A Chaotic Courtship

by Bethany Swafford

Her chin in the air, she strode over to Sarah. Hopefully, I had said enough to give her a small sliver of doubt. After all, she had said ‘if.’

  “I suppose you think you have won now,” Will said.

  “This is not about winning, Will. What else was I to do? Why is it none of you understand the consequences of accusing Mr. Richfield of being a criminal would have been disastrous? I had to stop you somehow!”

  “There’s no need to get defensive.”

  Irritating brother! Why couldn’t I have been an only child? Even as I asked myself that, I knew I honestly didn’t mean it. I could not imagine my life without my siblings, however irritating they could be on most occasions.

  “Besides, I don’t think it is over just yet,” Will said, getting my attention. He nodded to where Sarah and Miss Sandwood were huddled together. As I watched, Sarah glanced over, and her grin made me uneasy. “They will not give up so easily.”

  What? After my strategy and warnings? Were they still going to continue with their plan? Whatever their plan was? Hadn’t Sarah promised to leave it alone? She would keep her word, wouldn’t she? Or had she already found a loophole?

  “I don’t believe this,” I said out loud. Leaving Will laughing, I walked towards my sister and Charlotte.

  Sarah saw me coming and whispered something to her friend. “Then, it is settled,” Charlotte said, just loud enough for me to hear.

  “What is settled? What are you two up to?”

  They both faced me with broad smiles. “Oh, we aren’t going to ambush your Mr. Richfield,” Sarah said. She reached over and patted my arm as if to comfort me. “You were right. Proving he is a highwayman would bring some nasty consequences. So you do not have to worry about that at all.”

  That didn’t reassure me at all. “That does not explain what you have planned instead.”

  “Since we are so adamant we ought not to prove whether he is a highwayman or not, we cannot know for sure whether he is a good man or not,” Charlotte said. “And what kind of friend would I be if I let you or Sarah become involved with a man of questionable background?”

  Well, this just kept getting better and better. “You should not be concerned. Mr. Richfield is—.”

  “No, no, no,” Charlotte said, interrupting me. “Sarah and I will handle this. I will see you both at the house party.”

  As she spun on her heel and walked away, Sarah faced me, looking entirely too pleased with herself. “Just what are you going to do?” I asked, to which she shrugged innocently. “You and Miss Sandwood are planning something, and I know I am not going to like it.”

  “Sister of mine, you worry far too much,” Sarah said. “Charlotte and I agreed we couldn’t let you marry someone who may be a criminal.” She raised her hand to stop me from protesting. “We will not be trying to prove he is just as I promised I wouldn’t, remember?”

  “Sarah, tell me right now: what do you have planned?” I asked, my voice rising. Why did I have to keep repeating myself? I just wanted a straight answer!

  “Well, we just thought with so many beautiful and wealthy young ladies from London being at the house party, we might be able to convince him they are more worth his time.”

  I stared at her in disbelief. I could see my sister smiling at me, but I felt as though I was back in London with Miss Reynolds chattering about how she intended on pursuing Mr. Richfield. Only this time, my heart felt like it had stopped beating.

  “No. Sarah, no!”

  How would I bear it if I had to watch Mr. Richfield become interested in another young lady? I knew I was not the most beautiful young lady, simply pretty enough and I did not have a fortune. Mr. Richfield had never made a formal offer. What was there to stop him from being persuaded by Sarah and Miss Sandwood to pursue another?

  No. I could not let that happen. “Don’t you dare, Sarah! How could you even think of doing that to me?”

  Slowly, Sarah’s smile faded away. “I am just trying to protect you, Diana. You are always complaining about how I don’t understand you, but you never try to see things from my point of view.”

  “Protect me? Ever since you learned he was interested in me and not you, you have been acting in this insane manner!”

  “Are you trying to insinuate I am jealous?”

  At this point, we were standing almost nose to nose, but I had the advantage of being slightly taller than my sister. “Girls, I need you.” Mother’s voice. “What are you doing?”

  We exchanged glares one last time before we spun to face Mother with forced smiles. “We are coming, Mother,” we said at the same time. As Sarah set down her bow, I walked away from her, my hands clenched tightly. I was sorely tempted to slap her and I knew that would only get myself in trouble with my parents.

  “You’ll see, I’m right,” Sarah said in a low voice as she caught up to me.

  “Be careful about what you do now, Sarah,” I said in answer, keeping my voice just as low. “I will not be able to forgive you if you do this to me.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Two days later, Mother rode with Sarah and me to Knighton Manor. My sister and I had not exchanged any kind of conversation the whole time, which made Mother annoyed with us both. It did not make for a comfortable existence.

  I had thought Mother would be on my side in this. But all she had said when I told her what Sarah had planned was, “I hardly think your sister intends on ruining your marriage prospects. And even if she tries, do you think she will succeed? You must not have a high opinion of Mr. Richfield if you do. If he is lured away by another young lady, then, does he truly deserve you?”

  Mother’s words had made me think, tand I knew she was right. If Mr. Richfield became interested in another lady, I would not want to marry someone who was so easily distracted. With that in mind, I resolved to let Sarah do what she would and trust I knew Mr. Richfield as well as I thought I did.

  “I expect you both to behave yourselves today,” Mother said as the carriage rumbled down the lane to the manor. “Mrs. Knighton was kind enough to include you in her activities. I will not have you embarrassing yourselves by quarreling with each other.”

  “We would never do that, Mother,” Sarah said, her tone aghast.

  Mother sent her a look that made Sarah squirm beside me. “Do not try my patience because I will not hesitate to deny you time at this house party if either of you disgraces yourselves today, or on any other occasion when we are here,” she said. From her tone, I had no doubt she was completely serious.

  For the first time in days, I exchanged an uneasy look with Sarah. We were well aware if we were pulled away from the party events, it would be quite some time before we would be allowed to go to anything away from home.

  “We understand, Mother,” I said meekly.

  “Good.”

  The carriage pulled to a stop in front of the large manor house where the Knighton family resided. A stable hand opened the door, and Mother was the first one out. Sarah and I moved at the same time to follow her. We glared at each other before I sat back and gestured for her to go ahead of me. “Be my guest.”

  The high road, for the moment, was mine. Rolling her eyes, Sarah climbed out. “Well, isn’t this going to be a fun day,” I said to myself, pushing myself off the seat.

  The manor was a large Elizabethan house that had been home to the Knighton family for over a hundred years. Its stone walls rose high, and the large glass windows sparkled in the sunshine.

  Mother led the way up to the front door. The butler opened it for us, and a maid took our bonnets from us. Miss Jenson, Mrs. Knighton’s companion, was there to greet us and escort us to the drawing room, where all the women in the party were gathered at the moment.

  “I think perhaps you will know a few of the other guests, Miss Forester,” Miss Jenson said over her shoulder. “They all spent time in London during this past season.”

  “Perhaps,” I said skeptically. So many people were in town for the London Season that the odds I would know any o
f the members of this party seemed ridiculous.

  Miss Jenson opened the door for us and stepped aside to the side to allow us to enter ahead of her. About ten ladies were sitting in the drawing room. Half of them already had bored expressions on their face, while the other half was huddled together talking excitedly. The first person I saw clearly as I stepped up beside Mother made my heart sink.

  Miss Reynolds.

  Of course she would be here. The one lady in London who had professed an interest in Mr. Richfield was here. I had no doubt she would not hesitate to pursue Mr. Richfield’s attention. Sarah may not have to do a single thing!

  “Mrs. Forester! Miss Forester, Miss Sarah,” Mrs. Knighton said, rising from her seat. “Welcome. Let me introduce you to my guests. I am sure we will have a wonderful time these coming weeks.”

  As Mrs. Knighton led us further into the room, I plastered a smile on my face. I couldn’t ignore how Miss Reynolds and the young blonde lady next to her stared at us with disdainful expressions on their faces. My hands were full dealing with Sarah, and now two other people disliked me? Wasn’t this going make a lovely addition to my life.

  “Mrs. Reynolds, Miss Reynolds,” I said in as pleasant a manner as I could muster.

  “Oh, you are acquainted then?” Mrs. Knighton asked in surprise. She proceeded to introduce us all to Mrs. Delan and her daughter Cassandra. Then, there was Mrs. Carter and her two daughters, Mary the young lady next to Miss Reynolds, and Elizabeth. Mother and Sarah were introduced to Mrs. Reynolds and Miss Reynolds. All of them murmured it was a pleasure to meet us.

  Mother joined the older ladies, leaving Sarah and me to face the younger girls. “It is lovely to see you again, Miss Reynolds,” I said, breaking the awkward silence. “Did you enjoy the rest of the Season?”

  “Of course, Miss Forester,” Miss Reynolds said, her tone cool. “Mrs. Knighton tells me Mr. Richfield is in the area, staying with one of the other families. I had wondered why I did not see him these past few weeks in London.”

  She had gone straight to the point, and I nodded, seeing no reason to deny the fact. “Yes, that is true.” Sarah glanced over at me with a slight frown on her face. I opened my mouth to continue, but couldn’t figure out what to say on this particular subject. So, instead, I asked, “What has Mrs. Knighton planned for today?”

  “Oh, we felt the need to recover from our journey here,” Miss Carter answered, yawning said with a large yawn. “Someone suggested playing ninepins earlier, but no one cared to do so. It is a foolish game anyway.”

  When Miss Carter mentioned ninepins, Sarah’s face brightened with delight, as it was one of her favorite games to play. It angered me to see Sarah’s disappointment written on her face that the game had been so quickly dismissed.

  “Well, that’s not exactly true,” Miss Delan said shyly. She appeared to be about Sarah’s age and had a pleasant smile. “I would be more than willing to play. The weather looks rather fine, and it would be a shame not to enjoy it while we can.”

  Sarah became delighted once again. “I will speak to Mrs. Knighton about getting the game set up.” She bounced away to do just that, leaving me alone with the other ladies.

  “Have a seat, Miss Forester,” Miss Delan said, gesturing to the chair next to her. “We were discussing the latest fashions before you arrived.”

  “Yes, it looks as though you could learn quite a bit, Miss Forester,” Miss Carter said as I sat.

  My smile was frozen on my face at this point. Self consciously, I smoothed my green lawn dress. It was one of my favorites and not even a year old. There was no possible way it was out of style. “I hardly think so,” I said as pleasantly as possible. I was not about to listen to such insults spoken to my face. “Thank you for your concern, though.”

  Miss Carter nodded towards me, her manner condescending. “Have you considered a different color? I think maybe pink would be a much better color for you.”

  Her younger sister flinched, and Miss Delan glanced at the door as though she wanted to leave the room. I stared at Miss Carter, unsure what to do. We’d never met before this and she had no reason to wish me ill unless she knew of Miss Reynolds’ disappointment.

  “You must allow me to recommend my mother’s modiste in London,” Miss Carter continued. “When next you are in London, Madame Devereaux will be able to assist you.” She gave a slight gasp, her hand flying to her lips. “Oh, how silly of me. Forgive me for assuming you will be able to visit London again. Georgina told me you relied on your aunt and uncle to come this year.”

  The implication that my family would not have the means to go to London was clear. Lifting my chin, I met her gaze. “You are correct,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster. “My aunt and uncle were kind enough to take me. However, I cannot tell you for certain whether I will return next spring or not. That, Miss Carter, will be entirely dependent on how this year ends.”

  “Oh? You expect many changes this year?” Miss Carter asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Not many. Just one important change.” Leaving her to make what she would of my deliberately cryptic words, I shifted my focus. “Did you have an enjoyable journey here, Miss Delan?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes,” Miss Delan said in relief. “I was afraid, with the rumors going around, we might have trouble. Papa had his pistol so we would have been well protected. But nothing happened.”

  “The highwayman no doubt knew you had nothing of value,” Miss Carter said, just loud enough for us to hear.

  Miss Delan flushed, and my hands clenched on the arms of my chair. If this was her attitude now, I could clearly see this party would only become more difficult. “Mrs. Knighton has ordered the game be set up,” Sarah said as she joined us again. She glanced around and seemed to sense she had missed something. “Who will play?”

  “As I said before, I would be happy to,” Miss Delan said, getting to her feet quickly. “Miss Elizabeth, will you join us?”

  The youngest Miss Carter glanced at her sister before nodding. “Happily.”

  “Diana, are you coming?” Sarah asked.

  “What kind of question is that, Sarah? You know Diana only plays ninepins to be as ridiculous as possible.”

  I lifted my gaze to find my dearest friend, Lady Carlyle, coming into the room. “Anna!” I said, happy to find some support in the room. I got to my feet and held my hands out. “I wondered where you were.”

  “Oh, I needed to pen a letter to my husband to let him know I had arrived safely. He will not join us until next week. He had business to see to. But I am pleased to see you again, Diana.”

  Laughing, I hugged her. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” I whispered in her ear. “I have so much to tell you.”

  “Let’s go play ninepins,” Anna said, pulling me towards the door. “We shall see the rest of you out there. Hello, Mrs. Forester. How are you? It’s good to see you. We will catch up later, shall we?”

  Used to Anna’s impetuous nature, Mother just nodded with a smile as we went past. Anna looped her arm around mine and leaned against me. “Finally, we can have some quiet,” she said as we walked towards the garden. “I cannot believe Mother invited the Reynolds and the Carters. She only did it because Philip asked her to, you know.”

  I did not know that, and the last thing I wanted was to talk about her brother. “Miss Reynolds and I weren’t exactly friends in London as you might remember. You interrupted at just the right time. I was about to disgrace myself horribly.”

  “I am not even sure how Philip knows them.” She glanced around and then pulled me in the opposite direction of the gardens. “Now. Tell me quickly. Mother says Mr. Richfield has been here this whole time.”

  “Are you kidnapping me?”

  “If you do not tell me everything I want to know this instant, then yes. And I will not release you until you tell me all.”

  Sighing, I gave in and told her everything that had happened since I had left London. I tried to keep it as simple and
straightforward as possible, which didn’t work well when I tried to explain some of the more complicated points like how Sarah wished to direct Mr. Richfield’s attention in another direction. Anna remained silent the whole time, and I had to wait a few moments after I finished for her to show any reaction.

  “You definitely want to marry Mr. Richfield?”

  Surprised that out of everything I had just said Anna focused on that, I stared at her. “Yes, but Sarah—.”

  “Forget about what Sarah intends to do for a moment. You have nothing to worry about Diana. I knew in London you, and he would make a perfect pair, and I happen to know your Mr. Richfield spoke to Rodger about you. His intentions cannot be any clearer, and it will take more than a jealous little sister to make him change his mind.”

  “He spoke to your husband about me?” That came as a surprise. Why had Anna not told me this in London?

  Anna nodded. “Rodger learned everything he could about Mr. Richfield after that. I had to be certain this man was worthy of my dearest friend.”

  “He may be worthy, but what am I supposed to do now?”

  “I am here now, Diana,” she said pragmatically. “I will help you, and I have the perfect situation for you to be in each other’s company. Mother is having a picnic in two days. What better time for you and he to take a walk together without the presence of your siblings? I could not have planned things better if I had tried.”

  Excitement bubbled up, and I tried to shove it down. “But propriety—!” Though I had been alone for a few minutes with Mr. Richfield already, I had never planned it. To be caught would be disastrous for us both!

  “You will be in full view of everyone else, or close enough to it there can be no objection. If he does not request to speak to your father afterward, I will—.” She paused, apparently struggling to think of what she would do in response. “I will figure what I will do when it happens. Which it will not for he will propose to you on the spot.”

  “I have the strangest feeling you will get me into trouble.” While I had been eager to tell my dear friend everything, I had not forgotten her tendency to brush accepted rules aside to suit her own plans. When Anna wished to make sure Sir Rodger didn’t leave her family estate without knowing how she felt, she’d ridden astride to catch up to his carriage. Two years before that, when she’d been fascinated with a different man, she’d danced with him three times and then decided he was not the husband she wanted.