The Dupree's Manor was much more quaint and cozy than Elsick House, yet the guests were about as welcoming as the medieval weaponry. The majority of the guests were upper-class acquaintances of the Duprees, who lived in neighboring towns. According to Margaret, most were also going to be guests at Eliza's ball. Everyone had dressed to impress, but the jewels and extravagance felt too opulent for the small manor house they were currently dining in. She was also unsure how the Duprees managed to be connected to so many socialites of the beau monde, but if they were good enough for Lady Henry, they were good enough for her.
The sixteen guests were currently seated around a long formal dining table with conversation barely above a murmur. Soft candlelight helped create a cozy mood with only a wide chandelier at the center of the room casting artificial light. Eliza unfortunately, was sat in a shadowy corner to the left of Margaret, while Colin was seated closer to Lord Dupree at the far end of the dining room, charming him with his detective tales.
Eliza felt that every time the conversation shifted to her, she was suddenly anxious to deliver correct answers. Margaret broke protocol by steering to topics that were not on the Dupree's approved list of topics of conversation by asking Eliza about where she grew up, what her lineage was, how her father received his title and what she did in her spare time. She didn't feel their conservation had the same politeness that Margaret extended to Mrs. Marston on her right. Eliza heard them mutter about theater they had seen in London, yet Margaret never gave Eliza the opportunity to speak of the Opera. Only how she occupied her time and why she had needed to go through three seasons to find a husband with no siblings to marry off first. According to Margaret, Eliza had beauty and was the daughter of an Earl, there had to be a reason men avoided her dance card for so long. Eliza didn't want to bring up Evan or her childhood here as it was hard enough for her to open up to Colin. She didn't need every word dissected and scrutinized by his nosy aunt and she was sure Lady Henry would reach for smelling salts if she discovered Eliza's London nickname.
When the empty crème brûlèe dishes are whisked away, anxious energy fills the cozy room. The guests know what is to come and suddenly the sèance is all anyone wishes to discuss. Apparently, Margaret and Lady Dupree are the only ones who have met a clairvoyant, both having done so this summer in Paris. The majority of the men are assuming it will all be trickery, with several of the women adamantly denying they'll be hoodwinked. Eliza sat uncomfortable, refraining from giving her opinion until Colin found her as they entered the game room.
His hand slipped through hers as the guests were herded across the hall, into a room that was hardly bigger than the dining room. They crossed into the room through wide double doors and were greeted with dark emerald wallpaper and gold sconces with dimmed lighting.
"I apologize for the seating arrangements. I never thought you'd be left alone with my aunt for so long," Colin says quietly in her ear.
Eliza waves a hand covered in a cream silk glove at him, "Our time in Nottinghamshire is supposed to be about meeting your family and having them get to know me. I only worry your aunt's opinion of me will be etched in stone once she discovers I am known as Crazy Eliza in some social circles." Colin purses his lips together and as he leads her to the wide circular table that dominates the room he adds, "You know I don't give a fig about London's half-wits. I promise you, my mother won't either." Eliza knows he's attempting to cheer her up, but he didn't add Lady Henry to the people who don't give a fig. "If at any time you'd like to leave, all you have to do is squeeze my hand. We are under no obligation to stay if this will make you uncomfortable."
"I'll admit that I am a bit weary. I fear death has been hovering over me since Evan. I don't know if I should be welcoming it into a room with me."
"I believe it is all a trick, my darling. A bit of entertainment to pass the time in the countryside," Colin tells her and Eliza knows he isn't convinced of the medium's abilities in the slightest. Eliza isn't as cynical at the moment.
Colin leads her to the wooden chairs closest to the French doors that lead to the terrace and waits to drop into his until Eliza is settled. She notices the other guests are still holding their champagne glasses and she moves closer to Colin and whispers, "I left my sherry and the butler is tending to the men. It will be faster to go retrieve it myself."
"You will do no such thing. I will get you a fresh glass," Colin tells her before pushing his chair out and sauntering off to the drink cart across the room. Eliza looks around her and the energy is still buzzing compared to the polite chatter while dining. She notices there are three chairs unaccounted for, two next to each other while the other is next to the older man that sniffed Eliza's hair while waiting to get into the dining room. Colin warned her to stay away from Mr. Hartwig and she noticed his lingering gaze several times throughout dinner. He apparently owns the neighboring estate to the Dupree's and will also be a guest at her ball.
Everyone's focus suddenly goes to the opening of the game room door that sits across from the drink cart. A stunning, raven-haired woman has all of the guests oogling, and Eliza wonders who the latecomer is. At first, Eliza thinks she is the medium, but the woman draped in gold and crimson silk appears to be a guest when no one stops to announce her. Eliza continues to watch the young woman take in the room and then greet Lady Dupree. Her brilliant blue eyes wander around the space and freeze when she spots something across the room. Eliza follows the stunner's gaze and her heart stops when she realizes she's locked eyes with shocked Colin. Eliza watches her dash off toward him, but Colin takes a step back, knocking into Mr. Dupree. She's too far away to hear the words that leave the woman's mouth, but Colin quickly shakes her off and heads back toward his fiancèe. Eliza's eyes never leave the woman and Mr. Hartwig is quickly placing her hand across his elbow.
When Colin is seated beside her again, he hands Eliza her sherry but won't meet her eyes. After taking a sip, she quietly says, "We have about thirty seconds before Lady Dupree dims the rest of the lights. I suggest you use every one of them to tell me what just occurred over there." Colin looks at her but his lips don't move. She raises her thin eyebrow at him, encouraging him to say something. Anything at all.
"That is Cecilia Cameron. Mr. Hartwig's date," Colin answers, and anger flares through Eliza. He is withholding the information she truly seeks and he knows it.
"What is her relation to you?" Eliza asks, trying to keep any bite from her voice. Trying to achieve simple curiosity rather than an interrogation. Colin refuses to meet her eyes again and she feels sick. She was already nervous about the entertainment and now there is a beautiful woman here with a connection to her fiancè.
