Read Online The Darcy Connection by Elizabeth Aston - Free Book Online

that Charlotte’s beauty deserved to be shown off.
    â€œUnfashionable? Downright dowdy, if you’ll forgive me, Miss. Have you nothing else?”
    A quick scurry through her clothes left Annie shaking her head, and Eliza feeling more unsure of herself than she would have believed possible.
    â€œIt is only a gown,” she found herself saying. “And this one”—she made a dive for a particular favourite, the dress she had been wearing when Anthony first kissed her—“what is wrong with this?”
    Annie wrinkled her nose. “It’s hard to say what’s right with it.” She came to a decision. “Put on your wrap again, and have your chocolate in here, while I see what I can do with this one.”
    And before Eliza could protest, Annie had hurried out of the room, a muslin gown that Eliza had never liked clasped in her hands.
    Eliza sipped the thick, delicious chocolate, a luxury unheard of at the Palace, and thought about her wardrobe. Annie’s reaction was extreme, there must be plenty of simply dressed young women in London.
    Then she looked around the room and, with a sinking heart, knew that Annie was right. In London, yes. In the quiet suburb she had stayed in as a child, her gowns might pass muster. In these surroundings she was going to appear ridiculous.
    Well, that was how it would be. There was nothing she could do about it. Her mother had been insistent on that point. Her going to London was not in the nature of a treat. She had behaved badly, had been all too forward with a young man, and must be aware that in her father’s eyes she had disgraced herself.
    Disgraced, because she loved Anthony?
    In particular, she must be a good girl, her mother had continued, and not expect the same treatment as would be granted to Charlotte. “It was never my aunt’s intention that you should do a season in London, and you must accustom yourself to not leading quite the same life as Charlotte will. Of course, you will go to some parties and so on, I am sure, but you will not be invited to the dances and balls and assemblies that Lady Grandpoint will take Charlotte to.”
    â€œDon’t you think people will find it strange, my sitting at home in the cinders?” Eliza had said. “At twenty, it will be hard to pretend I am still in the schoolroom, and not yet out.”
    â€œCinders, indeed! You will find that the Grandpoints treat you very well, it is simply that we all have expectations for Charlotte, so beautiful as she is. And if she were to make a good match, then that must have advantages for you as well, remember that. She is lucky to have such a generous godmother.”
    â€œIt is a shame my godmother has so many children of her own, in that case,” said Eliza, laughing, for she far preferred her own sparkling godmother to Lady Grandpoint.
    â€œThere, now, you take everything as a cause for amusement. I warn you to watch your tongue, for these manners and habits of yours will not do in London at all!”
    â€œIt will not matter if they do or don’t do, if I’m to live such a confined life as you suggest.”
    Well, shabby gowns or no shabby gowns, Eliza was determined she was going to make the most of what London had to offer. She hoped Annie was a walker, since she suspected she wouldn’t be allowed out unaccompanied. She intended to explore the city and see all the marvels that she had only read about or heard described at second hand. The river, the Tower of London, the monuments, and pictures and famous buildings. Then there would be all the books she could possibly want to read. She was determined to pay for a subscription to one of London’s famous circulating libraries.
    Annie was back, the gown held high. Eliza blinked. What had the girl done to it? It was hard to tell exactly; the sleeves had been altered, the neckline was different, and, when she put it on, it fitted much better than before.
    â€œYou