Chapter 6
W
“Mama can’t stop him, no matter how much she cries. And so now I am quiet when Father lights his cigars.”
He is such a fine young man,” Mama said for the second time the following morning.
We had just sat down for breakfast, and I was certain I would hear it a few more times before the meal was over.
Mama had either not noticed the pain Lord Murphy had caused almost everyone under his power the last time we had been here or she had forgotten, so of course she was ecstatic about the match.
Not to mention, the scrawny David had grown into a very charming and persuasive man.
I wasn’t sure how I’d agreed to this whole hoax, nor did I know how difficult it would be for us to end it.
“I don’t know why you didn’t just tell me about him sooner.
I have been so worried for us, and for nothing. ”
Because the boy who’d followed me around that summer had become a distant memory, and even if he hadn’t, I would never have come here assuming that invitation to marry him would be binding.
“We hadn’t seen each other for years. I thought it prudent to spend some time with him before informing you of the attachment. What if he no longer cared for me?”
“I’m quite certain we all saw how much he cares for you yesterday.
” Mother hid her smile behind her napkin, but it was of no use, as I could see it in the crinkle of her eyes.
It was good to see her so relaxed and happy, but it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t know where we would be living come March.
Mary, the maid whom Mrs. Preston sent to help us at times, also tried to hide her smile. It wasn’t just the company whom we needed to worry about spreading rumors but the help as well. Word must have already spread from the large house to the cottage. Who knew who else knew of the engagement?
There was a knock at the door, and Mary gave a short bow and left to open it. It was early for a morning visit. I pinched my cheeks for color, even though I knew no one would be coming through the door.
Sure enough, Mary returned alone but holding a bouquet of delicate lilies of the valley. She was grinning from ear to ear. “These just arrived for you, miss.” She handed them to me. “I will run and fetch a vase.”
Flowers. I hadn’t received flowers from a man since we’d been in London.
And the lilies were perfect. I touched one of the small white bells dropping from the stem.
Did Lord Murphy own a hot house? If not, where had Mr. Tate been required to travel to find these blooms?
Tucked deep into the flowers was an envelope.
I set the flowers on the table and opened the envelope, my fingers quivering slightly.
Anna,
I would be honored if you and your mother would accompany my sister and me on an afternoon walk.
The skies are clear, and although it may be quite cold for such an excursion, I have been told engaged couples enjoy walks together.
Your mother should wear a thick coat and hat, for I can promise to help keep you warm, but I cannot do the same for her.
Yours,
David
“What does it say?” Mother reached for the note, but I pulled it away.
“It is from David.” My heart pounded, and my face was aflame.
His comment about keeping me warm must have been written for Mama’s sake, but surely, he’d taken his role too seriously.
She was already quite happily convinced we liked each other.
I folded the letter back up. “He’s invited us for a walk this afternoon. ”
“A walk?” She looked out the window and shrugged. “I suppose it looks as though the weather will hold, but it is hardly the time of year for it.”
“Yes, he did mention we should wear warm coats.” I tucked the note quickly into my apron pocket.
“Well, you must send a reply.”
Mary returned with a vase and took the flowers from the table. “The man at the door said he would wait.”
I stood up quickly and strode to the little writing table in the corner.
Before thinking better of it, I scratched off a reply, leaving out anything remotely flirtatious.
If anyone else read it, let them think I was shy.
I was not quite as good at pretense as David was.
Returning to the dining room, I handed the note to Mary.
“Well,” Mama said. “Will we be joining him?”
“Yes, Mama.”
She nodded with a smile. “Good. I wrote to Cousin Agatha before breakfast this morning. She is going to wish she’d let us stay longer now that we are going to have a viscount in the family.”
I shook my head. “Mama! Please do not send letters boasting about my fiancé’s position in life.
” Cousin Agatha would be certain to spread the news in Silverfork.
It was going to be a hard thing keeping track of everyone I would need to inform when we called off the engagement if Mama kept writing to acquaintances about it.
“I don’t see it as boasting. It’s not as though he is the heir; he’s the second son.”
Mama was definitely boasting, and we both knew it.
“Still, please don’t tell anyone else. The engagement is very new.”
“Are you worried he will reconsider? If so, he should have waited longer to hear your answer.”
He should have. But it was too late now, and Agatha’s knowing would actually be helpful in convincing Mr. Green that our engagement was real. But how many others would she tell?
I prayed not many.
The hours seemed to drag along until it was nearly time for David and his sister to arrive.
Mrs. Preston had instructed Mary to stay longer and to aid in dressing over the next few weeks.
Apparently, being engaged meant we would need her services more often.
I left Mama with Mary so they could prepare and went to my bedroom to gather what I needed by myself.
I put on an extra petticoat, then reached for the coat Mr. Green had given me.
David’s mention of keeping me warm was an obvious jest, but I still wouldn’t be caught shivering.
As embarrassed as I would be if Mama read his note, it had made me smirk periodically throughout the morning. Ours was a ridiculous predicament.
I worked my way up the buttons on my coat.
David’s flowers and invitation to walk were an obvious reaction to what I’d said yesterday about what a true engagement should look like.
He was putting forth the effort to make this engagement seem real.
What were the other things I’d mentioned engaged couples would do?
I’d mentioned dancing, but that was not likely to happen in winter here in the country.
Anyone looking for entertainment like that would be in London for the Season.
Stolen kisses? My face heated again. I needed to stop that.
I was beginning to feel like a young schoolgirl.
Even so, he’d written to me and had engaged himself to me. Perhaps a few blushes weren’t completely out of turn, even for someone as long out of the schoolroom as I was.
I left my bedroom and went down to the hall only to find Mother still in her apron. “Mama! David will be here any minute.”
“I know, but I have never enjoyed winter walks. I’m afraid my coming will only shorten your time out of doors with Mr. Tate. You have waited so long to have this time together. I don’t want to spoil it. His sister will be there, so you wouldn’t be walking alone.”
I shook my head. I barely knew David, and I didn’t know Miss Tate at all. I was not prepared to spend the whole afternoon alone with them, not yet. Sometimes, a woman needed her mother. “Oh no, I am not going on this walk with only the two of them. If it is short, so be it.”
“But . . .” Mama began, then eyed Mary and waited until she walked out of earshot.
Mama leaned forward. “Don’t you think your time would be better spent if I weren’t there to dampen any of Mr. Tate’s—” She checked once more to make certain Mary was still in the other room before leaning toward me. “Ardor?”
“Mama!” I said, shocked. But before I could rebuke her, there was a knock at the front door.
We both jumped. “If you don’t come,” I hissed, “I’m calling off the engagement.
” I was going to have to anyway. This would just expedite the plan.
Mr. Green must already be on his way to Silverfork, so the engagement had accomplished its main task.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Mr. Tate is the best thing to happen to us since your father died.”
I lifted my chin. “Don’t test me. David and I haven’t seen each other for eight years, and while yesterday, he was the obvious choice over Mr. Green, today, we have to deal with the reality of reacquainting ourselves.
Besides, if your goal is to allow David and me time together alone, that will be better accomplished by joining us.
You can be there to entertain Miss Tate. ”
Mama muttered something under her breath about my stubbornness coming from Papa and dashed out of the room. I followed her, and she managed to get up the stairs and into her bedroom just before Mary opened the front door.
I smiled at the thought of Mama adding her own petticoats in a rush before turning to see David and his sister striding into the small receiving area of the cottage.
David wore the same coat as when he’d happened upon my embarrassing tree-climbing incident.
The thickness of the wool made his lithe frame look larger, and the fur at the collar gave him a commanding air.
His square jaw and high cheekbones showed an elegant strength, even though his face remained smooth and youthful.
Blast. Why did the sunlight have to shine through the doorway, lighting him up from behind as though he were some young lord dashing in to save a damsel in distress? Moonlight and sunlight—they were going to be the death of me.