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his fork, Walt arched a reddish eyebrow, and Lady Anne drew an audible breath. The quiet clink of china filled the silence as the footmen removed the plates in preparation for the dessert course.
    “Lady Milford?” the countess asked, a frown making her wrinkles more pronounced. “But my dear, you’ve never been introduced to the woman. It is an extraordinary blunder for a young lady not yet out of the schoolroom to make such a call.”
    “Oh, Ellie thought it was a wise notion. After all, Lady Milford is a pillar of society and her approval would be a great boon to my debut.”
    Everyone turned to stare at Ellie. A flush traveled up her neck and into her face, making her feel overheated. It was clear from the reproachful looks that they blamed her for the social faux pas. It was also plain that it would be useless to protest her innocence. They would never heed her word over that of her cousin.
    What a scheming little liar Beatrice was!
    The countess scowled at Ellie. “I trust you’ve an explanation for this shocking lack of judgment. Encouraging Beatrice to impose upon a lady of such influence! I pray no irreparable damage has been done.”
    “I assure you, it was an uneventful visit,” Ellie hastened to say. “In truth, her ladyship could not have been more gracious—”
    “Yes, she even gave Ellie a handout,” Beatrice broke in. “A pair of old, cast-off shoes that my dear cousin was quite happy to accept.”
    Beneath the tablecloth, Ellie fisted her fingers around her gray serge skirt. She wanted to slap the innocent smile off Beatrice’s mouth. At the same time, she longed to slide under the table and escape the disapproval on the faces of her uncle and grandmother. Even Walt’s expression held a smirking interest.
    The countess huffed out a breath. “You took charity from such a personage as Lady Milford? Good heavens! What must she think of us?”
    “This is indeed an outrage,” the earl said grimly. His cheeks red, he leaned forward to pin Ellie with a glare. “The Strathams are not beggars! Did you give no thought as to how this would reflect upon your family? And after I’ve settled your father’s substantial debts, taken you under my roof, and allowed you to live here on my sufferance!”
    Ellie gritted her teeth. Now was not the time to point out that her free labor had more than compensated for the cost of food and shelter. “I’m sorry, Uncle. It won’t happen again.”
    “I’m sure Ellie meant no harm,” Lady Anne ventured in a quavering voice. “Why, it would have been rude for her to refuse such a gift.”
    Ellie gave her a quick smile of thanks. Lady Anne was no blood relation, being from the other side of the family tree, yet at times it seemed the frail woman was her sole ally in the household. She was the only one who gave Ellie a bit of money on her birthday, the only one who expressed gratitude for the errands Ellie did for her, the only one who didn’t treat her as a lowly servant.
    The earl turned his ire on his sister-in-law. “This is no small matter, Anne. My niece is to accept aid only from myself. Otherwise, the gossips will whisper that I’m too tightfisted to provide for her.”
    Lady Anne flushed, her gaze dropping to the dish of raspberry sponge cake that a footman placed before her.
    Ellie found it ironic that her uncle would fear to be branded according to his true nature. “Lady Milford won’t spread gossip,” she said to draw his attention away from Lady Anne. “I assure you, she merely thought that I might like to have the shoes since I’ll be chaperoning Beatrice at various events.”
    Beatrice, who clearly had been enjoying the controversy she’d stirred, said, “That reminds me. We can’t allow dear Ellie to go about society in dreary rags. I would donate some of my old gowns, but I fear they are too youthful for a woman of her years. Grandmamma, is there anything you can do to help out?”
    “What a sweet girl to think of your cousin.” The