Page 38 of A Well-Trained Lady

Guilt pricked at me as I took notice of his tightened jaw. “Are you certain you will have no regrets?”

He shook his head. “I’m certain I will.”

I narrowed my eyes, unsure of his meaning.

“Regrets will come by either choice, but I have now sorted out which of those choices offers the regrets I can live with.” He lifted his arm to me. “Shall we?”

With a touch of hesitation, I placed my arm on his, wondering what sort of regrets I had just accepted.

Chapter Ten

“We are finished for today?” Ruth glanced at the clock. “But it’s not even two yet.”

I gave a taut nod. “But you have both done so well—”

“Done well?” Ruth gave an exaggerated pout. “I was an absolute catastrophe! I shall never be an accomplished lady.”

“Learning to pour tea correctly, especially for guests, is not an easy feat,” I replied, desperate to hurry the conversation along. “A little more practice, and you shan’t spill a drop.”

“If it is so difficult, why did Sarah accomplish it with little trouble?” Sarah’s face reddened at Ruth’s inquiry. “I’m older, yet she manages it all so much better than I. I’m utterly hopeless.”

I dropped my shoulders at the hurt in Ruth’s voice. “That is not true.”

“It is,” she whispered with a quivering chin.

I moved in close to her side. “May I share something with you? Something I have not spoken of since its occurrence?”

Ruth nodded her head with a sniffle.

“My mother had retired upstairs after a particularly tiresome caller, when an acquaintance of hers was announced and shown into the drawing room.” I drew in a quick breath to calm the constricting sensation that had settled in with the memory. “I sent word of her arrival to Mother and even had a tray brought in for tea, thinking Mother would be down soon. But when she didn’t come straightaway, I decided to take advantage of her absence, and the unlocked tea cabinet, to display my talents as a hostess.”

Both Ruth’s and Sarah’s gazes were now fixed upon me.

“I had done everything right. I remembered to ask her how strong she desired the tea. I put the leaves in first, added the milk after, and placed the spoon perfectly on the saucer. My mistake came in conveying the tea to my guest. I had very nearly made it, without a drop spilt, when my toe caught on the rug.” I paused, my heart racing as I recalled the vivid scene. “It was as if time slowed for a moment, allowing me to see the consequence of my foolishness played out for an eternity before me.”

“You spilled the tea on your guest?” Ruth whispered, lifting her hand to her mouth.

“The horror on her face as the hot liquid flew through the air toward the skirts of her expensive gown is forever seared into my memory.”

A giggle escaped Ruth, pulling me from my mortification. Both hands covered her mouth and amusement shone from her eyes. “That must have been dreadfully embarrassing.”

“It was,” I said, surprised to find a smile coming to my own lips. “And the worst part of it all was that I had not only dampened my guest and stained her gown, but that my guest happened to be a very influential countess.”

Both ladies glanced wide-eyed at each other before breaking into laughter.

The sound beckoned for me to join them and, when I did, years of hidden shame dissipated into the air around me. “So, you must not be so hard on yourself, my dearest. Until you have poured tea on a countess, I will not hear of your hopelessness.”

Ruth’s smile was so brilliant it radiated warmth through me. “Thank you, Bella.”

I touched her hand. “Now go. I shall see you both at dinner.”

Ruth took hold of Sarah. “Can we stop by to see Cook before heading upstairs? All that interaction with tea and no cakes has left me ravenous.”

I grinned at her ridiculousness, but for once I had no desire to correct her for it. I watched the ladies walk from the room before retrieving the bonnet I’d placed out of view on the under shelf of a small table. I glanced at the clock one last time before hurrying to the garden.

“I do hope you have not waited long,” I called as Augustus came into view.

He stepped to greet me. “Some things are said to be worth the wait.”