Chapter Twenty-Three: Matters Settled

The next day soon descended on the Granvilles who had prepared a significant amount of food, tea, and if things were to go south, whiskey, as they were expecting many guests, some of whom remained a mystery before their arrival. Franny was at the edge of her seat, more so than usual, therefore Everly didn't get a chance to announce them.

"Lady Danbury, what are you doing here?" Franny's jaw fell as she caught sight of the elder lady and a prickle of guilt spread in her because she hadn't painted a decent picture to present to her.

"Silly girl, did you really think that I would not come to your aid? And more importantly, miss my chance to watch that sneer being wiped off Cressida's face? Ha!" came the reply accompanied by a grunt.

Franny's mouth curved into an amused grin.

"Now show me where the food is."

Franny led Lady Danbury into the drawing room where Lord Wetherby was already waiting. As always, there was an air of nonchalant elegance around him, but Franny could not miss how his perfect smile assumed a genuine warmness as he was chattering with Henry. Lady Danbury took a seat next to him and nudged him with her cane to hand a plate of cookies over to her.

"Wetherby," Lady D. greeted him, "You look handsome as always."

"You aren't so bad yourself, Lady Danbury," he replied with his signature impeccable smile.

"Smooth as usual. I get why the Granvilles like you so much."

Lord Wetherby nodded in silence, while the elder lady regarded him over the rim of her teacup, a small smile playing on her mouth.

Franny rushed to the entrance when she heard a carriage arriving, beating Everly to the door. Not that he put much effort in engaging in a race with her, after all, he did not mind her doing his job instead of him.

"Franny dearest, how are you this morning?" Lady Bridgerton kissed Franny's cheeks.

"As fine as one can be, given the situation," she replied honestly.

Anthony leaned down to brush an airy kiss across Franny's knuckles which she found the most awkward. She had no idea where Anthony's sudden gentleness came from. He stumbled into the drawing room and Franny found himself in front of Benedict. From the grin on his handsome face, very-very handsome face, she knew that he was contemplating kissing her,  definitely not on her hand. But in the end, he decided that there was enough excitement for the day and he did not cause a scene.

"Cressida should be here by now," Franny commented when all the guests took their seats.

"Oh, she won't be here for another ten minutes or so," Lady Danbury added in a tone that implied she knew the reason behind Cressida's absence.

"How so?" Lucy inquired, her hand stopping in midair. 

"I paid the carriage driver to get lost on his way a few times."

Benedict laughed out loud, "You really are diabolical, Lady Danbury. And I quite enjoy it when I am not the target of it."

"Don't we all?"

"Yes, we certainly do," said a deep voice and all eyes turned to the Duke of Hastings and his wife on his side. Whether Everly had decided that people were fine letting themselves in or could not chase after them, remained a mystery.

The Granvilles rose to their feet to greet the new arrivals and pay their respect. 

"Your Grace and Your Grace we cannot express how grateful we are for your support," Lucy thanked them with a polite curtsy.

"Naturally, Mrs. Granville, we are to be a family and we always protect our family, don't we, Simon?" Daphne shot a look at the duke making Franny suspect that things weren't exactly smooth between the two of them.

"Of course, Daphne," her husband replied with a handsome smile. Franny could not help but notice that he did have a mysterious presence about him.

"And we had our fair share of trouble with Cressida, therefore I know what she is capable of. It is high time somebody stopped her," Daphne smiled at Franny who managed to utter a feeble thank you.

The room was soon filled with chatter as if it was a friendly Saturday gathering. Neither the hosts nor the guests seemed to hold any reservations about the looming visit of the blonde-haired devil. Benedict, however, sensed that Franny was still sitting on pins and needles which most likely meant that her own ruse did not succeed.

"Franny," Benedict put his hand on her knee making Franny jump, "there is an army of influential people in this room, you need not worry. I believe the sight of Lady Danbury will be enough to make Cressida flee."

Franny didn't reply, just pursed her lips in a way that meant she wasn't convinced. Benedict sighed, knowing that there wasn't going to be anything that would make her change her mind when it was set on something. Courting a headstrong woman was tiresome, and sometimes the wisest thing was to let the events unfold. He decided to leave her be and ask his sister how marital life served her.

Franny, disregarding all social convention, as usual, dashed to the door upon hearing the bell ring. Her face lit up like a kid on Christmas when a newspaper boy handed her the first copy of the new Whistledown issue which was to be officially published within a few hours. She gave some pin money to him and nodded with a grin while she read the headlines.

Not long after the Everly, who was now free of meddlesome guests intent on walking in without warning, had announced the arrival of Cressida. All eyes turned to the door and the room was filled with expectation. The expression on Cressida's face was one to remember: her impeccable smile wavered and she had a hard time keeping her jaw from falling. Her baby blue eyes were on a stalk as she scanned the room.

"Miss Cowper," Lucy, who was decided to be the one to take the lead, greeted her with a welcoming smile and a sweet tone, "Please, come in. We have been eagerly waiting for your arrival."

After a moment of hesitation, Cressida rearranged her expression into a polite smile. Franny had to admit it was incredible how quickly she could conceal her emotions, "I apologise for my tardiness, Mrs. Granville, my driver seems not to know his way around Mayfair."

Lady Danbury snorted and a satisfied expression spread on her face. Franny could see that even Anthony's lips twitched into a small smile. Cressida turned in the direction of the sound but did not react. She took the offered seat, indeed the only seat that was left, a chair in front of everyone, giving her the position as if she was being interrogated. Henry had a great sense of interior design.

"I reckon we are all here to discuss the proposal I made to Franny," Cressida started, trying to maintain the impression that the floor was not slipping from her pretty little feet.

"Indeed," Lucy continued, with a calm countenance and a warm tone, "Although I am afraid we must reject your kind marriage proposal, for Franny's heart is already engaged. I do hope you did not get Mr. Berbrooke's hopes high. And that he hasn't made a futile journey back from the countryside."

"No, he hasn't," Cressida replied curtly, still maintaining her composure.

"Great, we should keep it that way," the duke said in an intimidating tone. For the first time ever, Cressida's smile faltered; she definitely did not expect the duke and the duchess to return. Indeed, she imagined the conversation to play out entirely differently.

"Well then, we shall all consider this matter settled, shan't we, Cressida?" Daphne asked, command clear in her voice.

"Of course, Daphne. I mean, Your Grace," Cressida nodded her head.