Miss Taygete’s Sweet Sister’s Society Read online

  On the other side of the room was another couch where she found her sisters sitting with Genie, a blonde woman who resembled Lorena, and another raven-haired woman with blue eyes. Maura and Alice.

  Taygete fell into a wingback chair on the other side of the room as the women began to talk over one another. Besides her sisters, there were eight women in total and all of them were gorgeous. They were all also very opinionated. There was talk of ballroom etiquette and then the mention of schedules for parties and routs and which one would benefit the three sisters the most. Taygete began to feel the floor slipping from under her.

  Genie, who was closest to her, leaned over and whispered, “Don’t worry. We’re like this every day, but never fear, the Sisterhood will ensure that you all find the perfect matches.”

  Taygete had no idea what the ‘sisterhood’ entailed or why Genie had said it as though Taygete should know. Either way, she decided it was time she cut in. “But you all have this all wrong. We are only looking for husbands for Electra and Alcyone.”

  Genie tilted her head. “What do you mean? Are you married?”

  “No, and I don’t plan to.”

  Genie stared at her and then her shoulders shook right before she let out a peal of laughter, gaining everyone’s attention.

  Lorena frowned at her. “Genie, what’s so funny? Don’t keep the joke to yourself.”

  There were tears in Genie’s eyes as she fought to find her words. “Oh… Miss Taygete has declared herself a spinster.”

  There were collective gasps from the rest of the room and then more laughter.

  Taygete frowned and found her sisters doing the same.

  “Why is that funny?” Electra asked on her behalf.

  Lorena took a deep breath and said, “Because, dear, we’re all Spinsters.”

  Electra looked around and some sort of understanding took place. She covered her mouth. “Oh, you’re the Spinsters.”

  Taygete was still confused, as was Alcyone.

  “Spinsters?” Alcyone looked at Genie. “I thought you said you were married.”

  “I am,” Genie said. “But I’m also a Spinster.”

  “You’re the Spinsters’ Society,” Electra said and glanced around the room. “I didn’t know you’d grown. The last installment in the papers never said so.”

  Something about those words brought to mind a memory of two of the other nurses in the hospital talking about the Spinsters’ Society and explaining it to her. They were a group of women who sought their own independence even though they’d been engaged to very powerful men. Still, the group had started when Lady Lorena had declared to London on the night of her return to Society that she would remain a spinster. But obviously that had changed since she was now married to the Earl of Ashwick.

  Their stories, if Taygete recalled correctly, were full of scandal, which started to make Taygete’s unease return. However, when she recalled that the women were connected to dukes, marquesses, and the wealthy, some of that tension left her.

  The Spinsters’ Society. Her friends back at the hospital would be envious of her, especially since Taygete hadn’t read a single tale of theirs. She’d never had time. Perhaps she should have been reading ladies’ magazines as opposed to Alcyone’s horror books. Then perhaps she’d have slept easier last night… or not.

  “I’ve yet to write the newest story, since Elipha and Florence joined just a few months ago.” Sophia pointed the two pretty blondes out and then looked at Taygete. “Why do you wish to be a spinster?”

  Taygete straightened in her chair. “I’ve simply no time for it. I’ve dedicated my life to helping others.”

  Electra smiled. “Taygete helps at the navy hospital in Southampton. She’s in charge of all the other nurses. She’s the very best. They call her an angel.”

  Taygete smiled at her sister.

  Sophia leaned toward and settled her eyes on Taygete. “Oh, how very interesting. I would love to write a story about you.”

  Taygete was flattered. “Oh, that’s not necessary.”

  “I insist.” Sophia straightened. “My readers would enjoy it.”

  Taygete looked down but not before she caught Lorena staring at her.

  “As a lady’s maid, I was made privy to much gossip. I’ll know which men Electra and Alcyone shouldn’t approach,” Florence volunteered.

  “Excellent.” Lorena said as the conversation went on.

  Taygete was surprised to discover the group of women came from different classes yet treated each other as equals. In a matter of moments, Taygete decided she liked them all and thought them all harmless, which made her wonder about Hugh’s warning.

  Sophia stood. “Though my father has been told he can no longer be a tailor, his seamstresses still make creations from his design book. We should go and make sure that the Bellengers have the perfect dresses for the last ball.”

  “Yes! Let’s go, sister!” Lorena started out of the room.

  Taygete stood. “Wait. I don’t believe Hugh wishes us to leave—”

  “Don’t worry.” Alice came over and grabbed her arm. “We’ll return before he’s aware that we’ve gone, and it’s only to the seamstress' shop. Surely, he’d find nothing wrong with that?”

  She didn’t give Taygete any time to make up her mind. Before she could think of a reason to protest, she and her sisters were inside a carriage that was packed to the brim and they were off.

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  CHAPTER TEN

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  Hugh’s meeting was just in the house next door. He walked into Francis’ home and was greeted by the sounds of the club. Since it was still morning, the men who were present spoke in soft tones. The club, which had been named Nashwood London, served breakfast for those members who came early or slept in the wing given to them.

  He checked the gaming room, found it empty, and then went upstairs to Francis’ cabinet, a male office where his closest friends usually convened.

  He found Francis, Calvin, and Ray standing around a table.

  Ray looked over at him and grinned. “Are they here?” Ray looked much like Hugh, with the same coloring, yet there was a playfulness in his eyes that Hugh had lost to tragedy.

  Hugh nodded. “I took them to Lorena’s.”

  Calvin crossed his arms. “Do you think that was a good idea? Leaving those poor women in the hands of those ruffians?” Calvin was a tall blond gentleman with hazel eyes that rarely lacked a pinch of humor.

  Francis looked at Calvin. “Two of those ruffians are our wives.”

  Calvin moved to a chair and grinned. “Which means we know better than most what they’re capable of.”

  Hugh chuckled and took a seat in front of the desk. Francis’ cabinet was papered green and until that moment, he’d not realized how closely the color matched Francis’ wife’s eyes. Francis and Genie had been in love since they were children, but circumstances had kept them apart for over a decade. Now, they were happier than ever and no matter what Calvin said, Genie was a sweet woman, and everyone knew it. “They’ll fare well. I left Taygete in charge while their mother calls on friends she’s not seen in a long time. They’ll be there when I return to get them.”

  “What are they like?” Francis took his own chair and settled his blue eyes on Hugh. The eyes reminded him of his sister, Lorena, and their departed mother, but everything else about Francis had come from his father. He was tall with dark brown hair and hard features that only softened when Genie was mentioned.

  “They’re gorgeous,” Ray said swiftly as he leaned against the corner of the desk. Then he looked at Hugh. “They are still gorgeous, aren’t they?”

  Hugh chuckled. “Without a doubt. It will be easy to see them married off.”

  Calvin looked at Ray. “Will you be throwing your hat in for their hand?”

  Ray flicked a br
ow. “I might.” And he could, for while the law said Hugh couldn’t marry another Bellenger daughter, Ray was not held to that law since he’d made no oaths toward the family.

  Hugh stilled. He’d not been prepared for his brother to find interest in the women. “I thought you weren’t ready to marry.”

  Ray grinned. “I could get ready. Which one do you think would suit me?”

  Hugh looked his brother over. “None of them.”

  His brother frowned.

  Francis laughed. “At least he’s taking his duties seriously. Let us know how we can help. Oh, and before I forget, Lord Harving is looking for you.”

  Hugh frowned at the mention of the most annoying gentleman he knew. “What for?”

  Francis sighed. “He lost a painting.”

  “Capitol.” Hugh leaned back in his chair, making note to visit Harving as soon as he could arrange to do so, and returned to the topic at hand. “The best way to help the women is to show them off. A party would be good. All the Brothers should be in attendance. It should be the first event for the girls.”

  “Excellent idea,” Calvin said. “With our backing, every man will jump at the opportunity to marry into our fold.” And that was putting it lightly. There was a reason they’d given Nashwood London its name. For some reason or another, the men had grown a reputation that left many gentlemen wishing they were part of the close circle, but one thing the brotherhood didn’t do was add members to their exclusive club. Only the ten were members. Not even Ray, for all his whining, was allowed in.

  “If I know my sister,” Francis said, “she’s already planning just what you’ve suggested.”

  “Where is everyone else?” Hugh asked.

  “My brother is with his teachers,” Calvin said. Franklin Lockwood was pursuing his love of the study of the mind and how people thought and was currently working with some of the founders of the new science. “Though if you ask me,” Calvin went on with a sneer, “all they do is sit around in a circle and debate, using terms I couldn’t begin to understand.”

  “How does it feel to be excluded from a club?” Ray asked. Then he snapped his fingers. “Oh, that’s right. You already know that feeling, don’t you?”

  Hugh and Francis laughed as Calvin threw a pen in Ray’s direction. Calvin had been blackballed from another club before Nashwood London had been built. In fact, him getting blackballed was what had given them the idea. The club had been the one that his wife’s father owned. Calvin had been kicked out after getting caught with her, but since they were now married, it seemed worth it.

  “What’s Morris up to?” Hugh asked.

  “He and Emmett are working to align their party,” Francis said. “Morris aims to be Prime Minister before he dies.”

  “I’ve no doubt it will happen,” Hugh said confidently. Out of all the men, Morris was the one who held to Society tradition, only willing to break it when he’d decided to marry Sophia instead of a lady. As luck would have it though, it turned out that Sophia had been a lady the entire time, unbeknownst to the ton. Her father had been hiding his birthright, switching places with his twin for the love of a woman.

  Francis went on, “William is helping Rollo get accustomed to being active in his family’s company while Julius and Aaron are having ice cream with Mary and Lily.” The girls, now seven and eight, were Aaron’s wards. After their father’s death, Aaron had gained his cousin’s lesser title and his cousin’s children. Aaron had built an ice house at his London residence and his country estate just so the girls could have it. Ice houses were expensive and so was ice cream, a treat that not many families took pleasure in. Aaron’s girls ate it whenever they wished.

  Hugh frowned. “Ice cream. It’s not even noon yet.”

  Francis shrugged. “The girls wanted ice cream.”

  Hugh shook his head. “He’s ruining them. He gives them whatever they want.”

  “No man will be able to compete,” Ray said.

  Calvin chuckled. “But, they are adorable.”

  They were indeed, though whenever Hugh looked at them, he often wondered what his daughter would have looked like had she lived. What would she have been like at six or sixteen? At first, he’d found it hard to even look at Mary and Lily, but now… To them, he was Uncle Hugh.

  “How old are the Bellenger women again?” Ray asked. “It’s been years since I’ve received a letter from Taygete.”

  “You and Taygete wrote one another?” Hugh asked with surprise.

  Ray frowned. “Yes, I thought I told you.” Then he shrugged. “But perhaps, I didn’t. I was at Oxford at the time. There was so much to deal with, what with school and all.”

  “Yet, you managed to write Taygete and not tell me,” Hugh accused.

  Ray shrugged.

  Hugh tightened his hands on the chair arm to keep from strangling his brother.

  Francis cut in, his eyes moving between the men in confusion. “Either way, we’ll need their ages if we’re to know what men to invite to the party.”

  Hugh sighed. “Alcyone is eighteen and Electra is twenty-seven, though she looks nowhere near her age.”

  “Did Taygete not come?” Ray asked. “Is she married?”

  Hugh hesitated. “Taygete did come. She is unwed, and has decided to remain that way.”

  Calvin leaned forward. “So, she wants to be a spinster?”

  Hugh nodded.

  “And you left her with Lorena?” Francis asked. “The leader of the Spinsters’ Society?”

  Hugh’s heart jumped with worry. “They’ll be there when I return.”

  Everyone simply continued to stare at him.

  Hugh stood. “I’ll just go and make sure they’re all right.” Then he fled from the room.

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  CHAPTER ELEVEN

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  Taygete caught Sophia’s eye once more and gave her a stern look before the woman rolled her own green eyes and slipped behind a red curtain. Taygete had decided that while she’d been dragged to the seamstress shop in Mayfair she would not allow herself to be fitted for another gown, no matter how much the other women pleaded with her. There was no one to impress. She was to blend into the background, which would already be hard to do with the gowns she’d glimpsed in her trunk that her mother had made for her.

  Sophia and Lorena stood behind a curtain where Alcyone stood to get her measurements. The others were in the main area standing around or sitting at small tables in the center of the room that had books full of designs.

  Taygete had taken a peek, but peeking had seemed to make the others think she was interested in a gown, which she wasn’t.

  It had been a hard battle to get the Spinsters to understand that no meant no. In the end, they’d conceded, though very reluctantly. She’d had to recall her instruction as a nurse to see it through, treating them as she would any of her patients, ignoring their glares and put-out attitudes.

  Besides those few trying moments, Taygete found the outing to have been a fine choice. There were a few other women standing around the room, gazing at a wall of silks or sitting at other tables. Taygete was aware of how many times she and Electra gained one of their gazes. A few of the women seemed to stare openly at the Spinsters. It was clear that the women were respected in some measure, if not envied.

  And why wouldn't they be? Besides Maura, they had all made grand matches, and if all went well, Taygete could see her sisters becoming part of their group. She liked to think that her sisters would have female companions when she returned to Southampton.

  Her heart lurched. She’d miss them both and wondered how she would spend her evenings when they were gone. Though she wasn’t away from the hospital often, Taygete and her sisters played cards some evenings, laughing and gossiping with one another. Even better were the days when Electra, or even both her sisters, would walk her
home from the hospital, always ready to hear her stories and share some of her burdens, like when Taygete lost a patient. Those were the hardest nights, and sadly it never grew easier for her. Death hit her the same way it always had.

  She went to the window and looked out on the city. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, and she found a part of herself grateful for the new clothes her mother had given her, if only to blend well with everyone else.

  She saw a group of women pass by in their pretty dresses and parasols and wondered what sort of women would work for Hugh.

  Blonde with a unique name.

  She smiled to herself, or so she thought.

  “What has caught your eye?” Alice asked as she came to stand by her.

  Taygete shook her head of her thoughts. “Nothing. I is simply noticing how different London was from Southampton.”

  Alice looked out the window as well. “Until recently, I’d never left London. I'd spent my whole life working in my father’s club.” She turned to Taygete. “What is it like to work at a hospital?”

  Taygete pictured her more recent patients. “It can be challenging, but helping has its own reward.”

  Alice smiled. “Dr. Hanford, a friend of my father’s, runs a hospital here in the city.”

  “Truly? I would love to see it.” Taygete was sure she sounded anxious, but admittedly she was lost outside of the hospital and in this new world. She was used to being busy and already found standing around in a seamstress shop not to her liking. How the ladies of the ton passed time without work, she couldn’t understand.

  Alice laughed as the bells over the door rang with the coming of new customers. Her blue eyes shone with understanding. “I will have it arranged. I can see it will take more than tea and shopping trips to peak your interest.”