by Alice Kirks
Deborah nodded. “I agree wholeheartedly. If there is one thing that all of this has taught me, it is that our family is far too closed off from the rest of the community and we should be doing more to integrate ourselves into it,” she said regretfully.
Geoffrey nodded along with her, but said nothing additional. There was a moment of comfortable silence between them, at the end of which Geoffrey decided to ask the question that he had been longing to ever since Lady Deborah had arrived. “How has Lady Bridget seemed this morning?”
Deborah turned and looked sadly at Geoffrey. “Something happened last night that upset her, but I cannot discover what it was,” she reported to him. Geoffrey felt a ball of dread and regret developing in the pit of his stomach. “However, I can assure you that Bridget is steadfastly loyal to you and no one else, no matter what has transpired between the two of you. I would go as far as to say that this morning she seemed... heartbroken. I think that she is longing to see you.”
Geoffrey looked up at the sky so that tears would not form in his eyes. He desperately wanted to see Lady Bridget again, but he knew that Lord Alymer would not admit him in any way, shape or form. “Please tell her, if it should please you, that I am longing to see her again... and explain many things,” Geoffrey said sincerely.
He knew that he had acted abhorrently last night towards her, and he could not yet put his finger on exactly why he had been like that. Perhaps he had been too exhausted from his day and was emotionally drained. It had torn him apart to hear that Bridget may have loved him at some point, but could find no love for him now. However, he did feel that he deserved to hear that because of his behaviour towards her.
A curious look came upon Lady Deborah’s face. “Perhaps you could tell her yourself,” she said hopefully. Geoffrey cocked his head to the side and gave her his full attention. “I have an idea. Send someone from your household with a list of the things that Henry stole and from whom, as well as a list of where the proceeds from the items went.”
Geoffrey looked at Lady Deborah curiously and said, “Why should I want to do a thing like that?”
Lady Deborah rolled her eyes. “Do you not trust me enough to simply obey me, Lord Geoffrey?” she asked.
Geoffrey shook his head. “I do not obey anyone other than myself, but as you have proven yourself to be very worthy of my trust... I shall do as you say,” he responded.
Lady Deborah smiled pleasantly at him. “Good. Then we shall see if I can save the day once again.”
Chapter 26
In the two days following Lord Geoffrey’s visit to her in the middle of the night, Bridget did not sleep well. She had not slept well because she and Lord Geoffrey had had such a distressing conversation. She found herself staying up until all hours of the night, becoming more and more infuriated with him.
How dare he say that my fantasies were girlish! Bridget thought to herself on the second night as she tossed and turned in her bed. I should very much like to see what kinds of books he reads, for I cannot imagine they could be anywhere near as well-written as my books are! As Bridget thought, she knew that she could no longer stay in her bed as it was doing her no good, so she got up and began pacing around her room.
After a few minutes of pacing and thinking, Bridget heard a soft knocking on her door. Immediately she was filled with rage, as she thought it was Lord Geoffrey stealing into her house once again. She charged towards the door and whipped it open, but found that it was only Deborah standing in the doorway, looking very confused and concerned.
“Why did you race at the door in that manner?” Deborah asked her with her arms crossed.
“I’m sorry,” Bridget said, allowing her sister into her room, “I thought that you were Lord Geoffrey trying to steal his way into the house again so that he could speak to me.”
Deborah cocked an eyebrow at her sister. “You did not tell me that Lord Geoffrey had been visiting you behind closed doors, sister,” she said warningly.
“I know, I know, but I have recently become so vexed with him that I have not been able to speak about him...” Bridget trailed off as Deborah sat on the edge of the bed and Bridget took a seat next to her.
“Perhaps you would feel less angered with him if you were to get some of what you are feeling off your chest,” Deborah said, helpfully.
Bridget nodded at her sister and sighed. “He has come to visit me twice. Once here in my bedroom and once down in the parlour. The first time he visited, we spoke about him wishing to court me, and I agreed to it, obviously. But two nights ago when he came to speak to me in the parlour, everything went south.”
Deborah looked at her sister, concerned. “Is that why you were so upset the other morning and have been ever since?” she asked.
Bridget nodded. “Precisely. I have been going over the conversation again and again, and yet nothing that I do erases what he said to me,” Bridget informed her sister.
Deborah took Bridget’s hand and held it in between her own. “Perhaps you are not meant to erase what he said, for I should very much like to hear what it was exactly that upset you,” Deborah said gently.
“Fine, fine,” Bridget relented, “it had to do mostly with my books again.”
An amused smile crossed Deborah’s face. “Your books? He said something that upset you this much that had to do with your books?” she asked, shaking her head. “It must have been something truly terrible, then.
Bridget nodded fervently. “It most certainly was! He said that my books were childish and that the ideas that I got from them were nothing more than ‘girlish fantasies’!” Bridget exclaimed slightly too loudly, and Deborah had to quiet her.
“How dare he say such an awful thing!” Deborah responded quietly. “I know that I have said things against your choice of literature in the past, but I cannot believe that the man who wishes to court you could say a thing such as that.”
Bridget chuckled quietly. “Isn’t it unbelievable? I could hardly believe him when he said it!” she said disbelievingly.
“Are you certain that you wish to pursue a man who could say something like that to you?” Deborah asked.
Bridget shrugged. “I am not certain. There has been so much that has been revealed this week that I am having a hard time processing all of it,” Bridget said truthfully. “And while I want to believe that Geoffrey was simply having a bad night after such a difficult day, there was still no reason whatsoever for him to say such a thing.”
Deborah nodded. “You’re absolutely right. No matter how poorly Lord Geoffrey was feeling, he should never have taken any of it out upon you.”
“Thank you for agreeing with me, sister,” Bridget said gratefully, “you cannot imagine how reassuring it is to have us both on the same side once again.”
Deborah smiled at her and stretched out in a way that told Bridget she was far more tired than she was letting on. “Yes, I am ever so glad that we were both able to look past what happened on that horseback ride and realise that our bond is so much more important than two men.”
“On that subject,” Bridget said gingerly, “how are things between you and Lord Miles? Are you still interested in courting him?”
There was a pause. Deborah looked out of the window just behind her for a moment and said nothing. When she turned back to look at Bridget, she said, “I believe so, yes. I think that at his core, Lord Miles is a good man. I do not yet have a full understanding of what transpired between him and Lord Geoffrey, but I know that there have been many problems between them. And, after our minor spat, I understand how easy it is for minor things to be blown out of proportion.”
Bridget nodded along with everything that her sister was saying, and then responded, “I believe that you are right. I think that there are things that have transpired between the Notts that we might never be able to understand, but I think, like you, that a great deal of their problems spring from minor issues becoming larger when they are not resolved. And if I know anything about men, it is that they ha
ve a very difficult time resolving things when they involve emotions.”
Both girls laughed and enjoyed their mutual understanding of the ridiculousness of the things that were taking place behind closed doors at the Nott Estate. Deborah was right: Bridget did feel much better after talking things through with her sister.
When the laughter died down, Deborah continued. “Having said all of this, I believe that with time, things will become clearer. I know that you and Lord Geoffrey shall get things worked out between you, and that Lord Miles and I shall reach a conclusion of our own, but I do not think that there is any point in rushing any of this,” Deborah said wisely. “We have the rest of our lives to potentially spend with these men... why should we rush our decision about whether or not we want to be with them in the first place?” Bridget suddenly embraced her sister. With Bridget’s arms wrapped around her, Deborah chuckled and said, “What is this for?”
“For teaching me something I didn’t have an understanding of before we spoke,” Bridget said as she pulled away from Deborah. “In the midst of all of this I have always felt an urgency; as though I had to rush through all of these problems to resolve them with Lord Geoffrey so that I did not ‘lose him’ to someone else. But hearing you say that has made me realise that if Lord Geoffrey truly wishes to be with me, then time shall not be an issue. We can sort out everything that we need to before either of us makes any final decisions, and we do not have to rush the reconciliation between our families,” Bridget reflected thoughtfully.
Deborah looked upon her sister with a great deal of pride. “You know, Bridgie, I have always thought of you as a wonderful sister... even when we were not speaking because of the Nott brothers. But recently, I have discovered that you have not only grown up to be my sister, but also my best friend and most trusted confidante. You share the same mindset that I do, and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your thoughts, kindness and understanding.” Upon hearing Deborah say this out of the blue, Bridget could not help herself and began to cry. “Oh no, I’m sorry! I did not mean to say anything that would make you cry!” Deborah said apologetically as she stroked Bridget’s back.
But Bridget shook her head fervently. “No, no,” Bridget reassured her, “I am not upset! These are tears of joy.” Bridget looked at her sister seriously and said, “After Mama passed away, I thought that I would never have anyone who understood me as well as she did. I knew that you and I had always been close, but there always seemed to be... something between us, something I could never quite put my finger on. But in the last few weeks especially, I have discovered that whatever was keeping us apart has dissolved. You have done such a wonderful job of guiding me since Mama passed, in addition to being my sister and bosom friend, and I do not believe I have ever thanked you for all that you have done for me.”
Now it was Deborah’s turn to break down in tears. The two sisters both cried out of mutual understanding, grief and relief as they sat on the bed embracing each other. It felt so good for both of them to finally not only be on the same page when it came to everything in life, but the same sentence, the same word, the same letter. As they hugged, Bridget knew that whatever transpired between she and Lord Geoffrey next would not matter, for she would never be alone as long as Deborah was nearby.
When they finally broke apart, Bridget said, “I bet you weren’t expecting such an emotional conversation when you knocked on my door tonight!”
Both girls laughed; the kind of exhausted, drained laughter that came after an emotional release. When they finished, Deborah rose from her sister’s bed and said, “Come now, let me tuck you into bed so that we can both finally get the sleep that we deserve!” Bridget agreed with her, and moments later, she was snuggled up beneath the covers. Deborah leaned forwards to her bedside table and grabbed the book that she was currently reading off it. She turned the book over and read the title, “The Rake of Surrey Hill?” Deborah said quizzically. “I didn’t know someone had written a book about Lord Geoffrey!”
Bridget laughed and said, “No, no, this hero is far superior to Lord Geoffrey. Just give the first page a read and tell me that I’m wrong!”
Deborah looked at her sister doubtfully, but then opened the book and began reading the first page out loud. “If there was anything in the world I could be certain of,” Deborah read, “it was that Francis Evermore was the rake of my dreams and he would never leave me...”
Deborah continued to read out loud, but it took nothing more than that one sentence for Bridget to close her eyes. She fell into a deep, peaceful sleep with her sister reading her favourite book out loud to her, and dreamed of the day when she and Lord Geoffrey would be able to be together without all of these issues.
Chapter 27
When Bridget opened her eyes the next morning, she was shocked to see Deborah still holding the book in her hands. She had, however, transferred over to Bridget’s comfortable chair by the window, and Bridget noticed that the candle she had been burning by her bedside was now snuffed out beside Deborah. Bridget rubbed her eyes a few times, stretched, and then asked, “Have you been up all night reading that, Deborah?”
Deborah’s attention snapped over to Bridget and she closed the book instantly. “No!” she said defensively, putting the book on the window ledge. But when she saw the knowing look that Bridget was giving her, Deborah caved. “Yes, yes, I stayed up to read it,” Deborah admitted, embarrassed. “I may have teased you about your book choices in the past, but I promise that I shall never do that again. That was so engaging and exciting that I could not take my eyes off it!”
Bridget laughed. “I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed it so much!” Bridget said happily. “But what did you think about the...” she trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence. Her cheeks reddened, and she looked away from Deborah.
When Bridget finally did look back at her, Deborah couldn’t keep the mischievous smile from her face. “What did I think about the what, sister?” Deborah asked.
“The... chase scene!” Bridget said quickly. “That is the word I was trying to think of... chase, yes.” In truth, Bridget had wanted to ask her sister what she thought of the... romantic scene in the book, but she could not bring herself to do it.
Deborah chuckled knowingly. “Well, the ‘chase’ scene, as you call it,” she said, “was one that I found to be very... informative.”
Bridget could tell by the way Deborah was talking that she knew exactly which scene Bridget had really been asking about. “Ah, yes,” Bridget said, going along with the ruse, “I found that too. Prior to reading that scene, I had a few different ideas about how ‘chases’ happened.”
Deborah nodded in agreement. “I know that if Mama were still here, she would have spoken to you about the... ‘chase’ that you will have on your wedding night,” she said. “She had that conversation with me a few years ago when it seemed that I might be getting engaged.” Deborah paused sadly and Bridget’s heart momentarily broke for her sister, but then Deborah continued jovially, “And so, if you have any other questions about ‘chasing,’ please do not be embarrassed to ask me. I am glad that you have had this scene to help you, but your real knowledge should come from a woman, not a book.”
Bridget smiled appreciatively at her sister. “Thank you, Deborah,” she said. Bridget was about to brush off Deborah’s offer, but a question did float into her mind right away. “You know, there is one thing that I would like to know about ‘chases,”” Bridget admitted.
Deborah smiled encouragingly and sat closer to the edge of her chair to show Bridget that she had her full attention. “Certainly!” Deborah said delightedly. “All that I ask is that we stop referring to making love as a ‘chase.’”
Bridget laughed and nodded in agreement. Then, she looked at her sister and said, “Alright. My question is: in the scene in the book, it spoke about Annabella experiencing this... ultimate pleasure,” Bridget said hesitantly. “And while I understand how it is that Francis could be... encouraged to reach tha
t climax, I am confused as to how Annabella would feel that.” Bridget felt her cheeks becoming red again, and for a moment, she regretted asking her sister about this. But when she looked up at Deborah, there was not a single hint of judgement on her face.
