by Cora Seton
“Are you going to chain us to the house?”
“No. I’m going to take away your clothes. Your modern clothes,” she clarified when the others stared at her. “You’re right; we could easily be tempted to treat the time like a vacation, especially with us all together. But if we only have Regency clothes to wear, we’ll be stuck because we’ll be too embarrassed to go into town. We’ll take a six-month long Jane Austen vacation from our lives.” She sat back and folded her arms over her chest.
“I love it,” Riley said. “Keep talking.”
“We’ll create a Regency life, as if we’d stepped into one of her novels. A beautiful life, with time for music and literature and poetry and walks. Westfield is rural, right? No one will be there to see us. If we pattern our days after the way Jane’s characters spent theirs, we’d have plenty of time for creative pursuits.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “What about the neighbors? What about groceries and dental appointments?”
“Westfield is set back from the road.” Riley thought it through. “Savannah’s right; we could go for long stretches without seeing anyone. We could have things delivered, probably.”
“I’m in,” Avery said. “I’ll swear to live a Regency life for six months. I’ll swear it on penalty of… death.”
“The penalty is embarrassment,” Savannah said. “If we leave early, we have to travel home in our Regency clothes. I know I’m in. I’d gladly live a Jane Austen life for six months.”
“If I get to wear Regency dresses and bonnets, I’m in too,” Riley said. What was the alternative? Stay here and mourn the child she’d never have?
“Are you serious?” Nora asked. “Where do we even get those things?”
“We have a seamstress make them, or we sew them ourselves,” Avery said. “Come on, Nora. Don’t pretend you haven’t always wanted to.”
The others nodded. After all, it was their mutual love of Jane Austen movies that had brought them together in the first place. Two days into their freshman year at Boston College, Savannah had marched through the halls of their dorm announcing a Jane Austen film festival in her room that night. Riley, Nora and Avery had shown up for it, and the rest was history.
“It’ll force us to carry out our plan the way we intend to,” Savannah told her. “If we can’t leave the ranch, there will be no distractions. Every morning when we put on our clothes we’ll be recommitting to our vow to devote six months to our creative pursuits. Think about it, Nora. Six whole months to write.”
“Besides, we were so good together back in college,” Riley said. “We inspired each other. Why couldn’t we do that again?”
“But what will we live on?”
“We’ll each liquidate our possessions,” Savannah said. “Think about how little most people had in Jane Austen’s time. It’ll be like when Eleanor and Marianne have to move to a cottage in Sense and Sensibility with their mother and little sister. We’ll make a shoestring budget and stick to it for food and supplies. If we don’t go anywhere, we won’t spend any money, right?”
“That’s right,” Avery said. “Remember what Mrs. John Dashwood said in that novel. ‘What on earth can four women want for more than that?—They will live so cheap! Their housekeeping will be nothing at all. They will have no carriage, no horses, and hardly any servants; they will keep no company, and can have no expenses of any kind! Only conceive how comfortable they will be!’”
“We certainly won’t have any horses or carriages.” Savannah laughed.
“But we will be comfortable, and during the time we’re together we can brainstorm what to do next,” Riley said. “No one leaves Westfield until we all have a working plan.”
“With four of us to split the chores of running the house, it’ll be easy,” Avery said. “We’ll have hours and hours to devote to our craft every day.”
Nora hesitated. “You know this is crazy, right?”
“But it’s exactly the right kind of crazy,” Riley said. “You have to join us, Nora.”
Nora shook her head, but just when Riley thought she’d refuse, she shrugged. “Oh, okay. What the hell? I’ll do it.” Riley’s heart soared. “But when our six months are up, I’ll be broke,” Nora went on. “I’ll be homeless, too. I don’t see how anything will have improved.”
“Everything will have improved,” Savannah told her. “I promise. Together we can do anything.”
Riley smiled at their old rallying-cry from college. “So, we’re going to do it? You’ll all come to Westfield with me? And wear funny dresses?”
“And bonnets,” Avery said. “Don’t forget the bonnets.”
“I’m in,” Savannah said, sticking out her hand.
“I’m in,” Avery said, putting hers down on top of it.
“I guess I’m in,” Nora said, and added hers to the pile.
“Well, I’m definitely in.” Riley slapped hers down on top of the rest.
Westfield. She was going back to Westfield.
Things were looking up.
Click to read more of A SEAL’s Oath
The Cowboys of Chance Creek Series:
The Cowboy Inherits a Bride (Volume 0)
The Cowboy’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 1)
The Cowboy Wins a Bride (Volume 2)
The Cowboy Imports a Bride (Volume 3)
The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire (Volume 4)
The Sheriff Catches a Bride (Volume 5)
The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Volume 6)
The Cowboy Rescues a Bride (Volume 7)
The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Volume 8)
The Cowboy’s Christmas Bride (Volume 9)
The Heroes of Chance Creek Series:
The Navy SEAL’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 1)
The Soldier’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 2)
The Marine’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 3)
The Navy SEAL’s Christmas Bride (Volume 4)
The Airman’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 5)
The SEALs of Chance Creek Series:
A SEAL’s Oath
A SEAL’s Vow
A SEAL’s Pledge
A SEAL’s Consent
A SEAL’s Purpose
A SEAL’s Resolve
A SEAL’s Devotion
A SEAL’s Desire
A SEAL’s Struggle
A SEAL’s Triumph
Brides of Chance Creek Series:
Issued to the Bride One Navy SEAL
Issued to the Bride One Airman
Issued to the Bride One Sniper
Issued to the Bride One Marine
Issued to the Bride One Soldier
About the Author
NYT and USA Today bestselling author Cora Seton loves cowboys, hiking, gardening, bike-riding, and lazing around with a good book. Mother of four, wife to a computer programmer/backyard farmer, she recently moved to Victoria and looks forward to a brand new chapter in her life. Like the characters in her Chance Creek series, Cora enjoys old-fashioned pursuits and modern technology, spending mornings in her garden, and afternoons writing the latest Chance Creek romance novel. Visit www.coraseton.com to read about new releases, contests and other cool events!
Blog:
www.coraseton.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/coraseton
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/coraseton
Newsletter:
www.coraseton.com/sign-up-for-my-newsletter