Dating Two Dragons

by Sky Winters

  When Gwen returned, she worked silently to pin her hair up. Her own maid let her get away with the plainest of hairstyles, but her mother had sent Gwen with different orders. She worked diligently, combing and curling and pinning until Charity looked every bit the fashionable lady. When she was finally allowed to look in the mirror, she could not deny that she looked pretty, but she did not look like herself and it bothered her that her mother wanted her to present herself as an entirely different person to the man she planned for her to marry.

  Once she was dressed and prepared, she could not sit idly in her room. As she so often did before formal dinners, she walked out to the veranda to get a bit of fresh air. While no one in her household was usually there before dinners, on that evening she found her place of solitude occupied by none other than Augustus. Is his formal cloths for dinner, all the deepest black, he was even more alluring than he had been in the stable.

  “Why am I not surprised to find you hiding out here as well?” she asked with a chuckle.

  “Maybe because we seem to be kindred spirits,” Augustus said. He wanted to say more, but the beauty of her, there in the moonlight was more than any man could stand. The purple of her gown glowed as did her eyes and he was quite mesmerized. Still, he thought she looked lovelier in her riding cloths because she was truly happy then. Now, she looked restricted and confined and it did not suite her.

  “Perhaps we are,” she said with a grin.

  “You do look ravishing. If your plan is to try to change my brother's mind about choosing you as a wife, you are not doing yourself any favors by being the loveliest woman he has ever seen,” Augustus said with a smile. Charity blushed immediately, glad for the cover of darkness to hide behind.

  “I am not sure how to take that,” she said, not caring enough for the art of skilled conversation to come up with a more calculated response.

  “It is both a compliment and a warning,” he said, pleased that she was so forthcoming when she spoke to him. It was such a refreshing change from every other person in his life.

  “You say we are kindred. If we really are kindred spirits, then help me. What kind of woman would your brother be unable to bring himself to marry?” She asked, knowing that only someone who valued their freedom as much as she did would help her.

  “That is a difficult thing. He cares mostly for his estate and his monies. I am sure he only wants a wife because he thinks he should have one. You are beautiful and from a good family. I don't think he cares much for anything else,” he explained, knowing that she was all his brother required in a wife.

  “Well that does not help me at all,” she scolded.

  “Are you very sure that you do not want to be his wife. I am fairly sure that he will spend as little time as possible with his wife. The success of his lands is his main focus. You would have all the freedom in the world to run the home as you liked as long as you did not do anything too radical,” he said before truly thinking about what he had said.

  “Perhaps we are not kindred spirits if you think that sounds like any kind of life,” she snapped as she turned to walk away from him, too angry to continue the conversation.

  “I did not mean to insult you. I know only that a lady in our times has few options. At least my brother would not try to control you,” he said, trying to fix his error, but her expression told him that he had not fixed his mistake.

  “I have a plan for my life where I get to be happy,” she said, thinking that he could not understand.

  “And what is that plan?” he asked, genuinely curious about what she could envision for her life with no husband in their male driven society.

  “I am afraid I cannot tell you. I am going in to the dinner now,” she said as she turned and left. He felt the loss of her warmth immediately.

  “I will be along in a bit. My parents will not know what do to with themselves if I arrive on time,” he called after her as he watched her go, eager to find a way to repair whatever damage he had done to what had been between them.

  Chapter 6

  The next day, they left early for the picnic. Her mother was in a closed carriage with her maid while the rest of the party was on horseback. As promised, her mother had forbidden Zeus to be saddled for her and she had been unable to change her father’s mind on the matter. Edmund rode a steady steed, as did her father. She was placed on a mare with a little bit of spirit, a compromise she had no choice but to settle for. Augustus rode the finest horse, besides Zeus, that she had ever seen. He was not quite as tall as Zeus, but broader and with a deep mahogany coat. He did not try to stay with the group and instead allowed his horse to run free, which made her quite jealous.

  The picnic was pleasant enough, though the conversation was dominated by her father and Edmund discussing the business of running their estates. She was so maddeningly bored that she could no longer stand it when the same conversation continued as the small party rode home. She pulled her mare up beside her mother’s carriage window when she knew that she needed to act or die of boredom.

  “Mother, I am so sorry but I believe that my bracelet fell off at the picnic site. I do not want to force the group to turn back. I will simply ride back and search for it myself,” she said, as pleasant as she could manage. Her mother was not fooled at all, but could not risk calling her on her deception in front of the man she hoped would marry her.

  “No, we will all join you,” Edmund said, though he did not look pleased to be pulled from his discussions of business.

  “I would not dream of ruining your afternoon my lord. I know that you are eager to return to your books. I know just where it must have fallen. It will take me no time at all,” she said, doing her best to win him over with a look of innocence.

  “Be quick daughter. Shall I send a groom with you?” her father asked, oblivious to her motives.

  “No, they will have much to do in caring for all of your horses. I shall be fine going alone,” she said as she turned her horse and road off at top speed in the direction of the picnic site. Though she had lost no bracelet, she needed to keep up her ruse. All she really wanted was the freedom to ride alone for a bit and enjoy the beautiful day.

  Like her mother, Augustus was not at all fooled. After the group had ridden a few more minutes, the house came in to view. He took the opportunity to say, “You know, I think my horse needs a bit more exercise. I think I shall ride on a bit.”

  “Of course Augustus,” Edmund said, not caring a whit whether his brother road on or not as he had business to attend to. With that Augustus road past the house, but soon swung around and headed at top speed for their picnic site. The entire day had been torture, being so close to Charity but not being able to talk with her or to ask her forgiveness for his thoughtless remarks the evening before. Usually, a lady being upset with him would have been his cue to move along to the next woman, but the thought of displeasing Charity weighed heavy on his mind and he knew he would not be able to rest until she once again called him a friend. Besides, he longed to be the recipient of another of her pure, joyous smiles. He might have been jealous when she turned her charms on his brother to earn his approval of her leaving the group alone had there been anything genuine about her emotion, but he had seen right through it. She had no feelings for Edmund and it brought him a joy that he knew he should be ashamed of.

  When he finally found her, her bonnet had blown off her head and hung around her neck as she took the mare over low fences and hedges at her top speed.

  “This is far from our picnic site. Your bracelet must have flung very far from where you thought you lost it,” he called to her.

  “I did not lose my bracelet. I just needed to do some real riding,” she explained. “If I had been on Zeus, you would never have caught up to me.”

  “On that horse, I could have caught you if I walked,” he said with a smirk.

  “Yes, well it's not ideal but I could not bring myself to go back in and play the part of a dutiful daughter for another moment,” she said i
n exasperation.

  “May I keep you company?” he asked, a little fearful that she might actually say no.

  “I suppose,” she said, displeased with the thought of him intruding on her solitude after his suggestion the night before that she accept her fate.

  “I owe you an apology for my words yesterday,” he said reluctantly. He was not used to apologizing to anyone, let alone women. His family just assumed that he would play the part of the rogue and he had never allowed himself to be close enough to a lady that he felt the obligation to do so before.

  “Yes you do,” she said with a smirk, though she did not turn towards him. Though he had only known her for a short time, he craved seeing her bright eyes dance.

  “I did not mean to say that you should settle for a life you do not want. I know from experience how dissatisfying such things can be. That is why I spend so much time traveling. When I am abroad, I can be anyone I want to be. I am more than just the earl's younger son,” he said. He had never said that out loud to another soul before, but he felt the sudden urge to make her understand him. No one else ever had before, but something about the spunky girl beside him told him that she just might.

  “I did not know that men felt such pressures,” she replied, turning to face him with a look of genuine surprise on her face.

  “Perhaps it is just me,” he said with a shrug. To be sure, he brother felt no such pressures. He had never thought twice about being anything but a proper Earl.

  “I think maybe we are kindred after all,” she answered, now giving him the genuine smile that he had craved. Just like that, they fell back in to the easy rhythm of conversation that they had had the day before.

  “I take that as a compliment of the highest order,” he said, grinning at her like a school boy.

  “Since I have forgiven you, there is something I would like to show you,” she teased, the look in her eyes telling him that he was about to be let in on a secret she held dear.

  “I am intrigued,” he said, not wanting to appear too eager. He did not want to scare her in to changing her mind. He liked the idea of her letting her guard down with him.

  “Were I on my own horse, I would suggest a race but you will have to settle for a more languid pace,” she offered apologetically.

  “Why aren't you riding Zeus?” he asked. He had been wondering that very thing since the party had originally departed for their picnic.

  “My mother was very insistent that he is not the proper horse for a lady so he should not be ridden on such an important afternoon to her. She ordered the grooms not to saddle him,” she answered honestly, clearly not pleased.

  “Well, this will give us more time to get to know each other,” he responded, pleased to be able to spend time alone with her, doing the thing that they both loved best. Most young ladies would be purposely flirty in such a situation or nervous and jumpy. Charity was merely being her true self and it was intoxicating to him.

  “I suppose it does,” Charity said, in no hurry herself. She liked the way she felt around Augustus, like she was finally free to be her true self with another person.

  They rode slowly over the rolling hills across the estate. Instead of letting the horses run free as they both usually would have, they rode with their horses shoulder to shoulder. Finally, they reached their destination. As the crested the hill, they were looking down at a small lake with a sweet little stone cottage on its edge.

  “What is this place?” he asked her, confused about how the isolated cottage fit in to her plans for a life of independence

  “My plan!” she said, beaming with pride

  “This cottage is your plan?” he asked skeptically, unsure what kind of adventure a life there could offer her. There was a small dock with a boat tied to it and a small stable behind it large enough for one horse, but no sign that the cottage was any more than a traditional English cottage.

  “I am going to live here,” she explained, as though he was a fool for not already seeing her plan.

  “Alone? You will never be allowed to do it. I do not know your mother well but I know enough to realize she would lock you in the estate house before she would let you lay your head here,” he said, shocked that she thought she would be allowed to do such a daring thing.

  “After your brother chooses not to ask for my hand, she will be angry enough with me to want me out of her sight,” she said with a smug smile.

  “What will you do here?” he asked, not sure what else to say. He did not want to risk earning the same anger she had felt for him the night before.

  “There is a small stable for Zeus and I will have my books brought over. I can spend my days riding and wandering about the estate. I can be free to do as I please,” she said with a dreamy look on her face that made her look like a vision of loveliness.

  They made their way to the cottage and she opened the door to reveal the sweet little home that she had chosen for herself. They both knew that it was wrong for them to be behind closed doors together, but neither could bring themselves to leave. Instead, they talked about everything and anything. Augustus told her tale after tale of the places he had traveled and she told him about all the capers that she had her brother had carried out and all of the books that she loved so passionately. They both talked about their love of horses and the burden of the expectations that their families had for them.

  “I wish I could show you the world. You would love the places that I have been, the things I have seen,” he said as the afternoon began to face, wishing more than anything that it was true. The thought of opening her eyes to the world was the most tempting thing he had ever considered.

  “I wish it was possible, but it is not for a woman without a husband. Even I must admit that there are limits,” she said with a laugh that did not fully hide her sadness.

  “I hate that there is anyone who can place limits on you,” he said before he could think better of it. On impulse, he reached his hand out and cradled her cheek in his palm. He thought she might be afraid; that she might pull back from him. Instead, she leaned in to his warm caress and they both savored the intimacy of the moment.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I have never known a woman such as you,” he said, in awe of her.

  “In truth I have never known a man like you,” she replied, placing her own hand over his.

  “We should get back. If we are found here, it will be disastrous for you,” he said, for once in his life forcing himself to think of what was best for another instead of what he wanted.

  “But then no man would want to marry me,” she said saucily.

  “I think you would be surprised about that. Any man who would not marry a woman such as you is either a fool or not much of a man,” he said as he held the door open and they left the safety of their retreat and made their way back towards the real world

  Chapter 7

  The next few days of the Daniels Family’s visit went by so quickly that Charity could barely believe that the day of the dance had arrived. In the days after their time in the cottage, she and Augustus were able to spend more time together, though never quite as privately. Still, they were able to talk and laugh and grow together. Charity could not believe how accustomed she had become to his presence in just a few days. The thought of never seeing him again after his family left struck cold in her heart. However, she was quite sure that she would never see him again. Edmund had made no real effort to get to know her more and had spent much of the visit closeted away with the financial books of his estate. It was enough for her to relax about her mother’s plan to marry her off. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she did not realize immediately that she was not alone as she wondered on to the back terrace. It was only when she heard a deep chuckle that she realized Jason had returned.

  “Brother, you came,” she said as she threw her arms around his neck.

  “I told you I would,” he said with a laugh.

  “Where is Valeria?” she asked.
r />   “Mother swept her off to talk about fashion for this evening,” he said as he cringed.

  “Oh good, perhaps I will be spared that conversation then,” she teased.

  “I doubt it,” he smirked.

  “I suppose so,” she sighed.

  “How do you like him?” Jason asked, unwilling to wait anymore to see how she had faired with her potential suitor.

  “For any other woman, he would be unobjectionable,” she admitted.

  “But he is not the man for you,” Jason observed.

  “No,” she said honestly.

  “Does mother know that?” he asked.

  “No. I think she expects him to ask for my hand tonight. She has certainly done all she can to assure it, but he has no interest in me,” she said, looking very sure that she spoke the truth, though Jason had is doubts.