Free Two Corinthians by Carola Dunn Page B

too expensive. How much did he give Alfie?”
    “A shilling, I think. Lord Pomeroy must have paid the difference himself. Oh dear! He commented on my bare hands this morning!”
    “It was prodigious kind of him,” Lizzie said decisively, “both to Alfie and to us. You will not insist upon returning them?”
    “No, I suppose not. Gloves are truly an unexceptionable gift from a gentleman to a lady, though it is perhaps a little premature after such a short acquaintance. But do we thank him for them, or pretend Alfie really bought them? What a dear creature Alfie is, to think of us. A shilling is a rare treat to him, after all.”
    “I shall embroider a neckerchief for Alfie. And I shall most certainly thank his lordship, for I suspect it will embarrass him which will be excessively amusing.”
    “How can you in one breath praise his kindness and in the next plan to embarrass him?” marvelled Claire. “I wish you will not.”
    Lizzie refused to be persuaded and went up to change for dinner feeling pleased with herself.
    For a wonder, her mother was pleased with her as well. She bustled into the girls’ chamber looking smug.
    “You are managing them both very nicely, Elizabeth. I scarcely hoped that Lord Pomeroy would call on you so soon! That Harrison child is quite out of the running. There is nothing to recommend her at all, for she has no beauty and no countenance and I understand the family is quite to pieces. This competition between the gentlemen is most fortunate, but you must make a push to attach one of them soon, for there is no knowing how long they will stay.”
    “What do you suggest, Mama?” asked Lizzie. “Shall I trap one of them into compromising me?”
    “Don’t be vulgar, miss. All the same, there are ways to go about it without being obvious. Tomorrow we shall call upon Lady Caroline. Contrive to keep both of them tied to your apron strings until one comes up to scratch. Lord Winterborne is the better catch, of course, but Lord Pomeroy is not to be sneezed at.”
    “I should not dream of sneezing at Lord Pomeroy, Mama,” Lizzie assured her. As Lady Sutton departed, satisfied, she added softly, “For teasing is much more fun!”
    It was raining next day when the Sutton ladies set out to visit Lady Caroline. Despite the weather, Lord Winterborne chose to accompany them, riding beside the carriage. Adducing this as proof that Lizzie had hooked his lordship, Lady Sutton was in a high good humour. She prattled on about ways to incite a gentleman to jealousy without giving him a disgust of one, until Lizzie could have screamed with vexation.
    She was beginning to think that if one must use such underhand wiles to win a husband, she had rather do without one altogether.
    The warmth of Lady Caroline’s welcome formed a strong contrast with Lady Harrison’s frosty greeting. At least, Lizzie noted, Lady Caroline welcomed herself and her sister warmly, while Lady Harrison thawed visibly at George’s approach. She watched with interest the stratagems employed by the three older ladies, the end result of which was that George found himself in a tête-à-tête with the silent Miss Harrison, Lord Pomeroy and Claire were sent to the book-room to find a first edition of Gerard’s Herball, and Lizzie herself was left without an admirer to hand.
    Pleased to see her mother outmanoeuvred, she settled quite happily on a comfortable sofa and pulled out some embroidery from her reticule.
    She was close enough to the ladies to hear their speech, yet far enough that they did not mind their tongues because of the presence of an unmarried girl. At first she was bored by a discussion of household matters. She had stopped listening, when she heard her own name.
    Lady Sutton was delivering a strong hint that Lord Winterborne was expected to offer for her daughter’s hand any day now. “After all,” she said, “what else should keep him so long in this part of the country?”
    Lady Harrison responded by pointing