That Churchill Woman by Stephanie Barron

Author:Stephanie Barron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2019-01-21T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

Mamma was mad for the Paris scheme once she learned of Fanny’s plans.

“Clarita will be sixteen in April, and would benefit immensely from a little cultivation before she is brought out,” she mused over her magazine in the Bathgate parlor that evening. The fashion plates were French; Mamma studied them with new interest. “You know, Fanny, not even Mrs. Belmont invites us to her best parties. Certainly, the Schermerhorns and the Astors do not.”

“The girls will find their prospects of marriage very limited in a few years’ time,” Fanny agreed, “if they are consigned to the second tier.”

“No daughter of Papa’s is second-rate,” Jennie objected. She was reading The Mysterious Key and What It Opened, a dime novel by Miss Louisa Alcott, in a chair by the parlor fire. From Mamma’s sudden look of exasperation, she had forgotten Jennie was there.

“Go up to bed, now, Jeanette,” she ordered.

“But, Mamma—”

“That is enough.”

Jennie thrust herself out of her seat, but took her book with her. In the hallway, she lingered, her ears pricked.

“Think of the advantages,” Fanny murmured. “The best music masters, the best art instructors, a thorough immersion in the French language…”

“A tour of European capitals, to aid the girls’ general knowledge and sophistication,” Mamma breathed. “The most cultivated circles at the Emperor’s court…”

“It will be the making of Clarita.”

“And Jennie. I fear, Fanny, that she is becoming a hoyden.”

“A lady can have no finer education than a period in Europe.”

“And consider the gentlemen they will meet! From the nobility, perhaps! Fanny…a Vanderbilt or even an Astor will be as nothing to a French count!”

Jennie shut her eyes tightly. Papa, Papa, Papa, she prayed. Hurry and come back. She did not want to leave him, or New York.

She moved noiselessly to the stairs. Clarita was crouching in the shadows above. Listening to every word. Her older sister’s hands were clasped and her blue eyes were shining.

“Jennie,” Clarita whispered when she reached the top step. “A Season in Europe! Isn’t it a dream?”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.