Should she curtsy? Not with much grace, that was certain. Why hadn’t she thought to ask before they got here?The countess extended a delicate hand. “How do you do, Miss Campbell? I am so pleased you could come. As you can see, we are the sole females present. Lady Paignton has been summoned to her daughter in Yorkshire. Only imagine, all three of their little boys have the whooping cough. Is it not dreadful?”“It certainly is.” Christy smiled back, relieved. She had expected St. Ives’s wife to be as formidable and disagreeable as he. What had this gentle, sad-eyed woman to do with that supercilious snob?“I feared I should be quite alone, with both Lady Paignton and Lady Sophia withdrawing like that at the last moment.” A tremulous smile just touched the countess’s lips.“Were Lady Sophia and Sir Dominic expected?” the major asked. “I do not remember St. Ives mentioning him.”“Of course. He was the reason—” She broke off.St. Ives strolled over to them and cast his wife a quelling glance.
