Emilia offered him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything. It was your decision to make, and only yours,” Fredrick said.
Anette started pacing the ballroom. “I daresay that inviting Clarissa and Calvin might complicate things, but it isn’t the worst thing,” she stated. “Furthermore, there is a chance they might not even attend.”
Roswell chuckled. “I fear that my wife might work herself into a frenzy.”
“I am going on a carriage ride with Clarissa and Calvin tomorrow,” Emilia revealed.
“For what purpose?” Fredrick asked.
“Calvin thinks it is a good idea for us to be seen together,” Emilia replied.
“I’ll accompany you,” Fredrick said.
Before she could reply, Dalby stepped into the room and met Emilia’s gaze. “Miss Clarissa Livingston was hoping for a moment of your time, Miss.”
“Please show her to the drawing room,” Emilia directed.
After the butler had departed from the ballroom, Anette stopped pacing and said, “Speak of the devil…”
Emilia sighed. “Clarissa is not as terrible as you may think,” she contended. “There have been a few moments where she has been rather enjoyable.”
“Only a few moments?” Anette joked.
“If you will excuse me, I shall hurry back,” Emilia replied before she headed towards the drawing room.
Once she arrived, Emilia saw Clarissa staring out the window, her hands clasped in front of her. “Clarissa,” she greeted. “What a pleasant surprise.”
“You should be in the drawing room, ready to receive callers,” Clarissa advised as she turned to face her.
“I shall take that into account,” Emilia responded.
Clarissa pressed her lips together before saying, “I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. I didn’t want Calvin to know that I toured the boarding school with you.”
“May I ask why that is?”
“Calvin was rather furious when I first told him about the boarding school. He thought that it would tarnish our family’s good name,” Clarissa explained. “I agreed with him, and I thought I could convince you of such. But I was wrong.”
Emilia was taken aback by Clarissa’s admission. “You were?”
Clarissa lowered her hands to her sides. “It was what that headmistress said about doors being opened to them. It made me realize that I am not so different from those girls.” She took a step closer to her. “And then, Calvin told me about my dowry. I can’t even begin to thank you.”
“It is what Father would have wanted,” Emilia said.
“I doubt that,” Clarissa responded. “I wasn’t always the most kind to Father. I made a lot of mistakes, and I’m beginning to see why things unfolded as they did.”
Emilia could hear the sadness in Clarissa’s voice and she felt a deep sense of compassion for her. “I hope with your dowry that you will find a love match.”
Clarissa let out a disbelieving huff. “A love match?” she asked. “No, I just want to find a gentleman that will overlook the fact that I am illegitimate.”
“You deserve so much more than that,” Emilia said.
“Do I?” Clarissa asked. “I should have married the first gentleman that offered for me. That would have saved me a considerable amount of trouble.”
“Would you have been happy if you had done so?”
Lowering her gaze, Clarissa replied, “Most likely not.”