Tempted by Curiosity

by Angeleke Kaldis

“I know you would be, but we have people waiting on us.”

  He sighed, “As always, you’re right. It’s time to join the others.”

  As they approached the terrace doors he looked at her and said, “Before we join the others I have to ask, what do you think of my new clothes?”

  Marcella looked him up and down and said, “Well, I’m glad you asked. I think you look very fine, yet rather amusing as well.”

  His eyebrows shot up at her response, “Amusing? In what way?”

  Marcella motioned to her own outfit, “Darling, we’re matching. We’re both wearing the color burgundy. Everyone out there is going to think that we planned this.”

  He shook his head, “Nonsense, we both look smashing. Who cares what they think.”

  With smiling faces they pushed the terrace doors open together. There were tables placed under a large white rectangle canopy settled on the back terrace. Tea was being served to everyone seated at their tables. It was indeed an intimate gathering just as everyone had said it would be.

  A striking woman from across the terrace made eye contact with her right away. The lady stood up from her table with grace and began walking over to them. She had dark brown hair and striking blue eyes.

  “Welcome to my home Lady Marcella. I’m ever so glad that you could make it to my tea gathering. Lady Pinkerton has been telling me so many lovely things about you my dear girl.”

  Marcella smiled and for once she let Alexander do all of the talking, “Mother, I apologize for being a bit late. Marcella and I were talking about…”

  She put her hand up and stopped him right away, “Alexander, I have forgotten my manners. I did not introduce myself properly to my future daughter. I am Lady Scarlett Jane Westbrook, welcome home my child.”

  Lady Scarlett then uncharacteristically hugged Marcella. Alexander looked mystified as he looked at his mother.

  Marcella hugged back Lady Scarlett and said, “It’s an honor to finally meet you too my lady. Your son mentioned that you’ve given us your blessing to wed. I must say that I was quite surprised.”

  Lady Scarlett smiled brightly as she pulled back slightly from the embrace to say, “I have eyes and ears everywhere my darling. Even if my son hadn’t spoken to me about you, I would have found out some other way. I must add that I haven’t seen my son look this happy since he was a carefree little boy, and I have you to thank for it. Now, come and sit with me so that we may start the party properly.”

  As they followed Lady Scarlett to their head table on the terrace, Marcella muttered to Alexander, “Is she always like this?”

  Alexander whispered back, “No, but I must say I quite like it. Thank you for that.”

  As they sat down at the table Lady Scarlett leaned in and whispered to Marcella, “Alexander told me about the sentiment behind your engagement ring today. That is what I call a phenomenon. Who would’ve thought that a ring as unique as this one could connect the two of our families like that?”

  Marcella smiled, “It’s most certainly a fun story to tell our future children one day.”

  Lady Scarlett took in a deep breath as tears filled her eyes rapidly, she cleared her them away and then stood up with a filled champagne flute in her hand.

  She then began speaking to the entire terrace, “Lords and Ladies. I thank you all for coming out to my tea gathering today. As you all know, I only invite my closest and most dearest friends to this event. I’d like to announce some wonderful news. My son, Lord Alexander Maximus Westbrook, has proposed marriage to Lady Marcella Stansfield, and I’m proud to say that she has accepted his hand. Please, will you all stand and raise your glasses to the future Lord and Lady Westbrook! Cheers to them!”

  A loud, “Cheers to them!” echoed on the back terrace and then a large round of applause followed as well. Lady Scarlett turned to Alexander and Marcella and motioned to them lovingly with her flute.

  Alexander and Marcella both kindly raised their glasses to Lady Scarlett in thanks and then everyone sipped champagne from their glasses. The whole terrace was buzzing with much excitement after that.

  Lady Scarlett then walked over to speak with Lady Dover and Lady Pinkerton, who were already speaking about wedding details for Rachel and Robert’s nuptials. Alexander saw his friends and decided to walk on over to speak with them, which gratefully left Marcella the opportunity to join her best friends at their table.

  Emilia spoke first as she saw Marcella approaching them, “About time you brought your engaged arse over here darling, we’ve been awaiting the presence of the future Lady Westbrook for ages now.”

  They all laughed at Emilia’s sarcastic tone, which made Marcella feel right where she belonged. She happily sighed as she sat down with her loving and loyal friends.

  Emilia looked to Louisa, “You knew about this didn’t you?”

  Louisa nodded and Emilia continued, “I knew something was up when Lady Scarlett was all smiles as we entered the house an hour ago. I must say that it’s a tender sight to behold. I wish you both the best.”

  Marcella tilted her head to the side, “Are you congratulating me?”

  Emilia then said with seriousness, “Yes Marcella, I believe I am. On behalf of all of us, we wish you a happy marriage and even bigger congratulations on finding love.”

  That was quite sentimental coming from Emilia, she then pulled out three small drawstring pouches from her purse. Emilia then said, “I’ve never had friends like you three ladies before. This bond that we’ve all formed is very precious to me, and that’s why the night after the Stanton’s Ball I took a large leap of faith and went to my jewelers to have these created for the four of us.”

  Charlotte, Louisa, and Marcella all looked down at the pouches in their hands as Emilia happily exclaimed, “Oh come on you three, open them please!”

  They did as Emilia requested, and as the emptied the small pouches onto their palms a ring fell out. Marcella looked at it in awe.

  Louisa asked Emilia, “You designed this for us?”

  Emilia nodded, “I created and fashioned these four rings for each of us. I call them friendship rings. Do you ladies like them?”

  They all nodded in wonderment as they examined the rings further.

  Emilia continued speaking, “They’re flowers, each petal is a stone that represents each of our birth months. The green peridot is me, the orange citrine is Marcella, the blue topaz is Charlotte, and the green emerald is Louisa. I also put a diamond in the middle. Plus, I decided to put four pearls in-between each birthstone petal.”

  Charlotte spoke lightly, “This is stunning Emilia, the details alone are striking.”

  To make it even more sentimental, all of their names had been etched in alphabetical order in a cursive font on the inside of the golden band.

  Charlotte, Emilia, Louisa, Marcella.

  Marcella looked up from the ring and said, “Thank you Emilia, this is the second-most symbolic ring that I have received this week, and I must say that the sentimentality behind both of these rings might bring me to the brink of unsightly sobbing right now.”

  Emilia shook her head, “No. Please don’t cry. I wanted to make these rings for the four of us, because I know that in my heart you three will always be there for me, as I will always be here for you. Always.”

  “Cheers to that!” Louisa said to them and then downed her flute of champagne.

  Marcella reverted her attention from Louisa to Charlotte, who was oddly super quiet. She was normally bashful, but she’d always throw in a smart remark or kind response here and there.

  Charlotte was smiling along with the others, but she was keeping her distance. Something was wrong here, but what was it?

  Louisa grunted as she maneuvered her chair to hide behind Marcella’s tall form, “Now he wants to look at me? Just leave me alone you rakish lord.”

  Marcella took a glance over her shoulder to see what Louisa was talking about, it was when she saw Lord Bradley casting glances over at their table that Marcella b
egan to understand what was going on here. He trying to make eye contact with Louisa.

  Emilia looked in the same direction and snorted, “Louisa, don’t you worry about him. When he settles everything down he’ll come back to his good senses.”

  Before Marcella could ask what that meant, Charlotte finally spoke up, “The Bradley gold mines in Wales are having some issues. Christopher wants to make a large deal with the locomotive companies, but Viscount Marshall is quite against the idea of modern technologic advances.”

  Marcella asked, “Who is this Viscount Marshall?”

  Charlotte replied, “Viscount Marshall is Christopher’s father. The man is not in favor of the locomotives going throw some of the Bradley lands in Wales, it’s quite a mess up there. Andrew might have to make his way up to Scotland soon after dear Robert and Rachel’s wedding to see if he too can make a similar deal of sorts for the Dover lands and mines up north.”

  Louisa let out a strangled sigh, “He looked right at me in the park and basically gave me the cut direct ladies. If he didn’t fancy me, he could’ve just said so to me, I would’ve understood. I don’t know why I fell for him so quickly, it’s my own fault.”

  Charlotte shook her head, “It’s not your fault, trust me. I know how you’re feeling right now. Just give him sometime to realize his mistakes. He’ll apologize in the future, I just know he will. He’s a good man Louisa.”

  Emilia and Vincent made eye contact from across the terrace, and it somehow made her emotional. So, she lifted her chair and moved it so that she could sit next to Charlotte with her back against the men.

  Marcella smirked, “You know, we could’ve just changed seats.”

  Emilia shrugged, “That was a part of my afternoon exercise. I can cross that off my list, along with archery and walking in the garden.”

  The archery comment caught Louisa’s full attention, “Archery? In town?”

  Emilia nodded, “We have an indoor and outdoor gymnasium that I use on a daily basis. You should come by, we could shoot arrows together. I’d love the company.”

  Louisa nodded, “That would be wonderful, Charlotte could join us as well. Since both Marcella and Rachel will busy planning their weddings, we single ladies can take out our frustrations out on the target boards, instead of the men.”

  Emilia clapped her hands, “I love that idea Louisa! Marcella, I think I’ll take you up on that offer to change seats now.”

  Emilia and Marcella switched seats, and that allowed Emilia to talk to Louisa, which left Marcella to speak with Charlotte.

  “Are you alright Charlotte? You’ve been quieter than usual.” Marcella warily asked.

  Charlotte shook her head, “Oh yes, no worries Marcella. With Robert’s wedding taking place around Christmas, I cannot help but think of my late father. Oh how I wish he were here for the wedding, and the entire Christmas holiday. Christmas in Winchester is the best time of year. As I’ve told you before, but without him here…”

  Marcella side hugged Charlotte as she said to her, “I can only imagine. If it helps at all, we’ll all be there with you, and I think that Christmas is the best time of the year to start anew. The atmosphere is miraculous, and the snow makes everything lovelier.”

  Charlotte nodded with a sniffle, “It truly does. Did you know that every snowflake is unique? I learned that growing up with my twin brothers. If you happen to stare at my brothers for a long amount of time, you may realize that they’re different in many ways.”

  Marcella turned around slightly and looked at the twins, after some time she realized that they were a bit different after all. Andrew’s hair was a much richer blond compared to Robert’s ashy-blond color. Robert’s eyes were a brighter blue, and Andrew’s were a darker navy blue color.

  Charlotte whispered, “Don’t tell them that I said this to you, but I think that Andrew is actually the handsomer twin. Robert’s personality is far more appealing to all of the society mamas, and that is why everyone tends to gravitate towards him more than they do Andrew. Yet, it Andrew who has the bigger heart, and the better brain.”

  Marcella did a locking key motion on her lips and smiled as she pretended to throw away the imaginary key, “That secret is locked up, and the key to unlock it has been thrown into the abyss.”

  Charlotte was in high spirits as laughed with Marcella, until a footman came to give her a note. Charlotte took it, flipped it open and turned ghostly white.

  What did the paper say?

  Charlotte tucked it safely into her little purse, and then moved their conversation along to another topic, “Marcella, did you get the chance to meet one of Vincent’s sisters?”

  Right away, Marcella realized that Charlotte was using a stalling technique so that she wouldn’t ask the petite lady about the note in her purse. That was a clever and smart move on Charlotte’s part.

  Marcella obliged her friend by looking around the room, “No, I don’t believe I have. What does she look like?”

  Charlotte motioned to the right of the terrace with her head, “Over there, she’s the one grinning with Gabriel in the corner.”

  As Marcella looked closer at the lady in question she did in fact look like the female version of her brother Vincent. They had the same dark-rich brown hair, and the grand cerulean blue eyes.

  Marcella was about to ask Charlotte what the lady’s name was, but Alexander came over to kindly interrupt them.

  “Hello Ladies, the men and I were wondering if you all would like to play a lawn game or two.”

  Louisa playfully said, “Depends on the game.”

  Emilia joined in on that playful nature, “Yes, what she said Alex.”

  Andrew came to stand by Alexander and then added jovially, “We’re going to be playing lawn croquet. Do you ladies dare to join us?”

  Emilia stood up right away and said, “I call the black mallet.”

  Andrew teased, “Just like your soul?”

  Emilia laughed, “Good one Andrew, but no. It happens to match the stripes on my skirt. How about I get you the blue mallet, you know…to match the color of your bollocks.”

  Andrew was stunned by the lady’s foul mouth as he looked to his sister for some reassurance, “Charlotte, did she just make a reference to my private stones?”

  Charlotte simply nodded as Andrew then turned to Alexander to say, “She just made a reference to my testicles. I’m going teach that little tartlet a lesson in the form of lawn croquet.”

  Charlotte abruptly started laughing loudly, causing everyone on the terrace to look in their direction. She stood up and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry for laughing brother, but Emilia has bitten you before, and this time she has a mallet in her hands. The only one I see learning a lesson here today will likely be you.”

  Marcella tried to hold back her laughter, but she just couldn’t hold it in any longer. The funny thing about Marcella’s laughter was that it was contagious, once she started laughing, everyone around her erupted into laughter as well.

  The rest of the men came over to see what had been so amusing, and Andrew motioned over to Emilia who looked very proud of herself.

  “That one has a sharp mouth, she said that I have blue bollocks.”

  Vincent jokingly said, “That’s what she does to me all the time.”

  That had been meant to be a whisper to Thomas, yet they’d all heard it. Emilia gave Vincent a displeasing look. She then huffed as she walked down the steps of the terrace and onto the lawn to grab her mallet. All the men looked at him and shook their heads.

  Vincent shrugged, “What? I was joking.”

  Thomas glared at him, “Really mate?”

  Everyone stood up and walked off the terrace to join Emilia down on the lawn. She was patiently awaiting her friends.

  Unfortunately, there was no black mallet, so Emilia chose the blue one and playfully swung it towards Andrew, who was jumping around her with a large smile on his face. Those two would be good friends forever. They knew how to joke around without
getting angry at each other.

  If only Emilia and Vincent could learn to be like that. Marcella got stuck swinging third to last next to Charlotte and Thomas. When her turn finally came she hit the croquet ball with her red mallet, and was satisfied with her distance.

  “Nice one red.” Thomas joked.

  Charlotte replied with a slight joke, “Her friends call her hair auburn, but her enemies call it red.”

  Marcella laughed at Charlotte’s sweet witticism before she went after the ball with her red mallet in hand. Halfway up the field Alexander met with Marcella, “Thank you for waiting for me.”

  Alexander smirked, “Was that meant to be a sarcastic comment?”

  She wrinkled her nose at him and then tried to run away, but he ran after her, caught her, and tickled her. Marcella had let Alexander catch her, and she happily took the tickling with pride. She almost collapsed onto the lawn with laughter, but he kept her standing up straight.

  Alexander then said to her, “Now that I know that you tickle so easily, you’re never getting away with anything.”

  Marcella laughed with her eyes closed, but when she opened them she looked behind Alexander to see that Charlotte had dropped the note from her purse and Thomas had swiftly picked it up.

  They looked as if they were arguing about what was written on the note.

  Alexander told her, “Let them handle it Marcella, whatever it may be.”

  Marcella looked up at Alexander and claimed, “You’re a wise one Lord Westbrook. How will I ever compete with such a clever man.”

  He chuckled, “No competition needed Lady Marcella, to me you’re the cleverest.”

  She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, “You’re too kind, how am I the keen one in this relationship?”

  Alexander shrugged, “Simple, you made me believe in love again, and in return I fell hard in love with you. You’re always on my mind, and in my heart. I will love you for the rest of my life. Forever and always.”

  Marcella put her arms around his neck and stated back to him, “I will love you, forever and always.”

  They were hiding stealthily behind a large tree, so she pressed her lips to his in a tender way.