toward the other women, saying, “Irene has little interest in fashion, I fear. Try as I might, I can hardly ever convince her to let me buy her a thing to wear.”
Maura shook her head, a picture of loving despair over Irene’s odd ways, setting her soft dark curls bobbing.
“You are so generous, my dear Lady Wyngate,” murmured Mrs. Littlebridge.
“I am well content with my clothes,” Irene responded coolly.
Lady Claire, as always, quickly stepped into the conversation to avoid the possibility of conflict. “Miss Cantwell, you must tell us about the wedding at Redfields. I am sure we are all eager to hear about it.”
Irene’s mother had chosen the topic well. The marriage of the Viscount Leighton to Constance Woodley a week before had been the highlight of the social year, and an invitation to witness the wedding at Leighton’s family estate had been highly sought after. All those who had managed to attend were assured of being welcomed almost everywhere for their description of the wedding.
“Yes, indeed,” Mrs. Littlebridge agreed. An inveterate social climber, she loved nothing more than gossip and storing up tales that she could repeat to make herself appear more important than she was. “Was the bride radiant?”
“She is pretty in her own way,” Miss Cantwell admitted. “But no family to speak of. One cannot help but feel that the viscount has married down.”
“Of course.” Mrs. Littlebridge nodded sagely. “A bit of a country mouse, I hear.”
“Exactly.” Miss Cantwell gave the other woman a thin smile. “But then, Leighton always has been a bit…well, unconventional.”
Irene, who felt sure that Miss Cantwell’s opinion of the viscount’s oddity sprang more from that very eligible bachelor’s complete disinterest in her own person than from anything else, said, “I quite like Miss Woodley—or I should say now, Lady Leighton. I find her refreshingly unpretentious.”
Maura let out a little brittle laugh. “You would find that admirable, of course, Irene. Not everyone admires a lack of refinement as you do, I fear.”
“I believe Lady Leighton was a good friend of the viscount’s sister, was she not?” Lady Claire said quickly.
“Oh, yes, Lady Haughston took her on as one of her projects,” Mrs. Littlebridge affirmed. “She introduced the girl to her brother, of course.”
“And before that, she completely made the girl over.” Mrs. Cantwell spoke up. “Constance Woodley was an utter dowd before Lady Haughston came along and turned her into a swan.”
“She has a knack for it,” Lady Claire commented. “There was that Bainborough girl last Season, and before that, Miss Everhart. Made excellent marriages, both of them.”
“Indeed.” Mrs. Cantwell nodded. “Lady Haughston has a golden touch. Everyone knows that if she takes a girl up, that girl is destined to make a good marriage.”
“Why, Irene,” Maura said playfully. “Perhaps we should ask Lady Haughston to help you find a husband.”
“Thank you, Maura, but I am not looking for one,” Irene replied tartly, looking the other woman in the eyes.
“Not looking for a husband?” Mrs. Littlebridge said lightly, and gave a laugh. “Really, Lady Irene, what young girl is not looking for a husband?”
“I, for one,” Irene replied flatly.
Mrs. Littlebridge’s eyebrows lifted a little in disbelief.
“Such words are fine for pride’s sake,” Maura commented, casting a knowing smile toward their trio of callers. “But you are among friends here, Irene. We all know that any woman’s true aim in life is to marry. Otherwise, what is she to do? Live in another woman’s house all her life?” She paused and turned her gaze to Irene. “Of course, Lord Wyngate and I would like nothing better than to have you as our companion for the rest of our lives. But I am thinking of you and your happiness. You really should talk to Lady Haughston about it. She is a friend of yours, is she not?”
Irene heard the bitterness that underlay her sister-in-law’s sweet tone. It had always been a thorn in Maura’s side that she had come from a provincial family of genteel breeding but unimportant name, that she had not spent her life, as Irene had, among the ton, known to and received by anyone of consequence.
“I know Lady Haughston, of course,” Irene replied. “But we are no more than social acquaintances, really. I would not call Lady Haughston my friend.”
“Ah, but then, there are so few who could be called your friend,” Maura tossed back.
There was a moment of startled silence at that cutting remark, but then Maura adopted an expression of embarrassment and raised her hands to her cheeks. “Oh, my, how that must sound! Of course, I did not mean that you have no friends, dear sister. There are a number of them, of course. Are there not, Lady Claire?” She cast an appealing glance at Irene’s mother.
“Yes, of course.” Color stained Claire’s cheeks. “There is Miss Livermore.”
“Of course!” Maura exclaimed, her expression clearly stating her relief that Irene’s mother had managed to come up with an example. “And then the vicar’s wife back at the country house is so fond of you.” She paused, then shrugged, as though abandoning the futile search for friends, and leaned forward, looking at Irene earnestly as she said, “You know that I want only what is best for you, don’t you, dear? All any of us want is for you to be happy. Isn’t that true, Lady Claire?”
“Yes, of course,” Claire agreed, glancing unhappily at her daughter.
“But I am happy, Mother,” Irene lied, then turned back to Maura, continuing in a flat tone, “How could I be anything but happy, after all, living here with you, dear sister?”
Maura ignored her words, going on in the same earnest, helpful way. “I want only to help you, Irene. To improve your life. I am sure you must know that. Unfortunately, not everyone knows you as I do. They see only your demeanor. Your sharp tongue, my dear, keeps people at bay. However much they might want to get to know you better, your, well, your acerbic wit, your bluntness, frightens people away. It is for that reason that you have so few bosom friends, so few suitors. Your manner is most unappealing to men.”
She looked to her friends for confirmation. “A man does not want a wife who will correct him or who will ring a peal over his head if he does something amiss. Is that not true, ladies?”
Irene’s eyes flashed, and she said tightly, “Your information, while no doubt well intentioned, is of little use to me. As I told you, I am not interested in acquiring a husband.”
“Now, now, Lady Irene,” Mrs. Cantwell began, with a condescending smile that grated on Irene’s nerves.
Irene swung toward her, and the light in her eyes made the other woman swallow whatever she had been planning to say. “I do not wish to marry. I refuse to marry. I have no intention of giving any man control over me. I will not meekly become some man’s chattel or let some man with less wit than I have tell me what to think or say or do.”
She stopped, pressing her lips together, regretting that she had let Maura push her into revealing
