Chapter One
Lady Smythesdon, née Violet Granger, had received a letter from her mother, as they all had. The viscountess was counting on them to manage Poppy and Pansy. The twins had come of age and everybody was at a loss as to what course to take.
It had seemed to Violet that all the writing letters back and forth between her sisters had gone nowhere. Everybody was waiting for somebody else to have an idea.
Finally, she had called a family meeting at Cherry Tree Cottage in Oxford. Rose and Hamilton already lived nearby, Daisy and Hemmings came down from Cumberland, Marigold had been wrenched from Pendleton Park, and even Lily had convinced Knightswood that they must abandon London for a short visit.
Knightswood had needed particular convincing as Lily was carrying their first child and he was a positive wreck over it.
He spent most of his time eyeing Lily to assure himself that nothing was going wrong and appearing outraged when anybody suggested she walk anywhere.
As far as Violet could understand it, Knightswood would wish to carry Lily from room to room if she would have allowed it.
Cherry Tree Cottage could not accommodate so many people, so Daisy and Hemmings were staying with Rose and Hamilton in their sweet little house down the lane.
They had gathered in the drawing room and Bertie, a strapping lad of nine years, came in to say hello to his aunts and their husbands.
He was of a rather unexpected temperament, considering both his mother and father were well-regarded intellectuals.
He could care less about books and merely looked forward to going to Eton in a few years for the sports.
Cricket and rowing were his particular interests.
Violet was most perplexed about the rowing, as he’d not yet tried it.
After a half hour, Bertie excused himself with the comment that his diabolical tutor had left him work to do. Why anybody was to care about Mesopotamia, he personally did not have the first idea. All he could say for certain was that he did not care about it.
Now the adults went in to dinner to talk about the twins.
“This visit reminds me of why I love Pendleton Park,” Marigold said. “There are too many people in this town. You cannot help running into people the minute you step out the door.”
“We are glad you have come,” Violet’s husband said, rather than answer any charge against Oxford. “Now what ought we do about Poppy and Pansy?”
The footman brought the wine round and everybody at table examined their glass as if the answer was to be found languishing in hock.
“I do not think it would be at all difficult to find two young gentlemen that would be of interest to them,” Smythesdon said.
“No, certainly not,” Rose said. “They are very pretty.”
“And ebullient too,” Daisy said. “Gentlemen are certain to like their spiritedness.”
“I suppose I would say they are fun,” Hamilton said.
“So very fun,” Rose added.
“It’s just…” Marigold trailed off.
“Yes, indeed, it is just…” Hamilton said nodding.
“Can they be separated,” Violet said, not one to avoid the obvious.
The parties at the table sunk into silence, all attempting to imagine a Poppy without a Pansy or a Pansy without a Poppy.
“It seems difficult,” Knightswood said, “and yet it must be done.”
“Poor girls,” Lily said.
“Maybe they’re tired of each other by now?” Hamilton asked hopefully.
Marigold shook her head. “They are thick as thieves. They are not as interchangeable as they once were, they have both developed varying interests. For example, Pansy is far more likely to ride out with me while Poppy is far more likely to stay behind to read one of those ridiculous romantic novels Daisy and Lily left behind. They dress very differently too. For all that, though, they are almost always together.”
“Perhaps a trial run at separation might be tried?” Knightswood said.
“Pansy could come to me and Poppy could stay at Chemsworth,” Marigold said. “We might arrange that they only see one another a few times a week and see how it goes.”
“Or perhaps a clean break would be more efficacious?” Hamilton said. “One could come to us. Then we see what happens when they are apart.”
“Must they be separated, I wonder?” Hemmings said. “It seems to me if we think through everybody we know, we must be able to dig up two likely fellows who would not cause an undue separation. Perhaps a situation where they could visit one another at least monthly?”
“True, true!” Smythesdon said. “We have been ready to accept defeat on that front too easily. I do not think any of us know two brothers or two gentlemen living nearby one another who might suit, but between us we might piece something together. Perhaps you know one and I know the other one sort of thing.”
“Yes,” Violet said. “All we are really looking for is a situation that is geographically pleasing. Any two gentlemen who live but a few hours apart could be suitable.”
“Let us go county by county, comparing who we know and who might live nearby one another,” Smythesdon said.
And so they did.
The dinner wore on as they discussed each county, beginning with Bedfordshire.
County after county was examined. Counties neighboring one another were probed for proximities.
Dinner ended and the gentlemen brought their port into the dining room as they persevered.
Lily began to droop and Knightswood sent her to her bed.
She went too, as she was very tired and her husband was getting in a state over it.
Just as it seemed going county by county was an idea that had cost them an entire evening and delivered nothing, Violet said, “And finally, Yorkshire.”
Hemmings vaguely knew the Earl of Westport and that gentleman had a son of twenty-two or so. He did not think the young gentleman had yet wed. He did know Westport House was just south of a village called Barnoldswick in Yorkshire. He thought it was in the west of the county.
The west of Yorkshire recalled to Smythesdon an even more vague connection.
His mother had last year visited Viscountess Pepperdon up north, a lady she had known since girlhood.
He was fairly certain Pepperdon Hall had also been in the west of Yorkshire.
She had gone to the lady’s house for some weeks and recounted it all to Smythesdon.
There had been a son, he would be the right age.
The name of the nearest town was Barrow…
something. Wick? Stone? No, Ford. Barrowford.
These tenuous threads of information had prompted a pulling out of a map to locate these two small places.
As often happened when people refused to get off a sinking ship and determinedly rowed toward shore, the fates finally shrugged and gave them what they were after.
“Barnoldswick and Barrowford cannot be more than ten miles apart. We’ve done it,” Smythesdon said, throwing the map in the air.
“Indeed, my darling,” Violet said, rescuing the map from the floor.
“Now we only have to get these two gentlemen to Chemsworth Hall and have each of them fall in love with a different twin and each twin to fall in love with the one in love with them without any of them being at cross purposes. Please heaven, let them both be handsome.”
“Details, my love. Knightswood, have you seen either of these two fellows in Town?”
Knightswood shook his head. “I cannot think so. I do not believe the earl keeps a house in Town. I’ve heard there was some kerfuffle at Almack’s years ago and he upped sticks and never returned. I know nothing of Viscountess Pepperdon.”
“Hah!” Hamilton said. “I see where you go with this, Smythesdon.”
“Indeed,” Smythesdon said. “We write them, introducing our rather remote connections. We will be positively received because—”
“Because if they are young men living in the west of Yorkshire and do not go to Town,” Violet said, “they will be eager to travel outside of their own neighborhoods over any excuse.”
“Just so,” Smythesdon said.
“It is a bold plan,” Rose said. “I like it.”
“Gracious,” Daisy said, “Poppy and Pansy will be thrilled.”
“I’ll be thrilled to get home,” Marigold said. “Write your letters to Mama in the morning and I will take them back.”
“Once we have answers from these two fellows, and I am certain those answers will be that they are delighted to come,” Violet said, “some of us must be on hand.”
“Indeed,” Rose said. “These things always require a managing hand.”
“Especially this one,” Hamilton said, “because it is two ladies and two gentlemen.”
“We certainly must go,” Daisy said. “We are to invite our Barnoldswick gentleman, it would be odd if we were not there.”
“And so must we,” Violet said, “as we are to invite our Barrowford gentleman.”
“We’ll bring Bertie along,” Smythesdon said. “He’ll be delighted to put down his books for a while and Teddy will be happy to see him.”
“I’ll be nearby at Pendleton Park,” Marigold said. “Send a note if you need me. But only if you really need me. Desperately. Because things have got that bad.”
“My wife has sworn to me that this is the only trip we make until after the baby is here,” Knightswood said. “We have an array of the finest London doctors on hand at the house.”
Everyone nodded sympathetically, as Knightswood was taking Lily’s pregnancy a lot harder than Lily was.
“Well gracious,” Violet said, “we have a plan.” She thought it a rather tenuous plan. However, it was better than what they’d started with, which had been not the first idea of a plan. They had to make a start somewhere, and here was a place to start.