A Chance Encounter Read Online Free PDF Page B

ago.”
    â€œThose two men are bound to be dangling after her, though,” Ferdie predicted. “They are both top-of-the-trees, you know. And Cec is the prettiest girl in these parts.”
    â€œYou forget your sister and Anne Claridge, to mention only two,” Elizabeth said, amused at the obvious jealousy of the boy.
    â€œOh, I know I’m no beauty,” Lucy said philosophically. “If Mama would just admit it too, I should be so much more comfortable. She is determined I should make a brilliant match and sees the marquess and Mr. Mainwaring as likely prospects. I shall hate it, Miss Rossiter. I know she will be forever pushing me at them while they are here.”
    â€œI am sure she will not do anything to embarrass you unduly,” Elizabeth soothed. “She must have your own happiness at heart, after all.”
    â€œHo, you don’t know Mama,” Ferdie added.
    â€œI do hope to find a husband during the Season next year,” Lucy added. “But I shall be quite contented with an ordinary man whom I can respect.”
    Elizabeth smiled reassuringly and changed the subject. She felt sorry for Lucy Worthing. She was a thin girl, with a narrow, pale face and yellow-blond hair. She would be quite striking if she aimed for elegance in her appearance and if her hair were arranged in a smooth, sophisticated style. Instead, her mother insisted on white or pastel-shaded clothes, with as many bows, frills, and flounces as could be reasonably added to each garment. Her hair was a mass of ringlets. Obviously the mother assumed that the more she decorated her daughter, the greater the appearance of beauty she would give. The opposite was true.
    The pair did not stay long. Once Ferdie realized that there was little chance of Cecily’s returning within the hour, he was ready to begin the ride back home again. Elizabeth promised to pass on the invitation to the ball, though she had already decided to refuse herself. The less she saw of the Marquess of Hetherington, the happier she would be.
    The following week was one of great excitement among the leading families of Granby and the surrounding countryside. Although entertainments were not unusual, they were normally very predictable events. Very rarely was there any stranger to add interest. And now there were five strangers, and all of them fashionable and apparently wealthy. The austere good looks of Mr. Mainwaring and his connection with the neighborhood, and the title, vitality, and charm of the Marquess of Hetherington everywhere set the hearts of hopeful mothers and their daughters fluttering. The haughty beauty of Miss Norris inspired awe and admiration everywhere.
    Elizabeth finally met this lady a few days before the ball, when she rode over with the rest of the Femdale party to invite Cecily to walk. Elizabeth was in the rose garden cutting some blooms for the house when they arrived. Mrs. Prosser and her sister walked over to talk to her while they all waited for Cecily to run upstairs for a bonnet and parasol. Elizabeth was very glad that the men went inside the house for some refreshment. She had felt a painful stab of the heart at the sight of Hetherington. Like the other gentlemen, he touched his hat in acknowledgment of her presence. Unlike them, he did not smile.
    Mrs. Prosser introduced her sister to Elizabeth as Miss Amelia Norris. Elizabeth did not know why she so condescended. The girl was a handsome brunette, though her beauty was marred by a perpetually haughty expression. She succeeded now somehow in looking down her nose.
    â€œAh, the companion of dear Cecily,” she commented, making the word companion sound like the lowest of menial occupations, and making Cecily sound anything but dear.
    Mrs. Prosser was left to maintain a conversation with Elizabeth. “Mrs. Rowe has told me that you are a sister of John Rossiter,” she said kindly. “I knew his wife slightly. She made her come-out in the same year