It was the morning of the ball and Eliza could hear her housekeeper humming a merry tune. Her nerves finally settled in and she knew not what to do with herself. She could pretend she was still sleeping, but Bertha would come in her room every day at the same time to bring her tea and tend to her dressing. Things she should have been used to by now but she never did understand why people couldn’t dress themselves. If they only made these garments simple, which albeit they did, but her family expected her to dress befitting her station. She supposed she could deviate from such sentiments as she was a widow, but she maintained the image as expected.

Her door opened and she was stunned to find Madeline had brought an entire tray of breakfast for her.

“I figured with today being incredibly important you should ease into your day, mistress. You will more than likely be up most of the night and we think you should keep yourself rested.”

Eliza appreciated her housekeeper’s thoughtfulness, but to assume she would be up for the whole evening was preposterous. It was a country assembly, not one of those society balls where everyone was expected to stay until the wee hours of the morning.

She could not stay in bed all day. Good heavens, she would go mad.

“I will take my breakfast now, but I would like to go for a stroll in a bit to pass the time. I have no idea when Lord Radcliffe will arrive to collect me for the ball but I imagine it will be after supper.”

“Very well, mistress. I will be along shortly to collect your tray. Would you like the blue morning dress or the peridot one?”

“The blue would suit for today.”

Eliza ate, dressed and stepped outside into the lovely June weather. The sun shone high above with no clouds in sight except for the odd wispy one. Her walk did not take her far until she saw a carriage driving up the lane.

Honestly, did the man not think this was far too early to arrive? Upon closer inspection, she saw it was not a carriage, but someone driving a cart. She had no idea who it was. When it stopped, a man came down and walked around to the back and pulled out an enormous bundle of flowers.

The man came up the path and paused before her. “Excuse me but I am looking for Lady Winston. Can you tell me where I can find her?” The man, who appeared well into his years with silver hair and spectacles, smiled.

“I am Lady Winston.”

“These flowers are for you from his lordship, and if you give me a few more moments, I have something else in the cart for you.”

“Let me take those for you, my lady.” Her housekeeper shouted from the door. “My goodness, they are lovely. I do believe your earl is up to something, if you catch my meaning.”

Eliza blushed, unsure why her housekeeper was so positive about her hunches. As her housekeeper took the flowers indoors, the man returned to her with a parcel wrapped in paper and ribbon.

“Good heavens! One would think it was Christmas come six months early. Thank you, sir.”

“A good day to you, my lady.”

She watched the old man drive back toward London. What on earth was Evan up to? Eliza shook her head and returned indoors where the scents of hot house roses, lilies and peonies wafted and surrounded her sitting room.

Eliza sat down in her chair by the fireplace and opened the parcel to discover a pair of gloves, a fan, and a silk bag with some weight. When she poured the contents of the bag onto her lap, she could not believe her eyes; it was the most elegant strand of pearls she had ever seen.

The man had clearly lost his wits and went above and beyond what was expected. There was no reason why he gifted her so, or was there? Was this all a part of a scheme to make her his mistress, or was this his way of letting her down after the assembly?

Tears began to stream down her face. The warm and salty tears dripped from her cheek.

“Dearie me, my lady. Whatever is the matter?” The housekeeper entered the room.

“I cannot make any sense of all his gifts. Not even my late husband presented me with such gifts.”

“Well, I do not imagine he would have. The bugger was ready to keel over. Your parents had no business passing you off like that. It is just as well. If anything can be said about the way the earl is lavishing you with gifts, it is because he is in love with you. Something I wager, you will have to become accustomed to.”

Her housekeeper dabbed Eliza’s cheeks to wipe away the tears. “Mistress, you will be the belle of the assembly tonight. Everyone will want to meet your earl and they will be seeking an introduction with you, if they have not met you before. I admit that the Earl of Chisholm has possibly gone out of his way to make the two of you stand out at the ball, but one cannot blame him for the whole of the world to see how much he adores you.”

“Do you really think so, Madeline?”

“I do.

Eliza could not fathom how this evening was going to go, nor could she anticipate if there were any more surprises up his sleeve. She counted herself blessed and fortunate for having met the man who rescued her never thinking their friendship would turn into anything more.

If only her family could see her now, though she did not imagine they would think much of her situation. If her own sister would not write to her, or even attend her husband’s funeral, it was just as well they had given up on her. In the end, her solitude gave her much peace.

“My lady, we really should begin to get ready. Your hair may take some time to pin up.”

“An excellent point, Madeline. How do you suppose I should wear it?”

“You do have some hair pins we can play around with so, if you wish, we can take some time now to try it a few different ways before the looking glass.”

Eliza could not wait to see Evan, in truth, but a fraction of her soul was terribly frightened what people would say when they saw her at the assembly tonight. They would all speculate Evan’s intentions and a part of her was not ready for what tonight would bring.

They debated for over an hour and finally decided on her hair pulled back with several curls off to the sides cascading down, much like the ball a week ago, best suited the hair pins Madeline found in storage.

In truth, she had not seen the pins since the estate she and her husband lived in. Upon learning she was moving into the family cottage, Eliza had requested items that would not be a daily reminder of her husband. She had various volumes brought from the main house that she enjoyed most and his son did not mind in letting her retain a few keepsakes as his new bride did not care much for reading anyways.

Life here at Briar cottage was decidedly more simpler and Eliza had an inkling that after tonight, all would change.