Sins

‘You’ll never guess what I heard last night at Lucy Carstairs’ supper party, Emerald. The Duke of Kent is spending virtually every weekend in Yorkshire visiting Katharine Worsley, only it’s all supposed to be very hush-hush at the moment, because no one’s supposed to know officially that he’s seeing her. Poor you, Emerald, and you thought that he would fall for you. No wonder he won’t be at your ball tonight; he’s far too busy in Yorkshire.’ Gwendolyn tittered in malicious satisfaction as she dropped her bombshell.

She might be seething inside but Emerald wasn’t going to give Gwendolyn the satisfaction of seeing that. Instead she forced a smile and told her lightly, ‘Oh, yes, I know all about Miss Worsley. The duke mentioned her to me.’

‘But, Emerald, you were going to marry him,’ Lydia protested. ‘How can he be seeing someone else?’

‘Perhaps His Royal Highness didn’t know about Emerald’s plans for his future,’ Gwendolyn suggested. ‘What a shame, Emerald. You aren’t going to be a princess now after all.’

‘What makes you think that? The Duke of Kent isn’t the only prince in the world, you know,’ Emerald pointed out sharply, whilst a horrid feeling of anxiety gripped her stomach. If what Gwendolyn was saying was true–and Emerald knew that it must be–then she had made a complete fool of herself and pretty soon, thanks to Gwendolyn’s wagging tongue, everyone would know that. If there was one thing Emerald couldn’t bear, it was being made to look a fool. All she could hope was that by some miracle Gwendolyn would not say anything about her boast that she would marry the Duke of Kent. But she certainly wasn’t going to beg her not to do so; Gwendolyn would love that.

The three girls were standing together in their ball gowns of which, naturally, Emerald’s was the most outstanding. It was the custom that débutantes’ ball gowns were either white or the very palest colour, but whilst Lydia and Gwendolyn were both wearing white, Emerald’s gown was silver gauze over a lilac silk underdress, the silver gauze sewn with sequins that caught the light from the ballroom’s chandeliers.

‘Mummy says that it’s definitely going to be the ball of the season,’ Lyddy confided excitedly to Emerald. ‘Oh, look, there’s Dougie.’

Before Emerald could stop her she had waved him over, greeting him with a hug and telling him, ‘Oh Dougie, you do look smart in your evening clothes, doesn’t he, Emerald?’

As she opened her mouth to say that, no he didn’t, Emerald realised with a small jolt of shock that in fact Lydia was right: unexpectedly Dougie did look smart.

‘Any fool can buy himself a decent suit,’ she responded, ‘but that doesn’t turn him into a gentleman.’

‘Oh, Emerald, that isn’t fair,’ Lydia objected, but Dougie laughed and shook his head.

‘It’s all right, Lyddy,’ he told the younger girl. ‘I don’t want to be a gentleman.’

‘That’s just as well because you never will be one,’ Emerald snapped. Why didn’t he go away? She hated having him standing there, towering over her.

Emerald certainly looked the part tonight, Dougie acknowledged. And there was no doubt whose ball it was, even though officially the occasion was supposed to be for all three girls. Dougie felt rather sorry for Gwendolyn, who had already confided to him that Emerald wasn’t always as kind to her as she might be.

‘Emerald is in a dreadful strop,’ Gwendolyn informed him, giving Emerald a sly look. ‘She was expecting the Duke of Kent to be here. She wants to marry him because that will make her a duchess, but he’s seeing someone else.’

Emerald decided that she had never hated anyone as much as she hated Gwendolyn right now, not even Rose.

‘Sounds like he made a wise move not being here,’ Dougie responded casually over the sound of Emerald’s exhaled breath.

‘Did you hear that, Emerald?’ Gwendolyn demanded. ‘Dougie thinks the duke is right not to want to marry you.’

Dougie groaned inwardly. He had really gone and put his foot in it now. Emerald’s eyes were glittering with fury as she looked from his face to Gwendolyn’s.

Lyddy, as always oblivious to the undercurrents going on around her, exclaimed sympathetically, ‘It’s such a shame that he didn’t come, Emerald, especially when you wanted him to so much. But Dougie’s here and he can dance with you instead. Oh!’ She looked at them both excitedly. ‘I’ve just thought, wouldn’t it be the most romantic thing if you ended up falling in love with one another and getting married? You would be a duchess then, Emerald, and—’

‘Marry him, an Australian farmer?’ Emerald’s voice was icy with contempt. ‘Never.’

Dougie had had enough. He had his pride, after all. ‘Too right,’ he agreed, deliberately thickening his Australian accent. ‘Not that there’s a chance in hell of my ever asking you to marry me. No wonder the Duke of Kent isn’t here. I don’t blame him. A bloke would have to be desperate to marry you, Emerald.’

Emerald turned on her heel and stalked off, leaving Lyddy looking upset and flustered, whilst Gwendolyn was tittering.

‘Emerald, I’d like a word with you.’

Emerald glowered at her mother, who was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs as she came down from her bedroom where she had gone to smoke a cigarette and reapply her lipstick. Emerald could guess what was coming from the unusually stern tone of her mother’s voice, as she drew her to one side of the ballroom so that they could talk privately, out of earshot of their guests.

‘What’s all this nonsense I’ve been hearing about you boasting that you are going to marry the Duke of Kent?’

Emerald knew who to blame. ‘I suppose Gwendolyn’s said something, has she?’ She gave a dismissive shrug. ‘It was just a joke, but Gwendolyn took it seriously. She’s so silly.’

‘Perhaps, but I’m afraid you could easily find that your joke has backfired on you, Emerald. Now, whilst you’re here I’d like to remind you what I said about your attitude towards Dougie. Your lack of kindness towards him reflects more badly on you than it does on him, you know, and I shouldn’t be surprised, should you continue to behave as you are doing, if by the end of the season you are a very unpopular girl indeed. I really am disappointed in you, Emerald. When you were growing up I tried to teach you how important it is to be kind to those who have less than you do.’

‘You mean by pushing Rose in front of me all the time and fussing over her as though she was your daughter and not me? Why should I be kind to someone like her? She’s just Uncle Greg’s bastard by his Chinese mistress. I’m the daughter of a duke.’

Her mother was doing it again: making her feel small and insignificant, and trying to humiliate her. Well, she would show her that she was better than her, she would show them all.