“Mia, who would you like to visit first, Lady Victoria or Lady Arabella?”
“I don’t wish to tire you needlessly, so let’s visit Lady Arabella first. Her home is closer.”
“I’ll have Beckwith arrange for the carriage to be at your disposal for your visits. There’s no need for you to walk,” Fletcher said.
Audrey looked at her husband. “My darling, I’m perfectly capable of walking.”
“I’m sure you think you are at the moment, but I remember how tired you were when you came home from helping Lord Berkeley with decorating ideas. I would not like to see a repeat of that.”
“Fletcher is right, Audrey. At least if we take the carriage, you can rest a bit in between our calls,” Mia chimed in.
“Well, with both of you arguing for the carriage, how can I say no? The carriage, it is!”
“I find myself famished this morning,” Mia said, loading up her plate with eggs, bacon, kippers, and toast while the footman poured her a cup of tea.
Unfortunately, the smells were enough to upset her sister’s stomach, and Audrey excused herself.
“I’m so sorry, Audrey. I didn’t realize—”
Her sister waved her hand dismissively and fled the dining room.
“Don’t worry, Mia. Sometimes your sister cannot tolerate certain smells from one day to the next.”
“I didn’t mean to run her off.”
“You didn’t. Let me go check on her. Enjoy your breakfast. Excuse me, my dear.”
Mia finished her breakfast and went into the drawing room to practice the pianoforte. Now that she was going to be a married woman, she wanted to hone her skills even more. Funny, because she hadn’t thought it was an important skill while she was on the marriage mart, but now she could see that it could be quite useful in entertaining any guests she and Easton invited to their home.
Home.
Where would they live?
She would have to ask Easton when he came for tea today.
She practiced diligently for the next two hours. “I think that’s enough for the day,” she mumbled, stretching her fingers.
“That was lovely, dearest,” Audrey said, walking into the drawing room.
“Audrey, are you feeling better?”
“I am. No need to worry. Shall we leave soon?”
“Yes. I can hardly wait to show my friends the ring.”
Mia went to sit on the sofa and tried to work on her embroidery, but she was too excited to concentrate. She ended up pulling out more stitches than she made. Soon it was time to leave, and she ran upstairs for their bonnets and gloves.
“Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to accompany me?” she asked.
“Yes, dearest. I’m fine. Shall we depart?”
Mia handed her sister her bonnet and gloves and then finished tying her own ribbons. Beckwith had the door open when they walked into the foyer. “Enjoy your visit.”
“Thank you, Beckwith,” Mia said.
A footman handed the women into the carriage before taking his position on the back. The driver flicked the reins. “Walk on,” he said.
It didn’t take long to reach the Gardner townhouse, and they were shown into the drawing room, where Lady Gardner and Lady Arabella were entertaining morning calls.