yes, Aunt, very respectable,’ Jo said. ‘Mrs Ellen Beverley.’
‘I have not heard the name. One of the Hampshire family, I dare say. Well, you may introduce her to me and I shall decide if she is a fit person for my niece to know.’
‘Yes, Aunt, certainly,’ Jo said, though she had no intention of it. ‘We are bound to meet one day, I dare say.’
Lady Wainwright’s brow clouded, for she suspected something, though she did not know what. Her niece looked too innocent to be true! ‘Did you buy my peppermint creams?’
‘They did not have any fresh ones,’ Jo lied, crossing her fingers behind her back. She did not like lying to her aunt, but had decided it was best in the circumstances. ‘I may get them tomorrow—they should have some in by then.’
‘Very well,’ Lady Wainwright said. ‘You had better go up and change, Josephine. We are going to the Assembly this evening, as you know. We shall meet Mrs Marsham and Chloe there. Now she is a very well-behaved young girl and exceptionally pretty. If she decides to take you up, you will move in her circles and may meet a gentleman of property. The Marshams are quite well to do, though they do not have a title—which is a pity because there is a son, I believe, of somewhere around your age. Though I dare say he is looking to marry a title to improve his chances.’
‘If he is my age, I imagine he will not look to marry for some years,’ Jo said. ‘Drew is several years older than Marianne—and Papa was five years older than Mama.’
Lady Wainwright sniffed. ‘Do not imagine that every woman marries for love, Josephine. Most make marriages of convenience, which is as it should be, for how else would they live? You must be prepared to accept something less than your sister. Marianne was very pretty—and her temper was good.’
‘And mine is not, of course,’ Jo said, for she could not deny that she was inclined to be hasty at times. ‘I am aware that I am not pretty, Aunt, but I do not mind. If I married, it would be to someone I liked and respected, because I agree with you that it is not always possible to find love.’
Her head high, Jo walked up the stairs and along the landing to her own room. Her aunt’s comments were hurtful, but she would not allow them to dampen her spirits. She had not been enjoying her visit until today, despite all the delights that Bath offered, but now she had a friend, and she was determined to meet Ellen as often as she could. Of her encounter with a rather bold gentleman, she would not allow herself to think for more than a minute or two. It had been amusing, of course, but she would probably never see him again.
‘May I introduce my niece, Miss Josephine Horne,’ Lady Wainwright said later that evening. ‘Josephine, make your curtsy to Mrs Marsham and Miss Chloe.’
Jo dipped respectfully to the older lady, who was dressed in a gown of dark green velvet and looked very handsome for her age. Her daughter, standing elegantly beside her, was stunningly beautiful, her hair a shining gold, her eyes deep blue and her mouth softly pink. She was dressed in white as most young girls were that evening, the skirt embroidered heavily with pearls and pink crystals, a pink ribbon holding her fan from her wrist, and a spray of pink roses in her hair, fastened by a pink velvet band. About her neck she wore a double strand of expensive pink pearls with a diamond clasp.
Jo was wearing white also, and her mother’s pearls. Her hair had been dressed back in a strict knot and she wore some white silk flowers in her hair. Had she known it, she made the perfect foil for Chloe’s pretty pink looks, her red hair escaping in little tendrils about her face. She was Chloe’s opposite: a wild gypsy, her expression a little mutinous whereas Chloe’s was demure, her eyes clouded with mystery whereas Chloe’s were open and innocent of guile.
‘I am sorry to have missed you this afternoon,’ Jo said. ‘I was not aware that we were to have guests for tea.’
‘Oh, it did not matter,’ Chloe said. ‘I am glad to meet you, Miss Horne, for it is nice to have lots of acquaintances, is it not?’
‘Yes, I dare say,’ Jo answered. ‘This is our first visit to the Assembly. I have met only a few friends of Lady Wainwright thus far—and please call me Jo, if you will.’
‘Oh, yes, that is so much better,’ Chloe said. ‘Shall we walk about a little together, Jo? Now that you are here I need not stay with Mama all the time and I want to see what is going on.’
‘Yes, why not?’ Jo said and the two girls walked away from the older ladies, gazing about the room with interest. It was a very large room and had only just begun to fill up. At one end there was another door, which led into what Chloe told her was the refreshment room, and another after that where ladies might go to refresh themselves. A small curving stairway led up to a second floor and there were seats and small tables set out so that chaperons and those who had come merely to greet friends and observe might do so in comfort. ‘Have you been here before?’
‘Oh, no,’ Chloe said. ‘I have been sort of out for a few months, for I attended some private balls at the homes of neighbours and friends, and my own ball will take place when I am eighteen next month. How old are you, Jo?’
‘I was eighteen this spring,’ Jo told her. ‘Do you have any sisters, Chloe?’
‘No, only a brother, who is a year older,’ Chloe replied with a sigh. ‘I have always thought it would be nice to have a sister—do you have one?’
‘I have two,’ Jo said. ‘Marianne is nineteen and was married only a week or so ago, and my sister Lucy is not old enough to come out yet.’
‘Oh, yes, I believe Lady Wainwright told Mama that your elder sister had married the Marquis of Marlbeck.’ Chloe turned her wide eyes on Jo. ‘How fortunate she was to make such a good match. I hope that I shall be as fortunate, though I am not sure…’ She frowned. ‘I have met someone I like, but I am not sure that he likes me. He is four and twenty, and I think he may not wish to be married just yet.’ She sighed and pulled a wry face. ‘Mama says there is plenty of time, for she intends to take me to London next spring for a season, but…’ She shook her head. ‘I should so like to fall in love, should you not, Jo?’
‘I am not sure what being in love is,’ Jo said truthfully. ‘I love my family, of course—but to be in love with a gentleman would be something quite different, I imagine.’
‘I think it is the most wonderful—’ Chloe caught her breath, and suddenly her face lit up with excitement. ‘Oh, he is here.’
Jo’s gaze followed the direction of her new friend’s. She could not see who Chloe was looking at for a moment, and then she saw a gentleman who had apparently just entered the ballroom. He was perhaps a little under six feet in height, of slim build with dark brown hair, and as he turned to look in their direction, Jo realised that she had seen him before. He was the gentleman who had come to her aid in the inn yard and then, only that morning, asked if he might buy the singing bird for Lucy! Mr Hal Beverley!
‘He has seen me,’ Chloe said and smiled. ‘He is coming this way.’
Jo said nothing. She watched the gentleman make his way towards them, and her pulses raced, but at the last moment, her attention was turned to a young man who addressed her from her right.
‘Miss Horne,’ he said as she turned towards him. ‘You may recall that we met at the Pump Room when you accompanied your aunt there two days ago?’
Jo
