"Exactly. I am sorry for you, cousin, but alas, such is our fate – to try to sell ourselves as dearly as possible. It sounds horrible, but it is the plain truth: we poor relatives and younger sons are different from corrupt women only in that we will sell our bodies and faces in a legal marriage. Anthony is handsome and charming, but compared to his brother and other first-born bachelors, he's a nobody," Vivian thought. – It will be interesting to watch his charms… And I don't want to fall under them myself. No way. That will never happen. I know my heart, and I know that my future depends on me, and not only mine. Soon I will make an incredibly successful match, and no Frenchwoman can prevent me from doing so."
– But let us not grieve our hearts before our time," said Anthony, suddenly, unexpectedly to himself. – And if I have offended you, unintentionally, without wishing to, I apologise sincerely. I did not know that my opinion of Mademoiselle de Croix would so distress you… You must have become friends by now?
'Does poor naive Anthony think I resent him because of that French girl?' – thought the girl ironically, and barely managed to suppress a mocking smile. – No, silly boy, you insulted me when you compared me to a wingless bird! I have wings, and some wings!"
– Alas, I have not seen her since that meeting in the shop, but soon I shall see her at the ball, and I hope we shall be friends. But let's put our grudges behind us, dear cousin: there's dancing and merriment tonight! – replied Vivian.
– Be careful: this girl is not as simple as she seems. And if you don't think of her as one of your competitors, she obviously thinks of you as her worst enemy," Anthony warned, not understanding her cousin's eagerness to make friends with the one he had openly warned her against.
– I appreciate your concern, but I am full of confidence that Mademoiselle de Croix is not at all as wicked and dangerous as you claim," Miss Cowell smiled at this.
"I shall hold the French beauty in my hands. So long as she thinks of me as a friend – my future is safe, and I can easily snatch any suitor from under her nose!" – she added snidely, to herself.
Slightly irritated by his cousin's obstinacy, Anthony remained silent as he decided to leave the girl with her own rosy hopes and mistaken beliefs. If Vivian wished to tame the ravenous panther, with her sensitivity and soft heart, she would be deeply wounded by the sharp claws and long teeth of this greedy beast.
– How good it is that both of you are ready to leave. – Suddenly the voice of the Mistress of Greenhall sounded from the stairs, and soon she was standing between her son and niece. She looked at Vivian, so beautiful and modest, and smiled approvingly: "Lovely outfit, Vivian. And your hair, too.
– It's all Jane's doing," she replied, hoping that her aunt would give her friend a raise, or at least a word of thanks, which would certainly please her. – Jane prompted me with the choice of dress and…
– Lady Marlborough is waiting for us," the Countess interrupted her, as if she had not heard her niece, and taking her son's elbow, she said to Vivian: "Don't drink too much punch at the ball, and eat like a sparrow at dinner: men don't like a girl with a good appetite.
Anthony laughed softly.
– 'Alas, that is so! – he said cheerfully.
– But isn't it our womanly duty to lead them out of this delusion? – Vivian wondered.
– 'My dear, when you are married you may surprise your husband with the truth, but till then remember that you are a bird, and need only a few grains to satiate you,' her aunt answered her in a decided tone.
"It seems that this evening will be not only exciting and wonderful, but also hungry," thought the girl gloomily, but a moment later, when the trio descended into the courtyard, where a lacquered black carriage, a pair of slender black horses, and an important-looking coachman were waiting for them, Vivian's soul was filled with delight. – Had it really come to pass? My dresses had been found, and I was going to Lady Marlborough's ball! What's in store for me there? The Stevenses, the Brodys, the Cravens… I have always enjoyed their invitations and their balls, but they are but petty noblemen, unknown to any but the people of our little town. Ah, if they could see me now, they would be so proud of me! I shall be sure to write to them after the ball! All the details! They'll be delighted!"
As the Cranfords and Vivian settled themselves in the soft seats of the carriage, the Countess of Cranford shouted to the coachman: "Pull on!" and the swift horses dragged the carriage to where Miss Cowell's heart was longing to go – to the ball where her fate might be decided.
The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough's mansion was only thirty minutes' drive from Greenhall, but as other guests were travelling there, the Cranford carriage moved slowly, which caused the Countess to press her lips together disapprovingly, for she did not like to be late. Still, they arrived at Marlborough Mansion late, and then waited a quarter of an hour before it was their turn to arrive at the front door and leave the carriage.
The carriage stopped at a low, broad stone staircase, and suddenly Vivian was overcome with excitement, but she was able to control her emotions. Anthony left the carriage first and helped the ladies down.
– Go home, Thomas, but be here at twelve o'clock," Lady Cranford ordered the coachman.
– If you say so, ma'am!" he said.
– Now, my children, I expect you to do your best. And don't overdo the flirting, for you don't want to be known as frivolous and fickle, do you? – Lady Cranford addressed her son and niece, but seeing the undisguised admiration on the girl's face, she said to her affectionately: – 'I suppose, my dear, you have never been in such splendid houses before?
– Never! – she whispered feelingly, looking at the Marlborough mansion, which looked more like a royal palace.
– This is Greathall," Anthony said quietly, chuckling at her almost childish admiration for the old stone house.
But to Vivian, who had come from the provinces, this "old stone house" seemed like magic: its heavy splendour deeply astonished her unsophisticated mind, for compared with Greathall, her aunt's mansion seemed like an ordinary little mansion.
– A fitting name," Vivian smiled, but realising that she was behaving like a little girl at a Christmas fair, she shrugged her shoulders and said indifferently: – It's a beautiful house, and it must be at least two hundred years old, mustn't it?
– Two hundred and fifty-one," said the Countess: her niece's behaviour made her feel annoyed, but remembering that up to this moment the poor girl had been deprived of the contemplation of such mansions, she drew a deep breath to drive away the unflattering feeling. – But let us not delay: we have arrived late as it is… I should have remembered to leave early for such receptions. Anthony, lead the way!
The young man did not have to ask twice, and soon the guests from Greenhall were exchanging greetings with the Duchess of Marlborough, the mistress of the mansion. Dressed in a large embroidered green dress, the woman looked so young that Vivian at first mistook Lady Marlborough for one of her two daughters.
– My dear Elizabeth, it is so good to see you again! – Lady Cranford said with a smile, holding out her friend's palm, which she gladly took in her own. – Promise me you will never leave London for more than a week!
– Ah, my dear Beatrice, you know I wish the same thing! But as the wife of a counsellor at the royal court, I have no choice but to follow my husband wherever he is directed," said Lady Marlborough, with a sweet laugh, and glancing at Vivian, said amiably: – 'And this pretty girl must be your niece!
