Page 29 of Miss Vincent’s Vow
“I can’t be bothered with such a waste of time. The visits are pointless. Nothing of any import is discussed, and you know the visitor no better at the end than you did when they arrived. What, then, is the purpose?”
“If you wish to be received as a gentleman, you need to conform to the niceties of society.”
“And if I don’t want to conform?”
Cassandra let out an exasperated sigh. “I thought you wished to be accepted into society.”
His wife had a point. That was, after all, why he had married her, wasn’t it? Why was it such a struggle to embrace her gentle guidance? It wasn’t as if she was lording it over him.
Perhaps it was because it made him feel helpless. If he had taken the time to learn how to conduct himself in polite company, he would not now be on the receiving end of instruction. But he had never seen the point.
He shouldn’t need her help. His grip on his life was slipping, and he disliked the sensation. Cassandra should be looking to him for direction, not the other way around.
Jethro enjoyed taking care of her, even if she didn’t appreciate it. He wasn’t so keen on the idea of her taking care of him. He shouldn’t need it.
“Well?” she said, her voice a little less certain than it had been a few moments before. “Do you wish to be accepted into society? That is why you married me, isn’t it? To help you?”
Jethro grunted. “What’s the hurry? Mr Wade has delayed his visit until June.”
“If the thought of mixing in polite company makes you feel this uncomfortable, we need all the time we can get.”
Jethro grunted again. Why did she have to be right?
“Will you let me help you?”
“What must I do?” he said in a resigned tone.
“We need to go through the cards that have been left for us, and decide which acquaintances we wish to keep up. Everyone gets a card in reply, but only those with whom we wish to further our relationship are invited to call. After we’ve received them, we must return their visits.”
Jethro frowned. He did not like the sound of visitors disturbing his routine. “I doubt I can spare the time for that.”
“Then marrying me was a waste of time,” she said, her voice catching on the last phrase. “I cannot help you if you won’t be helped.”
“It was not a waste of time marrying you,” he said, desperate to bring the smile back to her face. “See how much you’ve helped me already? I’ll try. That’s the best I can promise. Let’s go through that pile of cards now.”
He rang the bell, and the footman brought the silver salver that sat on the hall table which had upward of twenty cards sitting on it.
He started flicking through them, and as he read out the names, Cassandra wrote them down.
“Miss Seymour from the school on St Mary Street. Mr Barnes, the curate. Mr and Mrs Gibbons, the sexton and his wife. Mr and Mrs Fisher?”
“The dressmaker and her husband. Mrs Fisher is a particular friend of mine.”
“But not the kind of company I wish my wife to keep. That is one acquaintance you would do well to drop. You can’t convince me that a lady is normally on visiting terms with her dressmaker.”
He made to move on, but Cassandra interrupted him.
“Whilst I would agree with you in principle, Jethro, the situation is unusual. As my dressmaker, Mrs Fisher would not expect a visit, but as the wife of an Earl’s son, she most certainly would.”
“Mr Fisher is the son of an Earl? I didn’t realise. Why on earth? Forget it. I don’t need to know. Mrs Frampton?”
“Much as I would like to cut her, it would cause more talk than if we continued on our previous familiar footing. Though the fault was hers, I worry that the broken engagement reflects poorly on Xander.”
“I’m inclined to agree, though I have no wish for my wife to mingle with such a shallow individual. It would be unwise to risk offending my rival. Add her to the list.”
As the salver emptied, the list grew longer. Only a few required no more than a card. Did he really have to entertain all these people? The thought made his spirits sink.
He could not afford to spend so many hours away from his business. Was becoming a gentleman really worth the time?
