A Sisterly Regard Read Online Free

"Chloe, you think of
nothing but parties and dancing and catching a rich husband. You may
never see him again, and I am not sure but what that would be
desirable,"
    She deliberately changed the subject. "How far is it to London,
Mama? Do we make any more changes before we arrive?"
    "Yes, I believe we do, and very soon, I imagine," Lady Gifford
replied. "Chloe, how is it that you were so unwell until we stopped, then
you suddenly became well enough to make a cake of yourself, hanging out
the window? And if you were that recovered, why did you not come to
our assistance?"
    "I was much better as long as we were not moving and it did not
upset my stomach to look out of the window," Chloe replied defensively.
"I feel distinctly unwell now, though, and wish you would not scold. I
shall try to sleep until we reach London." She pulled the shawl about her
head again and lay back against the squabs.
    Lady Gifford gave a ladylike snort. Phaedra suspected her mama
was not misled by Chloe's stratagems. As for herself, she suspected her
sister made too much of a good thing out of her motion sickness.
    * * * *
    They gratefully arrived in London shortly after eight in the
evening. All three were chilled through and thoroughly tired of traveling,
though Phaedra had found the long drive through London the most
interesting part of the trip. At one point, she had seen a great domed
structure in the bright moonlight. Upon pointing it out to her mother, she
was informed that the building was St. Paul's Cathedral, designed by the
legendary Sir Christopher Wren.
    The house the Hazelbournes had taken for the Season was just
north of Grosvenor Square, in an unexceptional but not highly fashionable
neighborhood. In the past Lord and Lady Gifford had stayed at the Duke of
Verbain's town house when they visited London. This year, with two
daughters to be presented and plans to remain through the month of June,
they needed a house. While Lord Gifford was far from under the hatches,
his fortune was only modest. He had gratefully taken advantage of an offer
from a distant relative of Lady Gifford's who was willing to allow them the
use of his London residence for a fraction of what a larger and
better-located one would have cost.
    It was barely commodious enough for the Hazelbournes, but
there was a small rear garden giving onto a detached mews where the
coach could be stabled and convenient for the ladies' use. The house was
furnished with a partial staff, augmented by Hazelbourne servants sent up
from the country.
    Much to Chloe's dismay, there was no ballroom. She made
unkind comments about this serious lack until she was reminded that she
and her sister were to make their come out at a ball given by their
great-aunt, the Duchess of Verbain.
    The ladies were met by the assembled staff, headed by
Edgemont, their butler from Gifford Court, who had come to Town a
week ahead of them to make the house ready. Parsons, her ladyship's
personal servant, hovered in the background. Lady Gifford, in the manner
that had made her beloved of her servants all her life, greeted each of them
and said a kind word to even the lowest tweenie.
    "Now, my lady, you will come into the parlor and have a nice
cup of tea," Parsons said, as the introductions were finished.
    She bustled ahead of the three, leading them upstairs and into a
large room off the central hallway. It was high ceilinged and papered above
dark wainscoting with Chinese silk in a red and gold design. Gold velvet
draperies covered two large windows overlooking the front of the house.
Three red velvet upholstered sofas, several chairs with gold brocade seats,
and half a dozen small mahogany tables were placed in stiff lines along
three walls. An enormous fireplace with an ornate mantelpiece dominated
the wall opposite the entrance, and a worn but still attractive Oriental rug
in red, gold, and black covered most of the polished floor. There were
several portraits in gilded frames on the walls, including one of