“Only ordinary?” Josette smoothed a tiny wrinkle from one of the gowns and then carefully hung them in the armoire. “Yet the servants here say that Lord Dunbar has acquired a great many valuable collections.”
“Oh, yes, he has. But perhaps His Lordship’s predecessors did not possess his discerning eye.”
The maid accepted the explanation with a shrug. “Or his plump purse. One can have exquisite taste, but without money it hardly matters.”
Anna had lived enough years in genteel poverty to know Josette’s observation was in many ways true. And yet there was something a little sad about hearing someone so young express such a cynical outlook on life.
“Not all things of beauty or value can be measured in terms of money,” she said slowly.
Josette curled a faint smile. “We have an ancient proverb in French that says some people see a glass as half empty, while others see it as half full. I think that you are, at heart, an optimist, Mademoiselle Anna. While I have a more pragmatic view of the world.”
“I, too, consider myself a realist,” she protested. “I am not blinded by schoolgirl fantasies.”
Josette remained tactfully silent. Her expression, however, was eloquent in its skepticism.
“I’m not so naïve as to think that life always ends in a happily ever after,” added Anna.
“You could hardly be blamed if you did. From what I have heard, your older sister’s marriage was a fairytale come true.”
“Trust me, there were quite a few bumps along the road to happiness,” she quipped, thinking of the helter-pelter carriage chase that took Olivia and Wrexham across half of England.
“What about you, mademoiselle?” asked Josette after straightening the brushes and pinbox on the dressing table. “Do you expect to be happy in your choice of a husband?”
“I…I haven’t really given the question much thought,” she answered after a moment of hesitation.
Her maid let out a low snort. “Every woman thinks of that.”
“What I meant was, until recently, I had a duty to my family to make a good match. Happiness was not part of the equation.”
“But now you may choose whom you please?”
Anna forced a light laugh. “Perhaps things are done differently in France, but here in England, it is the gentleman who chooses, not the lady.”
“Ah, oui, it is still the same in France, no matter that Napoleon has changed many traditions. But you know what I meant.”
Rather than answer, she made a show of rising and shaking out her skirts. “I had better change out of this dusty gown. The hour is later than I thought, and I ought to begin dressing for supper. Which color would you suggest for tonight—the smoky emerald or the seafoam blue?”
“Hmmm.” Josette regarded her thoughtfully as she tapped a finger to her chin. “Your mood seems pensive, and perhaps a little dark. So I would advise you to wear the emerald.”
“You did not wish to join in the slaughter of birds today, Lord Davenport?”
Devlin turned as the Vicomte de Verdemont, Lady de Blois’s overfed brother-in-law, joined him at the head of the grand staircase. “I was feeling a trifle lazy, so I decided to spend my day doing nothing more strenuous than viewing some of the earl’s magnificent art collections.”
“Ah, yes. You are the one who so nobly offered your services as a guide to Marie-Helene.” Sarcasm further slurred Verdemont’s voice as they started down the stairs. He had already started drinking freely of their host’s vintage French brandy, judging by a whiff of his breath. “I hope the demands of my sister-in-law were not too strenuous. She can be a bit demanding.”
“I always endeavor to rise to the occasion when it presents itself,” answered Devlin with a deliberate grin. “However, la comtesse was still too distraught over the loss of her bauble to stir from her quarters.” A wink. “Perhaps tomorrow.”
Verdemont’s nostrils flared in irritation.
“You do not sound overly fond of shooting,” Devlin went on. “Are you not an avid hunter?”
“I can think of more civilized ways to pass the time.”
Like trying to seduce your wife’s sister? wondered Devlin. Aloud he responded, “So why accept the invitation? The rough-hewn moors of Scotland offer little in the way of civilized pleasures.”
“I might ask the same of you, Lord Davenport.”
“Oh, I’m a keen sportsman,” he replied. “When the moment is right, I am ready to—”