Once Upon a Wallflower

She cleared her throat as she composed herself. She could think of no other way to extract information from Mrs. Thomas than to ask for it outright. Such a bold move made her nervous, but she comforted herself by noting the worst that could happen was that Mrs. Thomas would decline to answer and be so offended she would throw Mira out of the house and refuse to receive her ever again—and Mira had been scorned by far more intimidating women than the tiny Mrs. Thomas.

Steeling herself, Mira inquired, “Mrs. Thomas, you do not happen to know who Tegen Quick had found as a protector, do you?”

Mrs. Thomas raised one eyebrow in a look of knowing amusement. “No, dear, I do not. Wouldn’t that be handy if she had confided in me? I am afraid all I know is the man in question was older than Tegen and my Charles, and he had more money than we did. Now, Tegen Quick had never been beyond Upper Bidwell, to the best of my knowledge. And, well, I do not mean to be boastful, but the only people in this area with more money than we have, well, that would be Lord Blackwell and his family. But that just makes no sense at all, now does it?”

Mira shook her head in polite agreement, even though she knew it was a lie. It made perfect sense to Mrs. Thomas, just as it made perfect sense to Mira. Whoever Tegen Quick had been involved with was a denizen of Blackwell Hall.

The relative quiet of the parlor was shattered by the sound of a door slamming followed by the tromp of feet and the loud, excited voices of young girls. It seemed Mary, Elizabeth, and Ellie had returned home, and, if the laughter punctuating their clamor was any indication, they were in high spirits indeed.

“If you will excuse me, Mrs. Thomas,” Mira said with a smile, “I believe I have imposed upon your hospitality too much already, and it sounds as though you have other matters to attend to now. It has been a pleasure meeting you. Most enlightening. But I should really be going now.” She stood and pulled her shawl closer around her shoulders.

Mrs. Thomas also stood, coming barely to Mira’s shoulder when she did so. “It has been a pleasure meeting you, as well, Miss Fitzhenry.” She cocked her head back to give Mira one final weighty look. “You be certain not to be a stranger, and, remember, should you ever need a sympathetic ear or some motherly advice, I am just a short walk away.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Thomas,” Mira said, deeply touched by the warmth extended by this funny little woman.

Mira was surprised to find Nicholas and the others just emerging from the milliner’s when she arrived. Whatever they saw in that tiny shop, they seemed to have bought. Bella danced about in jubilant circles, overflowing with the joy of her purchases, which Jeremy gallantly carried. Kitty edged around the young man her arms extended as though ready to catch any precariously perched packages Jeremy managed to lose. Even silent Phoebe held a small package grasped tightly between her gloved hands, and her face was alight with uncharacteristic excitement.

Nicholas brought up the rear of the shopping party. He looked weary, and his limp was decidedly more pronounced.

With Jeremy concentrating on holding all of the packages, and the women still flushed with the excitement of their purchases, Mira managed to join the group without anyone but Nicholas seeming to notice.

She cast a questioning smile at Nicholas as she fell into step with him.

He gave her a small salute. “The battle was a long one, but I can safely say that every plume and ribbon in Upper Bidwell is now ours. In the name of God and country and fashion, the milliner has been defeated.”

Chapter Twelve

The mood at the dinner table bordered on pleasant. Bella rattled endlessly about the fripperies she had found at the milliner, while Jeremy and Phoebe, who had been at her side during her entire shopping excursion, listened with good-natured resignation and the occasional polite expression of interest.

Lords Marleston and Blackwell were debating the merits of various lines of bloodstock, and George Fitzhenry nodded along with a look of intense concentration, as though he were in the thick of things.

Kitty Fitzhenry was busy offering sage advice to Lady Marleston about the ins and outs of a girl’s first Season, Kitty having just completed Bella’s and Lady Marleston preparing for Phoebe’s.