Two days later, Sir Jacob hired a carriage to take them to the Overton estate for the much anticipated dinner party. He had enquired how long it would take to reach the estate, and learned that the Overtons lived several miles outside the city in a spacious, luxurious manor and the surrounding acreage.
Lily wore her nicest dress that wasn’t a ball gown. It was a demure blue, with delicate white lace around the modest neckline and wrists and white roses and lilies of the valley she had embroidered all around the hem the previous winter. Though it wasn’t the height of fashion for dinner parties, the blue set off her grey-blue eyes and brown hair. The waistline nipped in flatteringly, and, most importantly, she felt pretty when she wore it.
Oliver and her father looked dashing in deep blue dinner coats that coordinated with her dress, and her mother had chosen a dress of a deeper blue. Lily thought the men looked dashing, and her mother beautiful.
“You look lovely, my darling,” said her mother as she came down the stairs.
“Oh, dear,” muttered her father.
She frowned up at him. “I thought I was supposed to be lovely, Father.”
“You are lovely, and I could not be more proud of either of you.” Sir Jacob smiled at them. “Poor Theo Overton is about to lose his heart. I hope he’s prepared for that.”
Lady Hathaway smiled. “He seems like a charming young man.” She looked at her husband quellingly. “Jacob, we did come here primarily for Lily to have a season. This result is not entirely unexpected, you know. A beautiful daughter does attract the attention of admirers, and I see no reason at this point to be displeased that Theodore Overton is one of them.”
Oliver smiled and looked down. “Poor Lord Selby. Never got a second chance.”
Lily looked stricken. “Was I rude to him? I didn’t mean to be! I was so overwhelmed by everything.”
Her brother shook his head. “He’ll survive. It’s not as though he doesn’t have options.”
Lady Overton gave him a severe look. “That is quite enough of that sort of talk, Oliver.”
Oliver shrugged obligingly. “Sorry, Mother,” he murmured with a smile.
The drive was quiet, and Lily had all she could do not to twist her hands in nervous tension. Why she should be so nervous, she couldn’t say.
When they turned off the road onto the long, winding driveway, everyone looked out the window with interest. Elegant birch trees lined the graveled drive, their silvery trunks bright. The carriage drew up in front of an enormous brick manor house.
The door opened as Sir Jacob was alighting from the carriage. A footman came out, and behind him Theo came and descended the stairs at little less than a run.
“It’s an honor, Sir Jacob,” he said earnestly. “Lady Hathaway, Oliver, Miss Hathaway.” He offered a hand on one side of the steps as Sir Jacob assisted them from the other side.
He bowed most courteously to each of them in turn. “Thank you for coming. My parents are inside. May I escort you, Lady Hathaway?”
He offered his arm with the appropriate degree of respect, and Lily’s mother smiled at him. Sir Jacob escorted his daughter, and Oliver brought up the rear.
The Hathaways tried not to gawk as they entered the beautiful mansion. The huge double doors opened into a spacious foyer with a wide staircase that arched upward toward an elegant balcony. Doors on either side led to the opposite wings of the house. The marble floors were inlaid in intricate interlocking patterns. The walls were papered in gold damask. Lanterns flooded the room with light, an extravagance at any time, but especially in such a large house.
Theo gave them a lively tour as he escorted them. “My parents occupy the east wing of the house, and they have given me the west wing. We eat together when we can. The kitchen is in the rear, and we share the staff of the house, although I do have my own assistant. It seems hardly fair to call him a footman, although I suppose he is. Anselm has been faithful for years, and I count him a good friend.”
Lily glanced back at the footman trailing them just in time to see an affectionate smile cross his face before he resumed his studied air of controlled neutrality.
“The house is lovely,” said Lady Hathaway.
“It has been in the family for generations. My great grandfather was born in one of the rooms in the east wing.” Theo’s friendly, easy hospitality seemed to make the great house seem cozier and more friendly than it had at first.
Sir Theodore and Lady Overton were gracious hosts, and before long they had drawn the Hathaways into pleasant conversation about the weather, the newest fashions in women’s and men’s evening attire, horseback riding, and other topics.
Lily said shyly to Theo, “You said at the ball that you knew of Haven-by-the-Sea. May I ask how?”
Theo’s sparkling smile made her heart flutter with delight, and she resolutely told herself that she was being ridiculous. No one could possibly be so utterly charming; he must have some flaw.
“I got lost there as a child,” he said confidingly. “I spent several hours roaming the cliffs until I found my way back to my parents.”
Her eyes widened. “How old were you?”
“I was ten.” He added with a mischievous smile, “My mother and father were not best pleased when I disappeared for six hours!”
Lily blinked. “There’s not enough in Haven-by-the-Sea to be lost for that long.”
He chuckled. “You might be surprised! On which end of the town is your family’s estate?”
“You can hardly call it an estate, but it’s on the southern end near the top of the hill. From my window, you could see north over the town, and from the upper sitting room, you could see out over the sea.”
Theo listened with tender attention and offered every courtesy that a gentleman might offer to a lady at dinner. Lily, who had been concerned that the conversation would be terribly awkward, found herself feeling warmly delighted in his presence, as he appeared to be in hers.
The second course had just been laid when the footman who had welcomed them, Anselm, stepped into the room just after one of the servers. He handed a small, sealed note to Theo and murmured something in his ear.
Theo glanced at the seal, broke it, and read quickly. He stood and bowed. “Excuse me, Sir Jacob, Lady Hathaway, Oliver, Miss Hathaway. Father, Mother.” He hesitated, then said, “A friend is in need. I doubt I’ll be able to return before you must depart; if that is the case, please accept my humblest apologies.”
His father stood, apparently intending on following his son into the hallway, and Theo stepped closer to murmur into his ear. Sir Overton nodded, his face grave, and then handed his son something hidden in his hand.
Sir Theodore turned back to his guests with a smile. Lady Overton gave her son her hand, almost as if she were passing him something as well.
Theo bowed deeply to the Hathaways. “Thank you for coming tonight. I hope I may see you again, Miss Hathaway.” At her shy smile, he beamed. Then he hurried out, his steps quick and sharp down the hall.
Lily squashed her disappointment; she had dearly enjoyed Theo’s friendly conversation, sparkling smiles, and attentive courtesy. But Sir Theodore and Lady Overton were delightful hosts and clearly intended to make their guests comfortable, so the odd tension eased almost immediately. Although they adhered to every nuance of the intricate rules of dinner parties, they made it seem easy and natural, and they didn’t blink when the Hathaways inadvertently betrayed their small-town manners.
After dinner, Lady Overton, Lady Hathaway, and Lily retired to the drawing room, where they were served tea and tiny airy cakes adorned with crystalized rose petals. Lady Overton suggested a poetry reading and started them off with a sweet little love poem.
Lady Hathaway, only slightly familiar with this new fashion among the noble ladies of Ardmond, assented, and read the next poem in the volume Lady Overton had given her. It was also a love poem, and as she read, she glanced at her daughter. Lily blushed sweetly. When it was her turn to read, she felt awkward and strange, but as the evening went on, the pastime became more enjoyable. Lady Overton had a lively wit and a delightful sense of humor; she was unfailingly courteous, but not pretentious in the least.
Lily thought that she would be a wonderful second mother, then nearly shook herself for jumping ahead so precipitously. Theo had hardly proposed, and she barely knew him. Nevertheless, Lady Overton’s company was thoroughly enjoyable.
When Lady Hathaway said reluctantly, “I believe we probably ought to be departing soon,” Lily felt a real pang of regret.
The Overtons bid them goodnight with graciousness and warmth, and the Hathaways said their farewells with reciprocal warmth and affection.
In the coach, Sir Jacob said, “Well, that was unexpectedly pleasant.”
Oliver said, “I really thought they’d be snobs, and I’ve never been so happy to be wrong. They’re the nicest people I’ve ever met, I think.”
Lady Hathaway said, “It’s a pity Theo had to leave.”
Lily caught sight of movement between the birch trees. The moon was full, and even among the trees there was a little light. She thought she saw a figure on horseback. She craned her neck to see better as the carriage followed a curve in the driveway.
The figure cantered up to the manor and dismounted, then handed the reins to the groom who had hurried to greet him. She thought she saw a second, smaller figure, too, and something about the second person seemed strange. His hair, if it was a boy, looked violet in the moonlight, but that was ridiculous.
She lost sight of them as the carriage turned.
“What did you think, Lily?” prompted her mother.
“What?”
“About this evening.”
“Oh. It was delightful.” Lily thought of Sir Theodore’s kind face, with his smile lines and his warm eyes like his son’s, and Lady Overton’s sweet voice as she read poetry, and her delighted laugh when Lily had read the humorous poem she must have heard a hundred times. “It was reassuring, I think, because Theo seems so much like them. I thought it must be a façade at first, but I think he really is that friendly.”
Oliver’s white teeth glinted in the darkness as he smiled. “I actually like him, Lily.”