CHAPTER 10
"What took you so long?" Evelina said queerly to her mother having managed to get downstairs before her.
"My hair needed a lot of work, I suppose. The girls were at it for an awfully long time," Breanna said as she took her place beside her in the carriage.
That line would have worked, Evelina thought secretly as the horses were spurred into action. It would have worked, had she not overheard the Countess's brutally honest conversation with the Earl in his office.
"What about father?"
"He couldn't make it, I'm afraid."
"Father can't make it? I thought Peggy mentioned in passing his early return to the house?" Evelina spoke quietly and carefully.
"The Earl has his own affairs to settle," Breanna said, her tone edgy.
"What's more important than honouring the royal invitation?" Evelina pressed her question, not caring that she was wading into troubled waters.
