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Ruth hated leaving her workshop, but some things could not be avoided. Introducing herself to London society was one of them. Ivy, much to Ruth’s envy, had no such social expectations placed on her, allowing her to remain in the workshop to focus on her own projects.
Ivy had been shocked that Ruth allowed her to work on whatever she wanted, but in truth, it was simply convenient. Ruth didn’t need help at all times, and she didn’t want the pressure of feeling as if she had to entertain Ivy every second she was working. So, Ivy had her own projects to work on when Ruth didn’t need her or was busy choosing a new dress.
“Smile, dear,” Thomas reminded her as they arrived at Lady Dunsten’s ball.
Ruth nodded, realising that she had been frowning in thought. She just really wanted to be back in her workshop. But there was a bright side; attending a ball had given her an excuse to buy a new dress, and the dark blue one she had on had one of the sturdiest corsets she had ever found.
“Thomas,” greeted a man who looked just a little older than Ruth, with brownish red hair that extended into mutton chops and a very clean military uniform. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too, James.” Thomas gestured to Ruth. “This is my niece, Lady Chapelstone.”
“Pleased to meet you,” James greeted her with a smile, taking Ruth’s hand to kiss. “Your uncle has mentioned you briefly, but he failed to mention your beauty.”
Ruth felt a spike of irritation at that. She didn’t want to deal with men fawning over her. That would mean rejecting them, which could get messy.
Ruth had never cared for messy.
She smiled, despite the irritation. “Why, thank you.”
James, to Ruth’s relief, turned back to Thomas. “So, you didn’t bring The Owl with you?”
“No,” James said. “He dislikes having to leave his workshop. You know how inventors are.”
“I do, but Thomas... While his inventions are, without a doubt, the best, this is becoming a matter of security. If The Owl wishes to sell inventions to the Crown, I must at least meet him.”
Thomas nodded, though Ruth wanted to scream at him to come with an excuse or a lie. Something — anything — to delay that possibility.
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Thomas said, deeply confusing Ruth.
“That would be much appreciated,” James told him.
Before Ruth could protest, a woman approached, with the same reddish-brown hair and grey eyes as James.
“Are you two boring poor Lady Chapelstone with your talk of business?” she asked in a no-nonsense manner.
James stiffened, his brow furrowing ever so slightly. “This is my sister, Anne.”
Anne moved over to Ruth, leading her away from the men. “Come on, dear, let’s leave those two to talk. I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
Any protest from Ruth died on her tongue, her words draining away with her terror at the prospect of meeting new people without her uncle.
Anne had not been joking when she had said everyone, Ruth learnt as she was escorted throughout the room in a whirlwind of new names and faces, none of which she remembered. It took her almost an hour to slip her new guide, pretending to need to relieve herself. Instead she found a quiet corner and allowed herself a brief respite. It took several moments of focusing on her breathing and the comforting way her corset hugged her for the room to stop spinning.
“Had to slip away?”
Ruth jumped at the intrusion, though it was barely noticeable, thanks to her lethargy. She had to put what little energy she had recovered into her smile as James approached, passing her a glass of wine.
“I don’t drink,” she told him, eventually remembering to add, “But thank you for the thought.”
He nodded in understanding. “Thomas mentioned that you weren’t much for crowds.”
Ruth didn’t have anything to say to that, so she simply nodded.
“I’m sorry, I thought having my sister introduce you around would make things easier for you.”
“It did,” Ruth managed. It wasn’t even a lie. Having Anne escort her had certainly been better than her standing mutely in a corner or constantly tailing Thomas as he talked with men, who would either look her over with unrestrained interest or ignore and condescend her.
“Anne is very nice.” Ruth had no idea if that particular point was true or not; she had been so carefully keeping her attention on getting her social niceties correct with all of the other girls Anne had introduced her to that she hadn’t had enough concentration to pay much attention to her guide. Definitely not enough to form an opinion on her. But she hadn’t been sure of what else to say, so she had fabricated the positive opinion in the hopes of keeping James happy so that he wouldn’t notice if she slipped.
James smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed her company, Lady Chapelstone.” He moved his mouth upwards at just one side in a way that Ruth couldn’t quite decipher. “Your name is a tad long, may I call you Ruth?”
“My name is but four syllables,” she pointed out, before realising that it was perhaps rude of her. She was unsure of how to decline without risking his ire, so she relented. “But, yes, you may call me Ruth.”
His smile widened to become even on both sides. “Thank you, Ruth.”
She nodded, curtly, wishing that she had something non-alcoholic to drink so that she could buy herself a little time before she was expected to speak once more.
Thankfully, Thomas chose that moment to find her.
“Are you having a nice time?” he asked.
“I am a little tired,” she said, as she always did to indicate that she wished to be extracted.
Thomas nodded in understanding before turning to James. “We should take our leave. It’s getting late, and Ruth requires her sleep.”
“Of course. It was nice to see you both. Thomas, I shall send correspondence about meeting with The Owl.”
“Of course,” Thomas replied as they took their leave.
As soon as they were outside, Ruth turned to her uncle. “He can’t meet The Owl.”
“No, he can’t, but it would be impolite to not at least seem to make the effort to arrange a meeting. I shall fob him off with excuses, and he shall eventually grow bored. If he wants the inventions, which he clearly does, he will forgo the meeting after a few failed attempts.”
Ruth gave a disgruntled hum. It seemed like courting trouble to her, but her uncle was much better with people than she was.