Miss Lattimore's Letter by Suzanne Allain

Author:Suzanne Allain [Allain, Suzanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-08-10T00:00:00+00:00

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Sophie’s next introduction, to Mr. Maitland’s children, was a much grander and more public affair. Mr. Maitland had arranged for a breakfast at Sydney Gardens, with tea, cold meat, and pastries to be served in a private supper box. Obviously Sophie could not be the only person present outside of Mr. Maitland’s family and the children’s nurse, nor did she wish to spend the day tête-à-tête with them. So Mr. Maitland had also invited both of the Foster ladies and their noble friends. Lady Smallpeace declined the invitation for herself, as she didn’t really feel like showing such condescension to a mere “Mr. Maitland” of nowhere in particular, who could not name any relatives of whom Lady Smallpeace had ever heard. But surprisingly, Lady Mary and Lord Courtney did accept the invitation and were in attendance, as were Priscilla and Charles Beswick. Sophie very astutely guessed that Mr. Maitland had invited Priscilla before learning of her husband’s arrival and couldn’t withdraw the invitation after discovering she would be bringing him along. Though Sophie now believed Mr. Maitland was truly fond of her and a proposal from him seemed imminent, she also knew he enjoyed the company of ladies far more than that of gentlemen. Particularly ladies who were lovely to look at, like Priscilla was.

And Priscilla had outdone herself. She was always dressed to the nines, of course, but her outfit that day could have been displayed in an art gallery and people would have paid admission to see it. Her dress and matching spencer were a vibrant green, a color which couldn’t have been more flattering to her hair and eyes. The spencer was lined with black silk, and above its collar was another collar of stand-up white lace that framed her face. But it was her hat that stole the show, and she had wisely kept the rest of her outfit relatively simple so that the hat could take center stage. It was a black velvet toque with intricate cording also in black, and egret feathers of black and green waved proudly above it. Pinned to one side was a small round white aigrette with a spray of green berries.

Sophie thought it the most beautiful hat she’d ever seen but wondered that Priscilla had chosen to wear it on a trip to the gardens. A bandeau held it to her head, but it had no ribbons, which made Sophie think Priscilla would have to be very careful to hold on to it if there were any gusty winds.

Likewise, Priscilla’s slippers, while dainty and a pretty green to match her dress, did not look like the most comfortable choice for walking, and Sophie was glad she’d chosen to wear sturdy half boots and her favorite straw bonnet, even if her outfit did pale in comparison to Priscilla Beswick’s.

Mr. Maitland had invited one other single gentleman, Mr. Andrews, so that the ladies would not completely outnumber the men. Of the four gentlemen present, Mr. Beswick was the only one who was not completely outshone by Mr.

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