Mirabelle grimaced and mumbled something about “Lady Thurston” and “certain banishment” before clearing her throat and forging ahead.
“You see, Kate, some men—and, to my understanding, some women—prefer the company of their own sex.”
“I prefer the company of my own sex,” Kate argued reasonably. “Quite a lot, actually.”
“Yes, but not nearly so much as Sir Frederick,” Mirabelle said pointedly.
“And not in an illegal sort of way,” Sophie added, thinking that they would be here all day the way Mirabelle kept dancing around the issue, and then finding herself unable to come to the crux of the matter herself.
“Illegal,” Kate repeated.
“Intimately illegal,” Mirabelle hinted.
It took a moment, but eventually the light of realization dawned on Kate’s pretty face.
“Ooh.” This time her eyebrows went up. “Really?”
Sophie and Kate both nodded.
“And Mr. Weaver?”
“Is Sir Frederick’s…good friend,” Mirabelle answered.
“Well, that’s…well, I don’t know what that is. Interesting I suppose, but what has it to do with Sophie’s list?”
“It’s simple,” Mirabelle replied. “Men like Sir Frederick and Mr. Weaver need to marry to protect their reputations, but like Sophie they need a partner willing to have a marriage in name only.”
“That does seem perfect,” Kate murmured.
“Doubly so, because they can be blackmailed if they prove unaccommodating,” Mirabelle offered with a grin just wicked enough to betray her jest.
“Well, that gives us five names,” Sophie remarked looking down at the list. “I don’t suppose Evie happened to have mentioned anyone else?”
“No, sorry. But we can ask her at the Cole house party in a few weeks,” Mirabelle said. “You’ll receive an invitation in the next day or two, I imagine, and this is not such a poor beginning, five names.”
“I suppose not,” Sophie conceded.
“Now for the rest,” Kate stated resolutely.
“The rest of what?” Sophie asked, sincerely confused.
“The rest of the preparations, of course. You’ll need to change some of your gowns—”
“I just purchased some new gowns,” Sophie replied a little defensively.
“And they’re lovely. They really are. Even my mother remarked on them, and she’s fanatical about that sort of thing.”
Well, that was a little mollifying, Sophie supposed.
“It’s true,” Mirabelle remarked. “She refers to my wardrobe as the bane of her existence.”
“But if you want to bring a man up to scratch in under two months, you’re going to need to be a bit more forward,” Kate announced.
“I’m not sure—”
“Not scandalously forward,” Kate clarified. “You’re looking for a husband, not a protector. Just a little more…tempting. A few alterations will do.”
Sophie turned to Mirabelle for reassurance.
It wasn’t forthcoming. “Don’t look to me,” Mirabelle replied, sweeping her hand down her decidedly drab gown. “This is Kate’s forte.”
With all the fittings, the next four days were a bizarre repetition of Sophie’s first days in London. With the notable exception of Mrs. Summers’ absence. After considerable internal debate, Sophie had decided not to inform her companion of the full extent of Loudor’s treachery. Since arriving in London, Mrs. Summers had smiled more, laughed more than Sophie had seen in some time. If Mrs. Summers’ gaunt form and rigid posture had been capable of it, there might have been a bounce in her step. Sophie hadn’t the heart to dim the light in the woman’s eyes any more than was strictly necessary. Added to the desire to see her friend happy was the fear that Mrs. Summers might take it into her head that she was a burden on the family and seek employment elsewhere.
With that terrifying thought in mind, Sophie glossed over the worst of their predicament. She explained that Lord Loudor had been stealing from the estate—not significantly enough to cause immediate worry, but Sophie was now willing to consider the wisdom of making an advantageous match to shore up the family estate. Her companion had taken the news with surprisingly good cheer. Particularly after hearing of her charge’s sudden interest in finding a husband. She had even gone so far as to allow Sophie to progress with the matter of altering gowns and what ever else was needed, as she saw fit.
Provided, of course, that Sophie promised to take along her maid and at least two footmen, and remain in the company of Miss Browning and Lady Kate (whose mother was, naturally, an old friend of Mrs. Summers), at all times.
Between shopping excursions, social calls, and brief but intense lessons from Kate in the art of flirting, Sophie barely had time to sleep, let alone dwell on the odd behavior of her chaperone.