Chapter 8 #3
Charlotte put the tea service back on the tray, leaving the tray for Alaina if she should need it, and quietly ushered her youngest daughter out of the room.
Charlotte paused at the door to look once more at her oldest child, who had turned her attention back to the fire.
She thought better of saying anything further and figured heading to the country might bring her out of the doldrums. It would at least be far away from the likes of Lady Barbara.
Much later in the evening, Alaina startled awake and looked around her room, her heart still racing from the nightmare that had plagued her sleep.
The fire was still burning high and the clock on the mantelpiece showed the time to be just shy of midnight.
After her mother and sister had left, she had forced herself to drink some tea, feeling it warm her up completely.
Then, without undressing, she laid down on top of her comforter to rest, planning to stay up and read in the parlor once she had warmed up.
Apparently, she had fallen asleep, completely missing dinner.
She imagined her mother had checked on her, found her sleeping, and left her alone.
But now that Alaina was awake, she was hungry, and hopeful something was left in the kitchen as a snack, so that she could go back to sleep.
Putting on house shoes over her stockinged feet, Alaina grabbed a candle, lighting it from the fire.
She quietly made her way out of her room and downstairs, contemplating the dream that had awakened her.
She had been at a ball of sorts, but the people around her were a blur.
An image of Graham and Georgiana formed in front of her, with Georgiana whispering in Graham’s ear.
He was looking at Alaina both aghast and angry.
She stepped forward to try to explain, only for them to disappear into the crowd.
Then, as if by magic, Christopher appeared, and when she tried to run to him, he put his hand up to stop her and then laughed at her.
And then everyone at the ball laughed at her, their faces seeming to emerge from the blur she had seen before.
She began to turn around to look for anyone for help and only saw her family turned from her in shame, her mother crying on her father’s shoulder, and her sister, Evelina, red with embarrassment.
She had woken with a cry in her throat and tears stinging her eyes, glad to find that it was just a dream.
Once downstairs, she headed straight to the back of the house and into the kitchen.
The stove was cold, but on the small table was a plate of scones and biscuits beside a pitcher of water.
Alaina found a glass in one of the upper cupboards and filled it with water, grabbing a few biscuits before retreating from the kitchen and back toward the staircase at the front of the house.
Balancing everything and the candle proved difficult, but Alaina was able to make it to the staircase, when a soft light from the front parlor doorway caught her eye.
She poked her head into the parlor, surprised she had not seen it on her way to the kitchen.
In the parlor, a lone candle sat on the small table between the two main chairs in front of the fireplace.
The flames in the fireplace had burned down to embers, as if someone had accidentally fallen asleep.
A chill had begun to creep into the room, and Alaina stepped inside the parlor to get a better look, shivering as she did so.
As she moved closer to the fireplace on the far side of the room, she saw her father’s profile and heaved a sigh of relief, as he appeared to have taken up refuge in one of the wingback chairs facing the fireplace.
Depositing her candle, snacks, and glass of water onto the table beside him, she reached out her hand and gently shook his shoulder to wake him.
“Papa,” Alaina whispered, trying not to startle him.
Edward’s eyes slowly opened and for a moment he seemed confused at his surroundings.
But as he looked around, his vision cleared.
He took stock of the clock on the mantle, and he turned his head, catching Alaina leaning over his shoulder.
“My dear, what are you doing up so late? I was just in here relaxing after a grueling day with my estate manager and solicitor and I must have fallen asleep, but I never imagined anyone would be up at this hour. Is everything ok?”
“I fell asleep quite unexpectedly and slept straight through dinner. I was just grabbing a snack and saw the light from the parlor. I will have to say you scared me a bit.”
“Sorry dear,” Edward apologized and then added, “Missing dinner is quite unlike you.”
Alaina paused and then came around to sit in the chair opposite her father. Closer to the fire, it was still warm enough to sit and talk for a few minutes.
“Well…” Alaina started, unsure of where to begin, or really what to say. “I guess I am a bit excited… and anxious about the visit to Graham’s estate in the country.”
“Oh, well, you and Graham have gotten on so well these past two weeks or so, I see little reason that you would be nervous about that, unless his family has been unkind? At least you and Georgiana seem to be getting along quite well. From what your mother says, the dowager duchess…”
“Yes, no, she is quite a good friend. I have really enjoyed her company, and the dowager duchess is quite nice as well,” Alaina interjected quickly, wanting to avoid any thought in her father’s mind that Graham or his family had been unwelcoming in any way.
Edward looked across the small table at his daughter.
“Alaina, my darling daughter, I hope you feel you can talk to me about your concerns. I promise to not even mention them to your mother, although we rarely keep secrets from each other. As long as you are not in danger, I will defer to your wishes.” Edward left the statement there, preferring not to pry.
“Papa, I fear…” Alaina paused and chewed her lip.
“What is it that troubles you?” Edward asked, his voice soft.
“I fear that I may not be perfectly sure that the duke is the one for me, and I feel terribly that I am letting our courtship drag on with such doubts,” Alaina admitted.
“Drag on?” Edward questioned, almost rhetorically. “Two weeks is such a short amount of time, you could hardly be accused of drawing out your time with the duke unnecessarily. Like I said before, not every love story starts with a lightning strike. You need to let your heart find its way.”
“I suppose,” Alaina acquiesced, but the bent of her dream still weighed on her mind, and her response came out taciturn. How was she to explain that Christopher had been at the center of her thoughts?
But Edward was not finished. “However, I shall leave you with a warning; do not delay once you have settled in your heart and mind how you feel. Once you are sure, more time just serves to complicate matters of the heart.”
Alaina nodded slowly. She understood how more time could complicate matters, and made a promise to herself that by the end of the garden party, she would have a decision.
No matter how her mind wandered to Christopher, Alaina was determined to discern her true feelings for Graham.
She owed it to herself and to the duke to be honest about her heart.
With renewed resolve, Alaina got up from her seat and gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you, Papa. Goodnight.”
Edward watched his oldest walk from the room, smiling to himself. He was not one to offer his own opinion on matters of the heart, at least not out loud, but if he knew his eldest well enough, he could predict the outcome.
Raucous laughter rang through the Finch townhome, and glasses clinked in celebration, all sounds of merriment grating on Lady Barbara’s ears. “To our good fortune, and Charles’s bad luck!” Percy jeered, and the target of his comment threw back the remaining contents of his glass.
“Deal another round, Percy. Let’s see if your good fortune holds,” came Charles’s retort, a little slurred, his face reddened with drink.
Richard clasped Charles on the back in a show of encouragement. “I knew you were not a quitter. You never know when the cards will turn around. The night is still young.”
Another round of laughter peeled out of the men, so loud that Lady Barbara thought it might rattle the windows. She stifled a yawn and rolled her eyes. “You men. It seems all you care about is a game of cards and endless brandy.”
Her statement did little to quell the joviality, as Percy chided, “Come now, Barbara. Your brother assures me that your parents are not going to be home until the ‘morrow. We are free to have some fun.”
Barbara strode over to the table where the men were setting up another game of loo, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.
“You assured me that we would be married this season, that I would have something to come to my parents with to convince them of our match. All I see is a drunken fool who is going to let a garden party in the country seal his fate.”
That statement had a sobering effect on Percy. “Barbara, let us not talk about that here, especially in front of our guest,” he said, motioning to Charles.
Charles seemed oblivious as he looked at his hand of cards. “A garden party? How dull…”
Percy was quick to interject, “Quite right, my friend. I fear Barbara worries for no reason.”
Barbara’s brother, Richard, cleared his throat. “Alright, let’s play, gentlemen. What is the wager?”
“Can we not just play a friendly game of cards this evening? You came close to cleaning me out last night at White’s.” Charles chuckled but could not cover the whine in his voice.
Lady Barbara scoffed and walked away, perching herself on the settee by the fireplace as she watched the men.
Only Charles’s presence kept her from berating Percy further; it seemed that nothing she said spurred him into action.
For several moments, the only sound in the room was cards being placed on the table.
“You know, not all garden parties are dull,” Charles said, almost absently.
“There was a story bandied about when I was young, of a garden party with a fair amount of drama, if rumors were to be believed.” Charles placed another card on the table before he continued.
“Apparently, some tenants were in the midst of a feud during a party my parents were hosting. Well, normally those things would be of no matter, except for the fact that one of the tenants decided to release the pigs from their pen. The pigs made their way all the way to the party, through the garden doors and into the center of a game of charades! Needless to say, the game was cut short.”
A chortle escaped Charles as he laughed at his own story, distracted enough to miss that he had once again lost at cards. Eventually, a frown knit his brow, and he scrubbed his hand over his face.
Richard was first to speak. “I feel your bad luck streak continues, my friend. You should be grateful we are playing with nothing more than pride at stake.”
Charles grunted, and then tried to stifle a yawn. “Well then, I fear I must retire for the evening and hope a new day brings something better.”
Abruptly standing from the table, Charles bowed to both gentlemen, neither Percy nor Richard seeming to care about Charles’s quick departure.
Charles walked unsteadily toward the door before he appeared to remember Barbara’s presence.
She watched as Charles approached and bowed drunkenly in front of her.
“I wish you a pleasant evening, my lady. I do apologize if our presence so late in the evening was bothersome,” Charles said, the slur of his word slight but noticeable to Barbara. “I hope you can convince Percy to take you to the garden party; it seems a silly thing to let decide one’s future.”
Barbara watched as Charles stumbled out of her parents’ townhome. A smile made its way to her face for the first time this evening.
“I had hoped all evening that you would smile, but now that I see it, I fear I am not going to like what it entails,” Percy stated flatly, as he shuffled the cards mindlessly. Richard was half dozing in his chair.
“But you heard Charles. A garden party is a ridiculous thing to worry about; all I would need to do is to convince you to accompany me,” retorted Barbara.
A murmur came from her brother. “But you are not even invited to the party; how can you expect Percy to accompany you?”
Barbara exchanged a look with Percy, who drew a breath, and blew it out slowly, his cheeks puffing as he did so. “I fear, Richard, that your sister can be quite convincing. It seems we are going to the country.”