At Your Request (Apart from the Crowd 0.5)(28)
She had great hopes, though, that she’d someday be able to abandon her distraction—once her father came to his senses and allowed her to return to the mining life she’d been intending to live, not the fluffy world of—
“What about Mr. Rutherford?” Ida suddenly asked, the question effectively pushing any other thoughts Permilia might have had straight out of her head.
“Are we speaking of Mr. Asher Rutherford, the owner of Rutherford & Company department store?” she asked.
“Indeed we are.” Ida gave a single nod. “I heard from none other than Mrs. Templeton that you’ve been seen speaking with that particular gentleman . . . twice.”
Lucy let out a hiss of obvious outrage, a sound Permilia was fairly certain young ladies were not actually supposed to make—and that Ida unfairly ignored. “You’ve held conversations with Mr. Asher Rutherford?”
Permilia shrugged. “I’m not entirely certain haggling with the gentleman over the price he was trying to extort for ice skates at the impromptu booth he’d erected in Central Park can truly be considered holding a conversation with the man.”
Two bright spots of color darkened Lucy’s pale cheeks. “You haggled with Mr. Rutherford—one of the most eligible gentlemen in society?”
“He wanted over five dollars for a pair of ice skates.” Permilia crossed her arms over her chest. “It was highway robbery.” She smiled. “He eventually took three dollars and some change from me—a sum I felt was more in line with what the skates were worth—which allowed me to enjoy a lovely day on the ice with my very good friend, Miss Wilhelmina Radcliff.”
Ida immediately began mumbling under her breath, something about a hopeless cause and she was at her wit’s end. When her mumbles finally trailed off, she set a determined eye on Permilia. “What was the conversation about the second time you spoke with Mr. Rutherford?”
“I must admit I find the idea that your friends are tattling on me fairly disturbing, but the only other time I can actually recall speaking with Mr. Rutherford was at Wilhelmina’s engagement ball. It was not a conversation that had much meat to it. In fact, if memory serves, I believe we spent some time discussing the weather—a subject that you’ve stressed is a perfectly acceptable topic for polite conversation.”
“You could have brought my name into your conversation,” Lucy chimed in. “Mr. Rutherford is certainly a gentleman I’d welcome receiving a proposal from.”
Permilia opened her mouth but was spared a response to that nonsense when the carriage began to slow to a stop.
Ida leaned forward, looked out the window, and drew back. “Smiles at the ready, my dears. We’ve reached Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt’s new home at last. Given that there appears to an entire swarm of curiosity seekers waiting to greet us—and take note of what we’re wearing, no doubt—we certainly shouldn’t disappoint them.”
Lucy raised a hand and adjusted her diamond necklace, situating the diamond pendant to better draw attention to her charms right before she lifted her head. “I’ll do my very best not to disappoint them, Mother.” With that, she slid across the seat right as the door opened. Taking the hand a groom extended her, Lucy hitched a charming smile into place and stepped out of the carriage in a flurry of satin and lace.
Holding up a hand that sufficiently stopped Permilia from scooting toward the door, Ida turned a stern eye on her. “I don’t mean to come across as a nag, dear, but do try to be friendly to the gentlemen tonight, especially Mr. Rutherford, if you happen to cross his path. Although, from the sound of it, you may have burned that particular bridge.”
“I have no interest in Mr. Rutherford, and besides, it sounded to me as if Lucy holds him in great esteem. It would hardly improve our sisterly relationship—or stepsisterly relationship, to be more exact—if I pursued a gentleman she desires.”
“A lady never pursues a gentleman,” Ida countered, her words at complete odds with the advice she’d just given Permilia. “As for Lucy and Mr. Rutherford . . . well, he has chosen to dirty his hands in trade, probably horrifying his dear mother in the process. Because of that—and because of the promise I made to my first husband before he died his tragic death concerning Lucy and her future prospects—she will only marry a gentleman who has no scandal tarnishing his name, one who truly upholds the Knickerbocker beliefs Lucy’s father held in such high regard.”
“Does Lucy know about that promise you made to your first husband?”
Ida looked a bit disconcerted before she lifted her chin. “As I was saying before we got distracted from the subject at hand, your father is very anxious to see you well settled, and this is the last society event of the season. You won’t have another opportunity to mingle with gentlemen until we travel to our cottage in Newport for the summer, and that’s ages away.”
She waved a hand Permilia’s way. “As I mentioned, you’re looking very well turned out tonight, so do try to take advantage of that, if only for your father’s sake. And remember, a smile can be a powerful weapon when it comes to attracting the attention of a gentleman. I suggest you put that advice to good use tonight, and hopefully, we’ll have good news to tell your father when he returns home at the end of the week.” With that, Ida scooted forward on the seat and stepped from the carriage.