Proper Princess

Chapter Three

"Your sister is quite nice," Count Robert said as he guided me in our second dance. We both glanced over to Elizabeth, who was still dancing with Eli, no doubt in an effort to avoid any matches Mother was trying to set up for her.

I nodded, knowing my role here- this was the man that my Mother had deemed a fit for my elder sister, and my job was to talk her up. "She is. And quite beautiful- did you know that she speaks five other languages?"

Count Robert glanced over at my sister. "Can she indeed?"

"She can, Sir. Latin, French, German, Spanish, and Greek."

The Earl nodded his head thoughtfully, and then looked back at me. "I suppose you have an impressive vocabulary, as well, then?"

I felt my cheeks warm, and I ducked my head slightly to hide my blush. I had not been adopted as Elizabeths sister until she was nine years old- by then, she had already been fluent in all but Greek, which she had only learned at eleven when she was required to translate the New Testimate from the Bible in its original form.

When I had arrived, I had been illiterate. Just learning to read English had been a struggle, and even now, I was hardly fluent in French. All of the other girls of my status knew at least one other language perfectly. Most knew two.

"From where do you hail?" I asked the Earl, trying to divert the topic of conversation away from me.

He eyed me strangely for a moment, and I wondered if I came across as such a fool that I was ruining any chance my sister may have to gain his favor. Still, though, he did the polite thing- the thing I had not done- and answered my question. "I was both born and raised in Richmond. My Father owned quite a lot of land, and when he passed, I inherited it all, seeing as I have sisters and no brothers. I shall be visiting London for several months, though, to see what land investment opportunities there are within the city."

I nodded, trying not to show my irritation at the lack of rights women had to land. Surely it was unfair that a man- who had far more opportunities to work, and whom earned more money for the same work as a woman- got all of the land while his sisters were left destitute. "And how do your sisters fare?"

"They are well. Both of the elder ones are married to men with their own houses, and my younger sister lives within my household, under the care of a governess. When our parents passed, I thought keeping her in the house would be better than sending her off to a school."

While the Earl continued to make small talk, I was a bit detached from the conversation. I examined him as he spoke, taking in his appearance. He was very attractive, I had to admit- handsome enough that my sister's beauty would not look out of place on his arm. He had dark hair, which caused the light tone of his eyes to stand out, and his shoulders were broad- that final attribute was something Elizabeth had commented that she appreciated before.

Eventually, I decided it was best to send the Earl back over to Elizabeth- I was worried I was talking her up a bit too much. Men did not tend to like overeducated women, Mother had told me once, because intelligence was seen as a masculine trait in high society. It was why Elizabeth had been banned from reading books in her freetime for several months once as a teenager, after Clara and Cordelia's Grandmother had mentioned that perhaps Miss Lancing was teaching us a bit too well.

My sister was much better at social situations than I was, though. Where I was tripping over my words, wondering if I was coming across as very unladylike, I knew Elizabeth could hold her own in conversation. So after the final musical number, I stepped away from the Earl, falling into a curtsy. "Thank you for the dance, My Lord. I am certain that my sister would love another with you."

He took my hand in his once more, and kissed it. "The pleasure is all mine. Good day, My Lady."

And then he stepped away, confidently cutting into the dance Elizabeth was sharing with Eli. While Eli laughed it off and handed Elizabeth's hand to the Earl, my sister looked less than pleased. She truly seemed to have little interest in mingling with potential suitors, and I wondered why that was. Throughout our childhood and most of our teenage years, she had been eager to be married, dreamily imagining the dress she would wear and the cake she would want. She had already planned out all of the details, down to the exact shade of red she wanted the frosting flowers on the cake to be.

By the time I rejoined the boys at the cake table, Michael was on his eighth slice, and looking rather green. I laughed along with John, and again warned my brother not to be sick at the party- it would be entirely unacceptable when the alcohol had not even been poured yet.

But when I turned to look back at my sister, she was once again dancing with Eli. For some reason, my gaze did not stop on her. I scanned about the room until I found the Earl, but then I quickly looked away.

He was looking at me, as well.