Love's Past

by Laura Bastian

  Cyrus turned. “Lead the way.” He doubted the three girls would care all that much about him waiting for them, but he didn’t want to break the tradition. As soon as he walked into the gathering room, he was surprised to see five other men there.

  He looked at Harvey, who whispered in his ear. “There are three groups this week. One is from America and the other is from France.”

  Harvey made the introduction to the butler, who then cleared his throat to draw the attention of the others. “Introducing Cyrus Manning, from the territory of Ohio in the Americas.”

  A few of the other men bowed, and then the stragglers followed suit. Cyrus wondered what he was supposed to do in response. He didn’t feel like bowing low, so tipped his head a little and bowed slightly forward. He hoped it wasn’t wrong. He glanced at Harvey, who gave a nod of approval and then stepped out of the room. Cyrus took a step forward, feeling stiff and awkward in his boots. The cravat at his neck itched a little. He wanted to pull at it, but saw how foolish the red-faced blond looked as he messed with his own neck cloth so Cyrus held himself stiff and formal, hoping it would keep it from bugging him anymore.

  After a couple minutes of listening to two other men making small talk, Cyrus wasn’t sure if they were pretending to be in character. He took a short stroll around the room, looking at all the paintings lining the one wall.

  Before he was required to really talk to any of the other men, the sound of the door opening made everyone turn. Aunt Nellie entered the room, followed closely by four other women. Two looked to be in their early twenties while the other two were older. One maybe late thirties, the other past fifty for sure. The odd ringlets framing their faces didn’t flatter their features, but they looked thrilled to be there.

  More movement from the door pulled his attention back. Cora entered with her bright blonde curls tamed and looking rather cute in the style they’d done. Reese and Kaitlyn walked in together, their arms were threaded through each other’s and they had their heads close together as if telling secrets. Cyrus took advantage of her distraction to really take her in.

  Kaitlyn looked stunning. The dress fit her well and she wore it like it was something she had always worn. No tugging at the neckline, no grabbing at the loose skirt that hinted at her curves under the empire waist. Reese looked a little self-conscious. She looked nice in her dress, but she didn’t wear it as confidently as Kaitlyn did. When Kaitlyn looked up, she stopped, making Reese pull up short and look at her. When his eyes met Kaitlyn’s, everything else in the room dropped out of his awareness.

  ***

  Kaitlyn took a moment to realize that the handsome man studying her was actually Cyrus. He cleans up good. His hair had been brushed back and styled differently than his normal way, his stubble from the past few days had been shaved and he held himself up straight, making him seem taller than the six feet he was. And next to the other men the room, he was obviously the finest specimen. When they had the little dances and the ball at the end of the week, he would be one of the favorites for sure.

  She hoped he would have a good time. It was kind of him to put her mother at ease, but she didn’t want to make him miserable. The last thing she needed was for him to torment her on her obsession with the time period. But having Cyrus here was helpful. Aunt Nellie would have fewer men to provide on her own since they’d brought one with them.

  Aunt Nellie introduced the other guests to them ― Mr. and Mrs. Conner with a son and two daughters, and Mr. Jacobson, who was married to the niece of the Connors with their fourteen-year-old son. The whole family looked eager to be there. Well, most of them did.

  As the introductions kept coming, Kaitlyn tried to commit them to memory. The French couple had a few children with them, and then there were two sisters, Miss Annette and Miss Eliza Price. There were twelve women and six men, making their dinner party a total of nineteen with Aunt Nellie as the hostess. The odd number made Kaitlyn wonder if Aunt Nellie would have one of her house-hold servants take the part of a guest. Did they need even numbers, and would they equally spread men and women?

  With all of the introductions of the house guests complete, Nellie invited them all to join her in the dining room, where she could go over the week’s schedule. Kaitlyn couldn’t help feeling flattered when Cyrus moved to stand next to her to escort her into the dining room.

  When they were all seated at the table with the little name cards indicating where they were to sit, Nellie smiled. “Tonight is a little less formal than most. We’re going to ease you into this tonight, but tomorrow, we will expect you to try your best for the proper etiquette at meal times, with the dancing and while interacting with members of the opposite sex. You should have all looked through the material we sent you when you first signed up for our week. You’ve each been provided with a small booklet highlighting some of the key things to remember for your stay.

  “There will be many times we invite neighbors and visitors to join us. You’ll also see some of my own staff holding multiple positions throughout the week. Just go with the flow and you will enjoy yourself, guaranteed.

  “We’ve got a back-story built up for all of you and the reason you’ve been invited to my home. When dinner is over, you’ll need to read over them and learn your history enough to converse easily with others you meet. The more you put into this, the more fun it will be for everyone. Are we all in accord?”

  Everyone at the table indicated their agreement and Nellie clapped her hands together in joy. “Wonderful. Now one last thing. The bottom three floors are for your use, but the top floor is off limits.”

  Without any more explanation, she looked at the head servant and gave a signal. The servants immediately sprang into motion, serving up the most elaborate meal Kaitlyn had ever seen. By the time the second course was served, Kaitlyn knew she would need to pace herself if she wanted to try all of the tasty options she saw listed on a little note card. She was lucky enough to sit next to Reese with Cyrus directly across from them. The conversations flowed easily and Kaitlyn realized that socializing was definitely an art form. Miss Annette Price, who sat to the right of Cyrus, chatted easily as if she had grown up in this environment.

  “Where are you from?” Kaitlyn asked.

  Annette smiled. “I grew up a couple hours north of here.”

  “This world seems so familiar to you,” Cyrus said.

  Annette glanced at Nellie at the head of the table and lowered her voice a little. “When I first left home, I wanted to do theatre, but it’s hard to break into it without some experience under my belt, so Aunt Nellie offered me a place here to fill in whenever she needed more variety. It also helps the guests to feel a little more at ease when they can see someone to model things after.”

  Kaitlyn grinned. “Excellent. I think you and I will need to be best friends during this week.”

  Annette returned the smile. “I do believe you are right, Miss Taylor. And I shall have all kinds of fun teaching you the art of the fan.”

  “Art of the fan?” Cyrus asked.

  Reese set down her fork. “Isn’t that where you show whether you are interested in a man or bothered by his presence? A way to tell them to come hither or get lost?”

  “Exactly,” Annette said. “And I’ll show you all about it.”

  “But how on earth is the guy supposed to know?” the young Mr. Conner asked. He looked about nineteen or twenty. Kaitlyn wasn’t sure if he was pleased to be there or if he was forced to because his parents were into it.

  “There’s a little bit of body language involved. The look in her eyes, of course,” Annette said.

  “If you would read the manual, you’d be able to see too,” Jessica Conner said. She was a little older than him and looked more into the whole immersion thing than her brother.

  Cyrus looked at the younger guy. “I hear you, Matthew. Texting now is a much easier way to see what a girl thinks.”

  Matthew shook his head. “Unless she only uses emojis.”

  Aunt N
ellie at the head of the table laughed. “See, young man. We aren’t all that different now than in the past. The key to surviving in a world full of people is to be observant and wise.” She surveyed everyone at the table as if studying them. Kaitlyn felt Nellie’s gaze rest on her for a moment before looking over at Cyrus and then continuing to scan the rest of the table.

  Chapter Four

  On Monday morning Kaitlyn’s ladies’ maid, Maggie, woke her up by opening the heavy curtains in the room. Kaitlyn climbed eagerly out of bed, ready to start her first official day as a lady during the Prince Regent’s reign. Though if she really were an American heiress coming to England to visit at that time, not many people would want to talk to her. It was too soon after the whole messy break from Britain and becoming their own nation. But it would work for them now.

  After a quick shower that she was grateful was still done with modern day plumbing instead of being a truly full immersion experience, she allowed Maggie to help her into the day dress.

  Maggie held up the bloomers that would only go to just past Kaitlyn’s knees. They weren’t frilly or lacy and had a ribbon around the waist to be tied on. “You could go without these if you want, but a proper young lady wore them.”

  Kaitlyn took the fabric from Maggie and pulled them on, then slipped the long linen chemise over the top.

  “You’ll need to put the socks and shoes on first,” Maggie said. “Otherwise the corset will make it too hard to bend over.”

  Kaitlin pulled on the long stockings, glad they had some elastic to keep them up. She put the boots on, thinking they felt a little awkward but were the perfect size. “You guys are really good at getting the clothing to fit right.”

  Maggie smiled. “Yes, Aunt Nellie has a gift. She rarely gets things wrong.” She handed the corset stays to Kaitlyn, who pulled it over the top. It was different from what she’d expected when she heard corset, since it had shoulder straps and wasn’t as tight fitting as the kinds she’d seen before. But once Maggie laced the back ribbons up, Kaitlyn knew it was going to work just like the other kinds. She was glad she had decided against the bra even if she had kept her own panties.

  More and more layers were added, including a petticoat with tricky buttons that she couldn’t do on her own. “No wonder everyone had to have servants to help them. You can’t get dressed by yourself.”

  “Nope,” Maggie said. “A whole bunch of fuss, if you ask me.”

  “I haven’t needed help getting dressed since I was four,” Kaitlyn said.

  “Even the men need help,” Maggie said.

  “Oh, but they sure do look fine, don’t they?”

  Maggie smiled. “Most of them can pass pretty well for handsome if they put some effort into it. I haven’t seen a man yet who didn’t look nice dressed up.”

  Kaitlyn smiled, thinking about the men last night. They hadn’t been wearing everything like the outer coat, but the suit coat looked even better than a tuxedo.

  The top layer of the dress was made of a relatively thin fabric, and she was glad for the multiple layers of petticoats and chemise underneath. When she was all finished with the clothes, Maggie led her over to the embroidered cushion chair to sit in front of the vanity.

  “We do a little cheating by using modern things for curling the hair. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not,” Kaitlyn said. “I’d hate to spend another couple hours just on getting ready for the day. I want to go start doing things.”

  Less than an hour later, Kaitlyn was finally free to leave her room and Maggie. Hopefully, tomorrow’s dressing ritual would be a little faster. She was starving.

  As she entered the breakfast room, she was happy to see that it wasn’t as full as dinner had been last night. She’d heard a few people leaving the house as she walked down the hallway toward the staircase leading to the breakfast room. They must have eaten and headed out to start their activities. Since they were still really close to the city of London, there wouldn’t be a lot of room to go riding carriages or horses like they would have done in the 1800s. She would have plenty of space to wander the massive gardens at the Twickenham estate. She couldn’t wait to get out in them and explore. Aunt Nellie had a maze made with chest-high hedges far enough from the house that it wasn’t possible to see the pathway from above.

  Kaitlyn had always loved going through the corn mazes as a kid and had always wanted to do one of the kinds in England she’d read about in a book once. Maybe after this immersion week at Nellie’s, they might be able to go to the Leeds castle maze with a tunnel that went underground at the end.

  When she got to the side table where the food had been placed almost like a buffet, she picked up her plate. The melon looked fresh. She took a few spoonfuls of the different kinds. She then moved down the table, looking at the other options and chose some sausages, some eggs, and toast with a tasty-looking current jam. An odd black patty sat on a tray. As she leaned closer to see what it was, Annette Price stepped up beside her.

  “You might want to avoid that one. Unless you like blood pudding.”

  “That’s what it is?” Kaitlyn asked. “Why do they serve it here? I thought that was more for the poorer class?” After she said the words, she cringed, knowing that made her sound like a horrible snob.

  “Oh, it is. Some guests like the stuff, so Nellie provides it just in case.”

  “That’s nice of her,” Kaitlyn said.

  Annette smiled. “It is. She is a very conscientious hostess.”

  Just as Kaitlyn sat down at the table, Cyrus entered the room with Cora at his side, talking about the annoyance of the whole dressing requirements. She smiled at the other two when they saw her.

  “Ah, Kaitlyn, I love that dress,” Cora said. “The green accents really look good on you.”

  “Thanks,” Kaitlyn said. “You both look good, but you’re right, it takes forever to get ready in these clothes.”

  “Do I have to wear this coat all the time?”

  Annette chuckled. “Yes, otherwise it would be way too forward of you. Scandalous, almost. So unless you want to put all us in a compromising situation, it’s best if you stay fully dressed.”

  Cyrus almost looked ready to blush. Kaitlyn thought he looked adorable. He fit this time so well, but it was a pity he was doing it alone. “I’m sorry Jem couldn’t come early with us.”

  Cyrus nodded. “He would have just slipped into the role so easy.”

  “Who would have?” Reese asked.

  “Jem,” Kaitlyn said. At his name, Reese’s face went expressionless and Kaitlyn wondered what was up. Every time she’d talked about Jem, Reese hadn’t seemed very excited at all. Had he done something to make her mad? They’d always been friends. Maybe he’d been gone so long on his touring company that he just seemed like a stranger to her now.

  ***

  As the week passed, Cyrus actually found himself enjoying the daily activities. Reese and Cora spent a lot of time together, leaving him free to take Kaitlyn out and about through Aunt Nellie’s property. They walked the different garden paths and Kaitlyn continued to rave about all the beautiful plants and pathways.

  They also went riding once, but Kaitlyn didn’t like the way she had to manipulate the skirts. “I can’t wait to be able to wear pants again,” Kaitlyn said as they walked past the stables.

  “Maybe we could go riding in one of the carriages.” Cyrus pointed at the little carriage that had pulled up along the back, since the front of Nellie’s property faced a neighborhood full of houses.

  “That could be fun.” Kaitlyn took his hand and started walking toward the group getting out of the little buggy. She let go of his hand. Before he could grab for it again, she gave Annette a hug. “Where does this little road take you?”

  “It goes along near the Thames, then comes back up to the manor house.”

  Kaitlyn turned to the driver. “Do you mind going again? I’d love to see it.”

  “It would be my pleasure, miss.”

&n
bsp; Kaitlyn grinned up at him. “You coming, Cy?”

  He bowed slightly, making her smile and giving him a thrill that he’d done something to earn her pleasure. He offered his hand to assist her up and she placed it in his after making sure her skirts wouldn’t get caught. When they were situated and the driver urged the horses forward, Kaitlyn leaned against his shoulder.

  “Isn’t this place lovely,” she sighed. “It’s almost magical. And the light glimmering off the water fountains and even the glass windows just makes me feel so happy. Why isn’t it this pretty at home?”

  “Probably because a vacation is always better than the hum drum of real life.”

  “True,” Kaitlyn said. “I wish we could have come here earlier. I mean, the whole city of London is awesome, but this place is unbelievable, isn’t it?”

  “It is,” Cyrus said. “I could totally picture you living in this world, being the lady to some lucky man and having all the finest things in life.”

  “If only,” Kaitlyn said wistfully. “When we have to return home, it will seem so dull and boring after all of this fancy stuff. Of course, I do think cars and planes are awesome, but there is something wonderful about being able to step away from it all and see the world through different eyes.”

  Cyrus nodded. “I agree.” He wanted to say something to make her laugh, but didn’t know what and having another person around constantly in the form of servants, and drivers, and the like made him feel uncomfortable sharing his true feelings. He didn’t want an audience if she shot him down when he bared his soul to her.

  Instead of confessing his growing feelings, he enjoyed the sensation of her leaning next to him as they rode the small circle around Nellie’s property. When they reached the back of Nellie’s house where they’d gotten in the carriage, Kaitlyn spotted Reese and Cora and immediately went to join them. Cyrus watched after her with longing.

  Determined to step up his efforts, he began to follow. Matthew intercepted him as he rounded the edge of the house as if running from his sisters. “Cyrus, please say you’ll go ride horses with me so I can get away from all these females.”