Chapter 4Mrs. Dalrymple regarded Phoebe, animated and giggling with cousin Augusta’s little girls, her hands waving in the air as she made them laugh.
“Your youngest sister is a very fetching creature,” Mrs. Dalrymple observed.
As he sat beside his matronly friend, Percy agreed, girding himself for the inevitable query, “Are there any other redheads in your family?” which would doubtless be followed by increasingly embarrassing speculations.
He should have known better, for Mrs. Dalrymple did not launch into any vulgar enquiries. Percy surmised that this was not entirely due to ladylike discretion, but the likelihood that she had been aware for many years of the most likely contender for bestowing the distinctive colouring on Phoebe.
“And your middle sister is most striking,” Mrs. Dalr
