She’d shed tears on the sympathetic shoulders of her friends. Fi had suggested taking a break from Hadleigh. Since it was the rare instance in Livy’s life when she did not know what else to do, she’d agreed. Allowing her mind to spin like the wheels of a stuck carriage was miring her deeper and deeper into despair. If she could not have her heart’s true desire, then she would focus on her second love: adventure.
The butler deposited the girls in the drawing room, a chamber papered in blue silk and furnished with warm woods and goldenrod velvet. Small niches throughout the room displayed alabaster statues of Greek goddesses. It was an ideal setting for their hostess, who glided over to meet them.
“Welcome, Willflowers.” Charlie greeted each girl warmly in turn. “I am delighted that you decided to join me today.”
“But not surprised,” Livy said.
Charlie smiled. “No, not surprised.”
Livy had the impression that her hostess was rarely caught off guard. Although Charlie looked every inch the society lady in her ivory walking dress embroidered with a pattern of flowering vines along the hem, pearl pins studding her honey-gold hair, there was a shrewdness to her grey gaze that hinted at experience beyond tea parties and balls.
“I hope you do not mind an informal luncheon.” Charlie waved toward the sideboard, where a petite woman dressed in a bombazine gown was arranging platters of meat, cheese, and fruit. “This is Mrs. Peabody. She keeps my house—and my life—running smoothly.”
The housekeeper dipped her knees in a curtsy. She had shiny brown hair wound in a thick coil at her nape and appeared to be of mixed race, perhaps with Asian ancestry.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Livy noted that Mrs. Peabody’s bun was anchored in place by two silver hair sticks. “What lovely and unusual hair ornaments.”
“Thank you, my lady.” The housekeeper’s golden gaze gleamed. “I find them quite handy.”
“That will be all for now, Mrs. Peabody,” Charlie said pleasantly. “I shall ring if we require anything else.”
Inclining her head, the housekeeper departed.
Livy cleared her throat. “We can only evade our chaperones for a limited time. As such, we would like to know the purpose of this visit. Specifically, what the Society of Angels is all about.”
“A woman who speaks her mind. I admire that.” Charlie gave a brisk nod. “Why don’t we sit and discuss my proposition?”
They arranged themselves around the coffee table, Charlie taking the wing chair in front of the tea service. While gracefully pouring the brew into Sèvres cups, she said, “My organization is an exclusive one. I am looking to expand it, and I believe the three of you fit the bill.”
“Why would you think that?” Glory asked. “You barely know us.”
Smiling, Charlie doctored the cups with sugar and cream before distributing them, and Livy felt her eyebrows rise. How did Charlie know the exact drink preference of each of the Willflowers? She had added a splash of cream to Fi’s cup and two lumps of sugar to Glory’s. When Livy sampled her own cup, the concoction was precisely how she liked it: deliciously creamy, with a sprinkle of sugar.
“I have gone to the liberty of doing some research.” Charlie sipped her tea. “I know that the three of you have been friends for years. You attended Mrs. Southbridge’s School for Young Ladies together, where you were first dubbed the ‘Willflowers’ by Lady Sally Sackville after an incident involving her and Miss Rachel Tomlinson.”
Livy blinked. The incident had happened years ago, and she didn’t think the gossip had travelled that far. How did Charlie know all this?
“Sally Sackville was picking on Rachel just because Rachel’s papa is in trade,” Glory said, her hands balling in her lap. “She and her friends made a cruel game of reducing Rachel to tears. When we asked Sally to stop, she told us to mind our own business.”
“And the headmistress refused to step in because Sally’s papa possesses one of the most ancient titles in the land.” Fiona’s lips curled in contempt. “It was not the first time Sally used her position to torment others, either. Livy started Southbridge’s the year before Glory and I did, and during that time Sally tried to bully her. All because Livy stood up for a maid who was blamed for something that Sally did.”
“Which is why you arranged for Lady Sally to be, ahem, deluged with rubbish?” Charlie asked in neutral tones.
“To be fair, we did not deluge her with anything,” Livy said. “She and her cronies had a habit of leaving malicious notes in Rachel’s storage cupboard at school. We simply stuffed Rachel’s cupboard full of refuse, and when Sally opened the cupboard…”
Livy lifted her shoulders. No one had forced Sally to open Rachel’s cupboard, after all.
“Sally stopped harassing Rachel after that,” Fiona said. “After all, what is worse: reeking of trade…or reeking of garbage?”
“Indeed.” Charlie looked contemplative. “If I may ask, what prompted the three of you to act on Rachel’s behalf?”
“Isn’t it obvious? What Sally was doing was wrong,” Livy said with a frown. “She picked on Rachel because she knew Rachel could not fight back.”
“And Rachel is a sweet, shy girl whose so-called ‘fault’ was coming from a middle-class background.” Fi’s beautiful face was grim. “If that is a crime, then I, too, am guilty. The only reason Sally and her band of simpering simpletons did not target me is because my papa is wealthier than Rachel’s.”
As Fi’s papa was richer than Croesus and a powerful industrialist, few dared to cross him.
“While Livy’s papa and mine have titles, both our mamas came from the working class.” Glory held her slim shoulders proudly back. “In point of fact, before Mama married Papa, I helped her to collect fossils to sell at our fossils shop.”
Having witnessed Glory’s athletic feats, from fence climbing to horse riding, Livy could imagine the other girl scaling cliffs and committing other derring-do.
“And
