clearly satisfied that she had begun her duties as sponsor very well.
    * * * *
    That night, as Melissa prepared for bed, she and Anne discussed the evening.
    “I am glad we came to London after all,” Melissa confided as Sanders unfastened her frock and helped her into her nightrail. “I did have some misgivings this past month, but this evening was quite enjoyable. Lieutenant Halcott was most kind, and Captain Leslie was very attentive to you, Anne. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we both made matches before the Season is over?”
    “I have no doubt that you will,” Anne replied from her perch on the bed, “but as for me, I am quite an ape-leader at nine-and-twenty.”
    “We’ll see. Not all gentlemen prefer young misses,” Sanders said, well aware of Anne’s quiet, more mature beauty.
    “Sandy is right,” Melissa confirmed, seating herself on a stool as Sanders began to brush her mistress’s hair. “I am sure you will receive an offer before the end of the Season.”
    “Do not worry about me,” Anne replied, rising to retire to her own bedchamber. “I am quite content to remain as I am.”
    But even as she said the words, a face floated before her mind’s eye, and it was the dark one of Lord Stanton, not the fair one of Captain Leslie.
    * * * *
    Mrs. Halcott escorted Anne and Melissa to several small gatherings during the next few weeks as they prepared for their full plunge into Society when the Season opened in April. Lieutenant Halcott and Captain Leslie were most accommodating, serving as willing escorts to affairs they would normally have found tedious. The officers accompanied the cousins to the circulating library, the Tower, and on walks in Hyde Park during the unfashionable hours. Anne found the company of the officers agreeable and undemanding, and felt younger and more carefree than she had in years. She had feared that Melissa might make too much of Lieutenant Halcott’s devotion to her, but Melissa seemed to regard him in a sisterly fashion, which quite put Anne’s mind at ease.
    Melissa’s come-out ball was planned for the first week of the Season. That way, Mrs. Halcott had explained, there would not be many competing balls given by higher-ranking hostesses, and they might have a few more titled guests attend. Melissa did not seem worried about her coming debut, but Anne was. The ball would be their real introduction into Society—a foretaste of the rest of the Season. If, for some reason, Melissa was not well received, it would be difficult for her to make a good match. Anne solicited Mrs. Halcott’s aid in choosing their gowns and accessories for the ball, and discovered her money was slipping away faster than she had foreseen.
    A week before the ball, Anne made a call on her banker to procure more funds. It was taking more to maintain an establishment in London than she had calculated. She sighed as she waited for Mr. Collings to reappear in the small office, looking through the open door to where Sanders patiently waited in the outer office. Presently, Mr. Collings returned, placing the money Anne had requested on the desk.
    “Thank you for waiting, Miss Southwell,” he said in his precise voice. “Here are the funds you require.”
    “What did you wish me to do with the two thousand pounds we received from Miss Amberly’s uncle?” he asked as he took a seat behind his desk.
    Anne could not repress a momentary start of surprise. Since Melissa had no living uncle, it could only be the two thousand pounds from Lord Stanton. She collected herself immediately.
    “Yes, thank you for informing me, Mr. Collings,” she said softly, aware of Sanders’s presence in the outer office. “The money is to constitute my ward’s dowry. Please place it in a separate account for that purpose.”
    “Very well, Miss Southwell,” Mr. Collings replied, as Anne rose to leave. He rose also and bowed. “Good day.”
    “Good day,” Anne responded, and exited the banker’s