Finding the Bluestocking’s Heart: The Colchester Sisters

by Darcy, Charlotte

  “Your mother is a dear,” Amos said genuinely, the moment the two men had been served tea and were alone in the drawing room of Forton House.

  “And one who has forced herself into a mourning period stretching almost two years. Mourning for a man who would have barely afforded her a month of the same, had their situations been reversed.”

  “I suppose marriage is a complicated thing at times,” Amos said, treading carefully for once.

  “No, it is an uncomplicated thing which has been made complicated by silly social games and a deep-rooted fear of approval of all society being withdrawn,” Irving said and laughed when he saw the look on his friend’s face. “What?”

  “You remind me of Verity, she says things like that.” Amos began to laugh also. “She recently told me that happiness is specific.” He continued to chuckle.

  “Specific to what?”

  “Specific to each person.” Amos supplied the vital piece.

  “Oh, I see. Well, yes, of course it is,” Irving said, wondering why Amos could not understand something so simple.

  “I suppose it is,” Amos went on. “I daresay what tickles me is that you and Verity are the only people I know who would look at the thing in so clean cut a fashion.”

  “I presume it is Verity you have come here to discuss today, Amos.” Irving, still smarting from his disappointment of just days before, wanted his friend to get the point.

  “Yes, I was keen to discover how you got on when you bumped into her, as it were.”

  “I think it is safe to say that I will not seek her out in such a fashion again,” Irving said. “A device like that can surely only be used once before it becomes suspicious.”

  “But she did not suspect that you were there by design, did she?” Amos asked and looked a little fractious.

  “No, she accepted my explanation of being a regular walker there as fact, which of course it is. But not the only fact, I daresay.”

  “You need not look so morose about it, my dear chap. On any other day, you might well have bumped into her quite by coincidence.”

  “Yes, but I did not, did I?”

  “And is that the source of the reluctance I am sensing? The idea of a little subterfuge?”

  “No, it is not the source of my reluctance at all. Although I am bound to say that, when I look back upon it, this whole thing is a little underhanded.”

  “Let us get to under-handedness and other such similar questionable behaviors later on. Let us instead get to the root of your reluctance, Irving.”

  “My reluctance is very simple, Amos. Your sister is not the slightest bit interested in me. That being the case, I am afraid to tell you that your little plan has come to naught. Not that I did not do my best, for I did. But as I said, your sister is not at all interested.”

  “What on earth makes you say that?” Amos seemed so surprised to hear it that Irving found himself equally surprised. “No, that cannot be right.”

  “It is as I say, Amos. Just because you would wish to see your sister with a suitor does not mean that she will immediately like the one of your choosing.”

  “And if she knew that you were of my choosing, Irving, I could quite understand it, for I know Verity to be as stubborn as a mule and if she thought I had any hand in it at all, she would either dig in her little hooves or kick me,” he laughed. “But it is not that which surprises me. Really, when I thought of every one of my acquaintances, you were the one who came to mind, the only one who came to mind, as a potential suitor for my sister. I know her so well and I would flatter myself that I know you too. I am certain that you would be a very good match for one another.”

  “And yet she is not interested, Amos. And in the end, yours was hardly a scientific approach, was it?” He laughed, pouring tea for them both and enjoying the fact that his friend, always so bursting with confidence, had come hard up against a little failure for once. “You have not managed to pull our strings and twist the world to your liking, my dear friend,” Irving laughed harder still, enjoying the look of disbelief on Amos’ face more and more.

  “I am not yet ready to concede,” Amos said with some belligerence. “Tell me, why is it that you think my sister has no interest in you?”

  “Because she made it very clear that she has no intention of attending the assembly rooms for the next dance. She had been perfectly agreeable up until that point, but firm in her refusal nonetheless.”

  “Did you find no common ground at all?”

  “Yes, we did. As a matter of fact, when I first found her, she was collecting a sample of tree bark to inspect under her new microscope. We talked about it for some time, a continuance of all that we had learned at Mrs. Barton’s little evening of interest.”

  “And you felt you were getting along well?” Amos was speaking slowly and thoughtfully, and Irving had a horrible feeling that this was not going to be the last of it.

  “Yes, very well. Your sister was very animated in the discussion and I thought her very pleased with it.”

  “My dear fellow, my sister is, whilst adorable to me, a most unusual creature. She is likely unusual even by your standards, Irving. She is always very honest in her way. If she speaks to you with interest, it is because you are interesting her. If you fall upon a subject that she is not quite so enamored of, Verity cannot hide it. If you asked her something outright, there is something inside that woman which would force her to be absolutely honest.”

  “Which is commendable and, I am bound to say, even desirable to a man like me,” Irving began. “But that being the case, I rather think that your sister made her feelings very clear in that rather honest way you have described.”

  “The only thing she made her feelings clear about, Irving, was attending dances at the assembly rooms.” Amos began to laugh and seemed so relieved to have got to the bottom of it all that Irving was starting to wonder if the man had a point.

  After all, who would know Verity better than her own brother?

  “I will take your word for it,” Irving said in what he hoped was a noncommittal tone.

  “You could do more than take my word for it, my dear fellow. Listen, I will play upon her kindness and have her attend the assembly rooms with me on Friday. I am certain that you will soon discover that it is only the idea of such large public gatherings that my sister is not enamored of and that she did not mean to reject you. Knowing my sister as I do, she would never have realized that your inquiry was a little attempt at courtship. It would have sailed right past her consciousness, believe me. With Verity, one often has to make themselves very plain. With such things as the wants and feelings of others, she does not try to guess or pre-empt. She simply accepts everything at face value.”

  “All right, all right,” Irving said and let out a great sigh. “I give in, Amos, but I will have you know that this is the last time that I will give in. If I perceive that your sister really does have no interest in me whatsoever, I will not continue to force the issue.”

  “That is the spirit, Irving!” Amos said and delightedly reached forward to help himself to some bread-and-butter from the tray.

  Chapter Six

  “It is jolly charitable of you to come out with me this evening, sister,” Amos said as the two of them walked arm in arm into the assembly rooms in town. “It is nice to get out every once in a while.”

  “Amos, you are rarely at home,” Verity laughed. “I would imagine that it would be nice for you to stay in once in a while.”

  “I am a social creature, Verity, I cannot help it.”

  As always, Amos lifted her mood. He was wonderfully silly at times and never serious and Verity wondered if they got on so well as brother and sister because they were so very different. Perhaps it was simply because he so very obviously cared a great deal for her that she found it so easy to be in his company.

  “And I am not a social creature, Amos.”

  “I know, and so my gratitude is tenfold for I know what it costs you to be here.”

>   “It does not cost me to be here, Amos. I am just not fond of it as a way of spending my time. I would much rather choose an evening of interest over an evening of socializing, you see. And it is not the same since Esme and Jane went. At least then I could watch their antics and listen to their little dreams and help them.” She shrugged. “That gave me some interest at least.”

  “Then perhaps you can help me,” he said and scanned the room. “Perhaps I should have some little dreams that you can help me with.”

  “Amos, the only thing that you need help with is keeping women away, not attracting them to you. I rather think my talents as a matchmaker, however little they might be, are not required in this instance.” Verity shook her head and laughed.

  Her brother really was an attractive man in personality as well as looks and there was many a young woman in Colington who would very easily succumb to his charms.

  “Amos! Amos Colchester!” A voice came from behind them and they turned as one to see who it was. “What a nice surprise to see you,” the man went on and Verity’s mouth fell open a little to realize that it was none other than Mr. Irving Ayres.

  “As I live and breathe, if it is not Irving Ayres!” Amos said, giving every impression of knowing the man well. “Verity, please allow me to introduce you to a face from the past,” he said, smiling broadly at her. “This is Mr. Irving Ayres. We were at Eton together.”

  “Oh, I see,” Verity said, still reeling from the sudden appearance of the man she had tried not to think of since his hasty departure in the woods. “But we have already met, Amos.”

  “You have already met?” he said and seemed surprised as he turned to Mr. Ayres. “And where, pray, did you meet my sister?” He laughed.

  “Your sister?” Mr. Ayres said with a look of recognition. “Of course, I should have put the whole thing together at the time.” He smiled directly at Verity. “We met in Mrs. Felicity Barton’s drawing room but a fortnight ago.”

  “Oh dear, one of her evenings of interest?” Amos said and rolled his eyes.

  “Well, it was of interest to me, Amos. Remembering you as I do, I daresay you would have fidgeted like a child and paid no attention whatsoever,” Irving said, amusing Verity greatly.

  “Forgive me, Mr. Ayres, perhaps I ought to have already known your name,” Verity said, wondering if Amos had ever spoken of the man before.

  “We were friends at school, Miss Colchester, but not so close as to particularly associate outside. But our paths cross from time to time and maturity has made us more tolerant of our differences than we used to be as boys.”

  “Goodness, yes, I can imagine that you were very different from one another,” Verity said and looked doubtfully at Amos who she was certain would have sat inattentive and fidgeting in every lesson he took at Eton.

  How well Mr. Ayres had described her brother, and how perceptive he must be.

  “I say, Miss Meriton looks well this evening,” Amos said, his attention being suddenly drawn to a lady who stood just a few feet away from them, a lady who was already enjoying his rather open stare.

  “I do not think I am acquainted with her,” Irving said and barely gave the pretty young woman a glance at all.

  “I would beg you both to excuse me for just a few moments,” Amos said, and Verity could see that he was entirely distracted. “I must just have a moment with that young lady and see if there is space on her dance card for me.”

  “By all means,” Irving said.

  “Yes, for I can see you will not be able to concentrate on anything else until you have done so,” Verity laughed indulgently.

  With nothing more than a quick smile, Amos walked the few short feet to Miss Meriton and immediately engaged her in lively conversation.

  “I am afraid that my brother has a very short attention span, especially when there is a beautiful lady in the room,” Verity said by way of explanation.

  “He was the same at school, in terms of short attention at any rate, for ladies were in short supply, pretty or otherwise. But I am bound to say that I always found your brother’s company very pleasing. He is rather a happy soul, one who easily draws those around him.”

  “Yes, he is,” Verity said, warming to him again and enjoying his praise of her beloved brother.

  “I am surprised to see you here this evening, Miss Colchester. I mean, given your aversion to the assembly rooms.”

  “I am afraid that I was persuaded by my brother. He knows well how to play upon my sympathies, despite the fact that he does not truly need my sympathy in any way,” Verity laughed. “And so here I am. And, as always, it is crowded and the only enjoyment I can find is watching other people and the silly way they seem to go about things.”

  “What do you mean?” Irving said and seemed suddenly interested, much to her surprise.

  “Take my brother for example,” Verity began. “He sees a young lady with whom he is already a little acquainted, one he already likes very much and is greatly attracted to. And in seeing her, he has decided to speak to her. And he does just that; he quite simply walks over to her and speaks,” she said and could see that Irving was nodding in agreement. “But if you look across the room you will see a young man who is extraordinarily well-dressed.” She lowered her voice so as not to be overheard, causing Irving to have to stand a little closer to her. “He is the one with a waistcoat that is so very golden in color and the painfully elaborate necktie.” She raised her eyebrows and watched as Irving peered across the room.

  “Oh yes, I see him,” he said, lowering his voice also.

  “Well, he has been staring over at a young lady just feet away from him for some time. She is the one with the dark curls and the blue gown.” She looked into Irving’s face for confirmation that he could see her. “They have looked at each other more than once in a way which suggests to me that they have already been introduced. And yet it seems that the young man will not stride up to her in the way that my brother might. Instead, he passes himself from conversation to conversation with this man and that man as he slowly creeps his way along the room. If I had money in my purse now, Sir, I would bet every penny of it that, if my rough calculations are correct, he will finally reach his quarry in about seven minutes from now.” She looked back up at Mr. Ayres to find him smiling more broadly than she had yet seen him do.

  “I can see the pattern already, Miss Colchester. He has moved on to his next conversation, see?” He pointed over with a nod of his head. “He is now speaking to the elderly gentleman with the old-fashioned and rather ill-fitting wig.”

  “There, you do see it,” Verity said, pleased that Irving was content to join in with the only thing she found of interest to do in the assembly rooms.

  “Indeed, I do see it. I suppose this is the sort of thing I have previously recognized but not really made much of. Look, there he goes again,” Irving laughed. “He has already moved on from the elderly gentleman.”

  “He might even reach his quarry before my estimation.” Verity found herself smiling at Irving. “Do you have a pocket watch?”

  “Indeed, I do,” he said and pulled it from his waistcoat. “Another few minutes,” he said immediately, perceiving that she meant to time the young man she was secretly studying.

  “And all because he wants to dance with her. Really, would it not be simpler for him to do as Amos has just done and ask? Why is there always so much flutter and confusion when large groups of people are together? They seem to make things more complicated than they ought to be.”

  “There is much which is more complicated than it ought to be,” he said and peered at his watch again. “Four minutes,” he announced.

  “I am afraid that this is how I spend my time when I come to the assembly rooms, Mr. Ayres,” Verity said, wondering suddenly if he thought her a little odd.

  “I think it is a most amusing use of time. If you do not enjoy being out in society like this, it is a very fine idea to have a secret pastime of your own.”

  “Although
, I suppose it is not entirely a secret anymore.”

  “Have no fear, Miss Colchester, I will not say a word. I will not only keep your secret, but I will also take part in it. There, he has finally made his way to the young lady.”

  “How long?”

  “With three minutes to spare,” Irving laughed, and Verity thought him very pleasing. There was no hint that he was as uncomfortable with her as he had seemed to be the last time they spoke. “I think he has done more dancing to get to her than he will do when the two of them finally reach the dance floor.”

  “Yes indeed,” Verity said and was so amused she laughed rather loudly. “A very good observation, Mr. Ayres.”

  “Thank you.” He was equally amused. “Perhaps you would allow me to fetch you a glass of fruit punch? The table is a short distance and I believe that you are not a young woman who is terrified of her own company for three minutes.”

  “No, I am not,” Verity said, feeling strangely drawn by his most accurate observation. “But are you sure it will only be three minutes?” she said, realizing that she was, quite uncharacteristically, teasing him.

  “I will leave this as surety that I shall return,” he said and took her hand and turned it upward, dropping his pocket watch into her palm.

  She watched him leave and smiled to herself. This time, he would be coming back, and Verity thought that she quite liked the idea of that.

  Chapter Seven

  The following day, Verity found that she felt a little listless. Her mother was out of the house and on some charitable mission or other, as was her wont for the last couple of years. And whilst Verity was pleased for her, she found she would have rather liked her company that afternoon.

  Instead, with her father tucked away in his study working on the accounts, she found herself alone in the drawing room ideally pressing the keys on the piano.

  She did not make any tune at all, just random notes to see if she could find one which resonated with her current mood.