Smitten With Sense: A Modern Sense And Sensibility Retelling (Pemberley Estates Book 4)

by Keena Richins

  "Monday? Why Monday?"

  "Businesses don't tend to be open on Saturday."

  She scoffed. "You're not going just for business, Edward. Change the ticket and leave tomorrow."

  "I prefer to leave on Monday."

  "Please don't tell me you're still with the conceited Dashwoods—"

  "Fanny," he cut in before the Dashwoods heard whatever hate she wanted to spill, "they're not conceited." The instant he said it, he regretted it. Defending the Dashwoods might make him look good to the Dashwoods, but it would only fuel Fanny's paranoia.

  "Yes, they are! They have been squandering their great-uncle's wealth for decades and have done nothing—"

  "Their father quadrupled that wealth," Edward cut in once more. And since he was already digging himself a grave by defending the Daswhoods twice, he decided to add one more thing he'd been wanting to say for a long time, "And Elinor would have done the same if you'd given her the chance."

  Fanny scoffed. "I knew you would get attached to that hussy."

  "Fanny," Edward barked, but she went on.

  "I've just realized your problem. You see them as if they're like you, but they're not. They're pawns for us to move around. You really need to learn this, Edward, because Mother would be even more livid if you ruined her company with these misguided sentiments of yours."

  "More livid?" He hadn't known his mother was angry in the first place.

  "Yes. She's furious she's had to intervene so many times—"

  "She never had to intervene—"

  "And your recklessness is endangering all of our inheritance again!"

  He fell silent for a moment. "She's threatening to cut you off?" His mother often threatened to cut him off, but including Fanny meant she was truly angry. And he had missed the warning signs. Probably because he hadn't seen his mother's face in a while. His mother's level of anger didn't translate well over the phone or email.

  "Yes," Fanny said, "Unless one of us can get you to see reason again. Now do you see why you need to be on that airplane?"

  Yes, he understood why, but that didn't mean he wanted to comply. And while he firmly believed his mother would readily cut all her children off to spite him, he was willing to bet she wouldn't do it quite yet. The Mortons wouldn't be interested in him if he was penniless, after all.

  "You're doing dinner with the Dashwoods tonight, aren't you?" If he played this right, he could pretend he was in the neighborhood and would join in the dinner.

  Unfortunately, Fanny refused to play correctly. "Are you already with them?"

  He knew he needed to say no, but the Dashwoods were listening. And he didn't want Elinor to think he was ashamed of being with her. Actually, he should, but for some reason, he'd rather face his family's wrath than Elinor's disappointment.

  "Yes."

  Fanny gasped. "Are they listening to this call?"

  And this was where he buried himself alive. "Yes."

  "Edward!"

  "I did hang up twice to imply I wasn't available."

  Fanny scoffed in outrage, then hung up. The most miserable call in history had finally ended.

  Chapter 15

  Fanny's car sat in the Dashwood's spacious driveway and Edward was already wishing he could be somewhere else. He was not looking forward to another beatdown from his sister in front of the Dashwoods. But neither could he abandon the Dashwoods, especially when they had been courteous enough to order food that Fanny would like instead of the pizza they usually procured after the horse excursion.

  Elinor was the first to get out which galvanized him in seconds. If someone was going to be slaughtered, it wasn't going to be Elinor. He was out the door and about to join Elinor's side when he noticed Marianne and her mother struggling with the weight of the food bags. Without another thought, he relieved the mother of her bags and took an extra one from Marianne, glad to have something in his hands so they didn't fidget when his sister and brother-in-law stepped out of the car like evil villains in a movie. All they needed was a creepy mist to ooze around their legs and it would fit the scene perfectly.

  The polite exchanges between the two groups were laced with barely-concealed anger, but Edward was proud of how well the Dashwoods held their ground. If only he could stay on their side forever.

  "Edward," Fanny finally addressed him. "You didn't have to tag along. You have so many important things to be doing—"

  "Like taking in these bags," he cut in before she forced him to leave. Knowing if he lingered, she'd use her trump card of the threatened inheritance, so he hurried after Marianne with the bags into the house. It was only after he had deposited the food in the kitchen that he realized he had left Elinor and her mother to fight against Fanny alone.

  Appalled at himself, Edward scurried to the entrance only to find a triumphant, yet silent Fanny waltzing into the house while Elinor trailed behind, a resolute yet calm smile on her face. Edward couldn't help wondering if Elinor was already seeing a way to turn this whole fiasco into a stepping stone. And if so, he'd gladly go along with her plan.

  However, before he could chat with her, Fanny peppered him with questions as to where he had been. Since the gig was already up, he confessed about the outing.

  "Horse therapy?" The scorn was obvious in Fanny's voice. "That's never going to last."

  "It's actually a prosperous business."

  "Well, fools do invest in silly things. Luckily," she leveled a stare at Edward, "my brother isn't a fool." Her eyes then flicked to Elinor who was heading to the kitchen, no doubt to help her family in preparing the dinner.

  Edward decided to change the topic and asked about Fanny's day. Since that was one of her favorite subjects, it kept her busy until the group had settled around the table. To Edward's surprise, little Maggie insisted on sitting next to him, even forcing Fanny to sit on the other side. Fanny's look of outrage would have been comical if she didn't level the look on Elinor as if determined to take it out on her.

  Edward coughed and dropped his fork onto his plate with a loud clatter, effectively drawing all attention on him. Fanny stared at him in confusion but he was just happy she no longer glared at Elinor.

  Once the food had been distributed, Fanny suddenly beamed at everyone as if she had the best news to share. No doubt she wanted to brag about the businesses being sold and how much money she would now have.

  To his shock, it was something worse.

  "We have a buyer for this house!"

  Everyone stared at her, the stunned silence allowing the grandfather clock in the hall to be heard.

  "For this house?" Edward asked, desperate he had heard wrong.

  But Fanny's smile confirmed the horror. "Of course this house. We had to liquefy the assets and this was one of them."

  He couldn't believe it. "Fanny, this is their home." He knew she had a love for money, but he didn't think she'd succumb to kicking people out of their own homes for it. But maybe she had a backup plan? "Where are they going to live?" Perhaps Mr. Dashwood had several homes and this was only the biggest.

  "In Portland," the mother announced, slamming her fork down as if it was a gavel in a courtroom.

  Fanny whipped her head around, her triumphant smile melting to a shocked gasp. "Portland? Good heavens, where is that?"

  "In Maine," John piped up, one of the few words he'd spoken all evening. Unfortunately for him, they were a useless addition.

  "No," Linda interrupted, "in Washington State. An old friend of mine heard of our troubles and rushed in to help us without asking for anything in return. Isn't it nice to have such kind people in this world?" She shot that question at John who stared at his plate as if wishing he could dive into it and disappear. Edward wished John would pull Fanny along with him into the plate. She was forcing Elinor to move to Washington state. That was clear across the other side of the country. How could he possibly find a way to see her over there?

  Then again, the sensible side of him pointed out, she'd be safe from Lucy for sure.
>
  But truth be told, Edward had hoped to keep her safe and still see her from time to time, even if he shouldn't.

  "What does this old friend of yours do?" Fanny asked as if enraged someone operated outside of her control. "He must be rather well off to suddenly house four...females."

  Edward wished he could be proud his sister avoided using the word 'hussies' again, but he wanted to strangle her too much already.

  "He runs a prestigious restaurant in Portland," Linda replied with more pride than Edward had of his sister, "and has asked me to be one of his managers."

  "A manager?" The tone of Fanny's voice implied she doubted Linda had the capacity for such a job.

  "Yes, and he's providing us an apartment in the complex he owns."

  Edward could understand why Linda had pride in this man. That was a very generous offer. As a businessman, Edward knew it was a terrible move, but for the Dashwood's sake, he hoped the man's affairs would not be negatively affected.

  Fanny, however, was of the opposite opinion. "He owns a complex? In Washington?"

  Edward no longer cared about the man. He had a more urgent question. "You won't be leaving soon, will you?" Though he knew the question should be directed at the mother, his eyes focused on Elinor instead. She hadn't told him about Norland and now this. Just how badly did she see him?

  But before he could decipher the look in her eyes, little Maggie burst out, "We're leaving?" Horror consumed her face and Edward knew exactly what she was thinking. She'd just lost her father and now would lose her home and everything she loved.

  Maggie barreled out of the room and Edward leaped to his feet to run after her. Unfortunately, Marianne and Elinor had also risen. He froze, not sure either one of them wanted his help anymore. They probably saw him as the enemy, anyway.

  But Marianne glanced at Elinor then at him as if asking her sister to give him another chance, and then she sat down with great aplomb. Edward looked at Elinor to see if he could read her expression, but she seemed as calm as ever.

  "I'll go see Maggie," was all she said.

  Fanny swiveled her head to stare at Edward, most likely expecting him to sit down, but all he could think about was that he had to help Maggie.

  "I'll go with you."

  Fanny gasped and raised her hand, probably about to grab his arm, but he moved out of her reach and hurried after Elinor who had already exited the dining room. He half-expected Elinor to not bother to wait for him, but to his surprise, she slowed down until he caught up, then led him to Maggie's room. His mind raced for something to say, but all the topics burning in his mind seemed the wrong time to bring it up when they were on their way to help Maggie, so he kept his mouth shut.

  Once at Maggie's door, they both tried to convince the little girl to come out, but no matter what they said, the girl refused to respond.

  "Are you sure she's in there?" Edward couldn't help asking.

  "Yes, she does this a lot." She turned to walk away and Edward followed her. "My Mom believes it's a phase."

  "It's possible. I remember wanting to hide when my father died, but I, unfortunately, was too old to pull it off." He sighed, the misery of that time washing over him.

  "Well, you could probably pull it off in a few more decades."

  He laughed. He knew he shouldn't, but Elinor had such a knack to make even the worst plight seem laughable. "There's my new ambition," he couldn't help saying. "To become a grumpy, old recluse. Maybe I could get Maggie to join me. Then we'll go on secretive adventures, write books about it, and retire as millionaires." That actually sounded like a great plan. All he had to do was add Elinor into the mix and it would be perfect.

  Elinor chuckled. "I'm sure Maggie would agree in a heartbeat. She had a huge aspiration to be a pirate a few years ago. She even has a few pirate dolls." Her smile turned into a sad sigh.

  Wanting to make her laugh, he tugged at the air near his head as if he wore an old pirate hat, tipped it at her, and scowled. "Arr, it's a plan, matey!"

  To his delight, she laughed, the sound echoing throughout the hallway. "You would make a perfect pirate!"

  He grinned. "I knew I was always destined for something greater. Though," he pretended to stroke an imaginary full beard, "I don't much like fish. Think that's going to be a problem?"

  She leaned toward him. "Maybe you could be a cow pirate and go after steaks?"

  He wanted to laugh, but since it would ruin his unruly pirate stance, he said, "Aye, matey!"

  They held still for a second, but when she started laughing, Edward let go and laughed harder than he had done in a long time.

  Except Fanny's voice rang out, calling for him. Reality rushed in, reminding him that this was a moment he wasn't ever going to have again.

  "We're under attack already," he whispered, wishing to elongate the moment just a bit longer, but Elinor's laugh had already died, the seriousness of the situation resting on her shoulders as heavy as his.

  He sighed. "You've been under attack longer. I'm sorry that Fanny's selling your home. I wish I could do something," the phrase sounded so contrite and pathetic. "From what John has mentioned, he's basically legally in charge of everything. Is that true?" Maybe if there was some legal angle he could help with...

  Elinor nodded, ruining the hope. "We made a slight mistake in trusting him, I fear."

  That was an understatement. "But, the West Coast? Are you really going to move out there? Away from everyone you know?" It seemed an extreme reaction.

  "It's our best option at the moment."

  "None of you mentioned it earlier today." It was out before he knew it, but Elinor didn't seem offended by his lament.

  "It wasn't an option then."

  "It wasn't?" That was odd, to suddenly decide to move across the country in a few hours. Unless...

  "You were betting on Norland, weren't you? You were trusting me and I failed you." Now he wished he could join little Maggie in her room and hide. How could he have been so stupid?

  "No, no!" She grasped his arm as if wanting to stop him from running away. "Please don't blame yourself. You tried your best to help and for that, I'm eternally grateful for the terms you negotiated for my employees. It's my fault for not letting you know the situation, not yours."

  He couldn't believe it. She wasn't mad at him—didn't even hate him. Everyone else he knew would have held a grudge to their dying day, but she had forgiven him before he had the chance to grovel.

  "I'm really going to miss you." He'd miss her laugh, her constant optimism, her easiness, her playfulness, and the way she never seemed to get offended no matter what he did.

  Her eyes widened and he suddenly realized the impact his words could have. They may be completely true, but letting her understand he loved her before she was forced to the other side of the country thanks to his family was not the best way to go about it.

  "Your whole family," he added in a rush, backing up. Unfortunately, the action caused her hand to fall from his arm and he missed the warmth almost as badly as he already missed her. "Today was one of the best days of my life. I'm sad we won't be able to repeat it."

  A supporting smile graced her lips. "You know, we're not moving to another country. You could come and visit us."

  The sweet girl was trying to cheer him up. He shuffled his feet, wishing he could promise to be there, but his family was already tightening the vice around him. "Most of my mother's business is on this side of the continent, I'm afraid."

  He hoped to see some sort of sadness on her face, but she only shrugged. "Well, if you're ever called to the other side, just know you have friends who would be glad to see you."

  Friends. Not exactly what he wanted, but it was the best scenario he could hope for. "Thanks. Friends would be nice."

  "Edward?" Fanny's voice rang out like an impatient gong. He sighed and trod toward his doom.

  * * *

  Edward had years of practice dealing with his sister, but even he wanted to wring her neck by the end of
the dinner. He had tried to keep the conversation on anything but the Dashwood's impending move, but that was apparently Fanny's favorite topic and she refused to stray from it, lording over them like an evil queen. The Dashwoods, to their credit, took the abuse with grace and proved they had more manners than Fanny could even fathom.

  Edward did manage to cut the dinner short—by total accident. Fanny, focusing on him for a moment, inquired when he planned on heading home and he, stewing with anger and not wanting to give Fanny an ounce of success, replied he hadn't made plans yet—an answer he knew would frustrate her. However, instead of only inspiring a glare, his sister abruptly rose from her chair and excused herself, her husband, and Edward from the dinner.

  "A word, Edward?" was her next command before stalking out of the room, her husband scurrying after her, leaving the Dashwood women to stare at Edward.

  A part of him wanted to sit down and defy his sister's order. But the sensible part of him knew it would only cause her to return and include the Dashwoods in her fury. If he obeyed, however, then he'd be freeing the Dashwoods.

  Accepting the sacrificial role, he warmly praised their choice of food before bidding them goodnight and heading after his sister. He found her outside by her car, arms folded and a scowl on her face. John stood weakly beside her, like a confused knight ready to defend his lady but unsure of why a battle was required.

  "You can not stay here another night," Fanny began. "Go and get your things. We'll give you a ride home."

  He wanted to roll his eyes. She still thought he lodged with the Dashwoods. "Fanny, that's my car." He pointed to his rental parked behind hers. "And I've been staying at a hotel this whole time."

  The scowl disappeared. "A hotel? Why didn't you tell me?"

  "Because I assumed you'd know me better than to think I'd stay in a house with a bunch of strangers."

  "It was a free room."

  "We don't suffer from a lack of money, Fanny."

  She huffed for a second as if irate she couldn't come up with a better excuse to be angry at him.

  Edward, however, was done. "I'm going home."