by Laura Beers
She offered him a cordial smile, despite her annoyance at being interrupted. “Is there a problem, Lord Egleton?”
“I just stepped onto the veranda for some fresh air,” he replied.
“Is that so?”
Martin straightened from the doorway. “Would you care for me to escort you back inside?”
“That won’t be necessary, but I thank you for the offer.”
To her great annoyance, Martin approached them and stopped next to her. “It is a lovely night, is it not?”
“It is,” she agreed.
He glanced up at the moon before saying, “I have always found it fascinating that the moon appears to be so close to us, but yet it is so far away.”
“Indeed,” Lord Charles said. “I hadn’t realized you were interested in astronomy.”
“I’m not,” Martin replied as he brought his gaze down to meet Lord Charles’s. “I shall ensure Miss Blackmore is returned to her sister.” His tone brooked no argument.
Lord Charles’s brow went up, but he wisely did not disagree. He gave Hannah a stiff bow and departed without saying another word.
Hannah turned to face Martin and kept her voice low. “Well, that was unfathomably rude.”
With a nod, Martin said, “I would agree, but you shouldn’t be too hard on Charles—”
She cut him off. “He wasn’t the rude one, you were.”
“Me?” he repeated back. “In what way?”
“We were having a delightful conversation, and you interrupted us,” Hannah stated. “What right did you even have to dismiss him?”
“I was ensuring that you were properly chaperoned.”
Hannah turned her attention towards the ballroom and saw Edward and Kate watching them with expressions of mild amusement. “There was no need,” she asserted. “I was in full view of my sister and brother-in-law at all times.”
“Perhaps, but it was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.”
She pursed her lips together. “There was no risk, especially not with Lord Charles.”
He huffed. “You are much more naïve than I gave you credit for.”
“Pardon?”
“Not all men you associate with are good and kind,” he argued. “You must be wary of the fortune hunters and rakes and their traps and snares.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Are you insinuating that Lord Charles is not as honorable as I have been led to believe?”
“No, I am just urging you to be cautious,” he said. “I would hate for you to be forced into an unwanted marriage.”
“I can assure you that won’t happen.”
He took a step closer to her. “You are innocent in so many ways, and I am worried that you are rushing into matrimony.”
“I know perfectly well what I am doing.”
His eyes roamed her face as he said, “I hope you aren’t doing this because you fear you will end up as a spinster. There are far worse things than being alone.”
Hannah’s lips parted as she stared up at him in disbelief. How dare he say something so ludicrous to her.
Before she could respond, he continued. “You are a beautiful young woman, and I have no doubt that you will fall in love with the right man, in due time.”
“Thank you for that,” she said dryly.
He gave her a puzzled look. “Are you angry with me?”
“You are unbelievable,” she breathed.
“I would take that as a compliment, but I don’t believe you meant it as one.”
She shook her head. “Rather than supporting me in my desire to be wed, you have come out here to insult me.”
“That was not my intention.”
“Then what was?” she asked, tilting her chin stubbornly.
His jaw clenched tightly. “I am trying to protect you,” he asserted.
“From what?”
“I watched you dance with Lord Groff and saw you blatantly flirting with him,” Martin said, leaning closer to her.
“I was doing no such thing,” she declared.
“I disagree.”
“You have no right to dictate my actions. I can flirt with whomever I choose to.”
“That is a foolhardy thing to do, and you know it,” he said. “You have a reputation you must consider.”
Hannah studied him for a moment. “Have you always been this infuriating?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know how to answer that question.”
“No, I don’t suppose you would.” She took a step back. “We are friends, and if you would like to continue being so, I would suggest you stop behaving like such a jackanapes.”
Martin’s brow lifted at her words. “Hannah—”
Not waiting for what he intended to say, she brushed past him and headed into the ballroom. She came to a stop next to her sister. “I believe I have had enough for one night.”
Kate gave her a quizzical look. “Is everything all right with Martin?”
“It was nothing that I couldn’t handle, but I find my jovial mood has disappeared,” she explained.
Kate nodded. “Then let us depart.”
Martin had always considered himself to be a fairly intelligent man, but he couldn’t decipher the change that had come over Hannah these past few days. She had even chided him for attempting to help her the night before on the veranda. He felt like she was slipping away from him, and he didn’t want to lose her as a friend. She meant far too much to him.
He hated being in this predicament. Why couldn’t they just go back to the easy friendship that had always existed between them?
His mother stormed into the room, her black crepe gown flowing behind her. “Marianne is impossible!”
Martin closed the ledger on the desk in front of him. “What did she do this time?”
“She informed me that she intends to run away and join the circus if I don’t leave her be.”
Martin grinned. “That does sound like my sister.”
“Do be serious,” his mother declared as she stopped in front of the desk. “Marianne is more interested in books than anything else.”
“She does enjoy riding, as well.”
His mother frowned. “Did you know that Marianne is writing a book?” She tossed up her hands. “Can you imagine the scandal that would erupt if it were ever published?”
“It would be a fairly tame scandal, by all accounts.”
“A woman has no place writing books.” She lowered her voice. “It is unsavory.”
Martin leaned back in his chair. “She would not be the first woman to have published a book, nor would she be the last.”
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“I can’t believe that I am about to say this, but I think it is a good thing that Marianne is writing a book.”
His mother lifted her brow. “In what way?”
“It might alleviate her boredom, since she is still in mourning.”
She huffed. “I daresay Marianne makes herself out as a martyr,” she declared. “It is our privilege to mourn the ones we have lost.”
“Everyone grieves in their own way,” he pressed.
His mother didn’t appear convinced by his words. “I would appreciate it if you spoke to Marianne about the repercussions of a lady writing a book.”
“I will try, Mother.”
“Thank you,” she said. “That might persuade her to spend more time practicing the pianoforte or needlework than on the ridiculous notion of a book.”
Martin shook his head as his mother departed from the room. His mother and sister were always at odds with one another. They had never seemed to get along, and Marianne always went out of her way to get a rise from their mother.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned towards the window. To his surprise, he saw Marianne rushing towards the stables in the back of the townhouse.
He rose, deciding now would be a good time to speak to his sister. He hurried outside and made his way the short distance to the stable. He stepped inside
and was assaulted by the smell of hay and manure.
Martin found his sister inside a stall brushing down her chestnut-colored mare. He came to a stop and placed his hands on the stall door. “You do realize that we pay people to brush down our horses?” he joked.
“I enjoy doing this task myself,” she replied. “It relaxes me.”
“Did you truly tell Mother that you intended to run away and join a circus?”
Her hand stilled with the brush. “I did.” A mischievous smile came to her lips. “I must assume that is why you are here.”
“No,” he replied. “I am here to discuss you writing a book.”
She continued brushing down her horse’s neck. “Is that so?”
He glanced over his shoulder, then said, “I think it is brilliant.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “May I ask what it’s about?”
She turned to face him, her eyes twinkling with merriment. “It’s about a father who is forcing his daughter to marry, but she defies him and marries another.”
“I see,” he said. “How much have you written?”
“I haven’t started yet,” she admitted.
He grinned. “Were you just antagonizing Mother, then?”
“Perhaps,” she replied. “Mother wanted me to practice the pianoforte, and I may have let it slip that I am writing a book.”
“Well, when you are further along, I would really like to read it.”
“You would?”
He chuckled. “You sound surprised.”
“You are not the reading audience I had in mind.”
“No?” he asked. “Out of curiosity, is the father in the story a marquess?”
Marianne giggled as she turned back towards her horse. “No, he is an earl.”
“If you do end up finishing the book, I can help you shop it to a few different publishers.”
“You would do that for me?”
“Of course I would,” he replied, “but, if it does get published, you will need to do so under a pseudonym.”
“I assumed as much.”
Martin opened the door and stepped inside the stall. He removed a brush from a hook on the wall and started brushing down the other side of the horse.
“Do you intend to go riding?” he asked.
Marianne shook her head. “I don’t dare,” she replied. “Father says I can only ride in the morning hours before anyone is up.”
“Would you like me to join you tomorrow on your ride?”
“You are always welcome.”
He glanced over at her. “You did miss an interesting ball last night.”
“I doubt that.”
“No, it’s true,” he replied. “I even danced with Lady Emma.”
“Isn’t that one of the young women Hannah and Kate thought would suit you?”
“It is,” he confirmed.
Marianne grinned. “And?”
“Lady Emma is a lovely young woman, and I intend to call on her later.”
“Did you send flowers?”
He shot his sister an amused look. “It is only proper after dancing with her last night.”
“I am glad to hear that,” Marianne said.
“But something odd did happen,” Martin admitted after a pause.
“It did?”
“Hannah stepped onto the veranda with Lord Charles Brooksbank, and I chided her on risking her reputation.”
“Was she alone?”
He winced. “Not technically,” he replied.
“What does that mean?”
“Other couples were milling around, and Hannah was in view of her sister and Lord Berkshire at all times,” he revealed.
“Then she was being properly chaperoned.”
“That is not how I saw it.”
Marianne furrowed her brows. “How exactly did you see it?”
“I just think she was being rather lax with her reputation.”
“By stepping out on the veranda with Lord Charles?” Marianne repeated slowly.
“Precisely.”
Marianne gave him an odd look. “I think you are being a bit overprotective, brother.”
“You do?”
“Hannah is a clever girl, and she wouldn’t do anything to risk her reputation,” Marianne argued. “She is the most proper girl I know.”
“Normally, I would agree, but Hannah has been different of late.”
“I’m afraid I haven’t noticed.”
Martin replaced his brush on the hook. “She has been rather cross with me.”
“Have you given her a reason to be so?”
“Not that I can think of.”
Marianne laughed. “This must be incredibly hard for someone like you,” she said, amused.
“What are you referring to?”
“Everyone loves you; they always have.”
“That is not true,” he defended.
Marianne brought her brush down to her side. “You can deny it all you want, but I know it to be true,” she remarked. “I daresay you are the perfect brother.”
“I see that you are prone to exaggeration.”
“Hardly, but I digress,” she said. “How did Hannah respond to your chiding on the veranda?”
Martin frowned. “It didn’t go well.”
“That is a surprise,” Marianne muttered.
“She informed me she could flirt with whomever she wants and stormed off,” he shared.
Finished, Marianne hung her brush on another hook. “She is right, you know. There is no understanding between you two.”
“I should say not,” he declared. “I think of Hannah as family.”
Martin walked over to the door and opened it. After Marianne stepped out, he closed it behind him and latched it.
As they started walking back towards the townhouse, Marianne turned to him. “I believe Hannah to be lonely and attempting to fill a void in her life by finding a suitor.”
“There is no reason for her to be lonely.”
“Both of her sisters are already married. “
He shook his head. “That is hardly a reason to wed.”
“Perhaps you could attempt to understand her reasonings rather than criticize them,” Marianne suggested.
“I just don’t believe she is ready.”
“She is twenty years old,” Marianne contended. “Mother married Father when she was eighteen.”
“That was a different time.”
Marianne put a hand on his sleeve and turned to face him. “I know you care for Hannah, but you aren’t acting like a true friend to her right now.”
“I’m trying, but I don’t like the idea of her marrying.”
She eyed him curiously. “May I ask why?”
“I don’t know why,” he replied honestly.
“Go apologize to Hannah,” Marianne said, lowering her hand, “and I recommend that you bring flowers with you.”
“Do you think that would help?”
“I do.”
Martin nodded. “Then I know the perfect flower shop on the corner near Hannah’s townhouse.”
7
Dressed in a white gown with a green sash around her waist, Hannah descended the stairs of her townhouse and noticed two bright arrangements of flowers on the long table in the entry hall.
As she stepped onto the tile, Cooper emerged from a side room and greeted her. “Good morning, Miss Blackmore.”
“Good morning,” she replied.
Cooper gestured towards the table. “These flowers were delivered for you.”
“Was there a note to accompany them?”
“There was,” Cooper confirmed, reaching into the pocket of his brown waistcoat. “One was from Lord Groff, and the other from Lord Charles Brooksbank.”
That brought a smile to her lips. It was rather commonplace for a gentleman to send flowers to a woman he’d danced with the night before, but she still greatly appreciated the gesture. She adored receiving flowers, especially from handsome gentlemen.
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Cooper extended the two cards towards her, and she briefly read the notes. Both had promised to call upon her today and thanked her for the dance.
Hannah slipped the cards into the pocket of her gown. “Is my sister in the breakfast parlor?”
“She is, along with Lord Berkshire.”
“Then I shall join them,” she said before she started to walk across the entry hall.
As she stepped into the parlor, Edward saw her from the head of the table and rose. She waved him back down and walked over to the buffet table.
Kate spoke up from the right of Edward. “I couldn’t help but notice you had flowers delivered this morning.”
Hannah dished some food onto her plate. “It is true,” she replied. “One was from Lord Groff and the other was from Lord Charles.”
“That is most encouraging,” Kate said.
“I agree.” She sat across from Kate at the table. “Furthermore, they both indicated they would be calling on me later today.”
Kate reached for her teacup. “Do you find that you favor one over the other?”
“It is much too soon for me to determine that.”
“May I ask why that is?”
“Not only did I enjoy dancing with both of them, but they were quite pleasant to talk to,” she replied, placing a white napkin on her lap.
Kate took a sip of her drink and placed the teacup back on the saucer. “That is a promising sign.”
“I would agree.”
Edward picked up the folded newspaper on the table. “I urge you not to rush into anything,” he advised.
“I have no intention to,” she responded. “I will thoughtfully consider a suitor’s qualifications and determine if he is best suited for me.”
Edward looked displeased by her response. “I daresay that it won’t be as simple as you are making it out to be,” he said. “Love isn’t always rational.”
“Love is just one part of the equation.”
“It is the most important part,” he pressed.
Hannah picked up her fork as she shared, “If all goes according to plan, I will enter into a courtship before the end of the Season.”
Edward exchanged a concerned look with Kate. “Sometimes, even the best laid plans fail, through no fault of your own.”
