"Oh my" the widowed baroness exclaimed in factitious display of concern.
"Could it be that the miss does not know?"
The hand covering her lips did not completely hide the condecending grin.
"What a predicament" the second older lady joined in" Miss Ainsworth deserves to know, but is it truly our place to tell her?"
The other's looked stiff and unsure of what to do but Amelia found herself not being not nervous but rather annoyed by the women's contionus attempts at breaking her facade.
She feigned a downtrotten sigh and gently placed her cup on the table.
"If you are referring to the marqiuis' involvement with my family's sentencing I am aware of it..."
She trailed off and let the tense silence that followed linger for a moment.
"He and my father were close friends before. What my father did was abborrent but I still viewed Lord Radford's actions as a bertayal at first."
Amelia gauged their reactions from beneath her eyelashes and noticed that the older women did not hide their disappointment well.
'They must have been itching to reveal the news to me in front of everyone' she thought.
"When I met him at the banquet however, I realised that I still view him as my last remaining family. Even though I mourn my family's deaths I cannot resent the marquis, because he did the right thing in the end despite personal sentiments. Although my heart still aches I truly do not want to resent him, who was my father's best friend in life and a person who was always kind to me."
She was amazed at her own acting skills as even madam Spencer wore a look of slight although still noticeable guilt on her face.
Charlotte was the first to speak.
"Thank you for telling us this. Let us hope that the misconception has been properly cleared with this."
She subtly turned her gaze towards lady Spencer.
"Y-yes, indeed. The miss is of course most welcome to celebrate my husband as well. That way it would become clear to everyone else, no?" Madam Spencer exclaimed and glanced nervously towards Charlotte. Whether it was in an attempt to simply keep up appearances Amelia did not care.
"Are you certain? I do not want to step on anyone's toes."
"O-of course. We would be delighted to have you there."
"Thank you, it is rather I who am delighted to attend. If it's not a bother madam, could you tell me more of what it is that we're celebrating?"
With this the older women seemed to have realised their defeat, at least for now. Amelia listened intently for any additional useful information as Spencer proudly spoke of her husband's various successes, though she soon realised that she wouldn't achieve anything more than she already had by staying.
She engaged in the conversation for only for a bit longer before finally deciding to take her leave. Although her precense seemed to only be accepted by Rosemary and Charlotte the atmosphere had at least become a bit lighter than before and the other's seemed to have become a bit more tolerating of her participation.
Amelia had just finished giving her greetings to the ladies when Rosemary rose from her seat.
"If you don't mind I will see you off."
" Of course I don't mind lady Bogarte. Thank you for the consideration."
Rosemary walked silently next to her. At first Amelia had thought that she had something to say to her, but perhaps it was only a common courtesy that Amelia had not learned of. As the chatter from the gathering became more distant behind them Amelia felt herself being more relaxed, although Rosemary did not seem to be as comfortable with the silence as she was.
By the entrance stood the maid that had greeted Amelia when she first arrived. The woman wore the same tense expression as before but her face softened when she noticed that the lady of the house was accompanying Amelia.
"Lady Bogarte, did the gathering go well?"
"Thank you for asking, it did. Since my guest is prepared to leave could you please notify her escort?"
"Of course" the maid answered and respectfully handed Amelia her jacket.
Watching the woman leave Amelia was amazed by the subtle yet notably sudden change of attitude.
"I want to thank you once more for accepting my invitation, I do hope you have a comfortable travel home" Rosemary turned to Amelia, wearing the sort of impersonal yet polite smile that was the most befitting of a hostess.
"Thank you, I had a pleasant time."
"Did you really? My guests were certainly not their most courteous. I apologize for that."
"Don't mind it lady Bogarte, rather it was only to be expected given my background."
Although the smile remained on the lady's face she seemed to fumble with her hands.
"Will you excuse me as well? I put you in an uncomfortable position more than once due to my nervousness didn't I?"
"Of course, I know you meant no harm by it. More than that I am thankful that you gave me the opportunity to become acquainted with the ladies."
Rosemary did not seem to believe her words but did not inquire any further.
"Then I suppose we will meet at the celebration miss Ainsworth, if not before that."
"Yes, I will be looking forward to it."