Page 37 of The Best-Laid Plans

“Futures free of unwanted masks, I hope.”

Masks. Was not the ruse they had been enacting one of masks and make-believe? And he wished specifically to be free of that. She had been so grateful when he’d agreed to join her in their little scheme. She felt certain she’d found an ingenious means of escape.

It was beginning to feel like a trap.

Chapter Fourteen

Newton’s interaction with his parentsthe night before had gone better than he could have imagined. It made him wonder why he hadn’t tried to speak up for himself previously. He, of course, knew the reason: he had been a coward.

When he was a child, he had desperately feared stepping out of line and disappointing his parents in any way. That worry had stayed with him all these years, leaving him convinced he had to accept the options they offered him. To place his wisdom above theirs felt unforgivably arrogant. He’d assumed he would live his life trying to find happiness in whatever they prescribed.

Ellie’s willingness to undermine her parents’ demands and eventually stand up to them directly had shown him what bravery looked like.

In his newfound confidence, he began thinking differently about his future. He wanted to pursue the law, and he knew without a doubt that doing so was well within the realm of acceptable behavior. His parents would rather he didn’t, but that didn’t make it improper.

“Would you like me to have Jason send his response here or to your family estate in the country?” Charlie asked. He was placing his personal effects into the small portmanteau he meant to take with him on his journey to London. He needed to return to Cambridge and was doing so by way of Town.

Newton, in an act of borderline audacity, had asked a favor of his friend: to deliver a missive to his brother, the barrister, and ask him to respond.

“Ask him to send it here. I will be here for the next two weeks, and I would prefer to receive the letter before I embark on my own trip to London, if possible.”

“Do you truly mean to begin your study of the law regardless of your parents’ dictates?” Charlie closed his traveling bag.

“Ellie and Artemis convinced me. They are quite persuasive.”

“I will allow the descriptor where Ellie is concerned, but Artemis is nothing short of pushy.”

Newton laughed. Even Charlie smiled. His animosity toward their friend was showing more cracks. The two would likely never be on entirely friendly terms, but Newton hoped they would at least find a degree of neutrality between them.

“Thank you again for your willingness to deliver my letter to your brother. I do think he could help my parents come around to embracing my way of doing things.” That was his plan.

“If anyone can make a persuasive argument, it is Jason,” Charlie said. “He was always meant to be a barrister. No one can make a case better than he can.”

Newton wasn’t depending on Jason to convince them before he pursued his dreams. He simply hoped to add one more brick to the foundation before setting off and claiming his future.

He walked with Charlie from the guest bedchamber his friend had been using down to the front of the house. Having Charlie’s company had been an absolute highlight of his time in Bath. He had tried to convince Charlie to come to London during term break in the spring, too, but Charlie, true to character, did not have much of a desire to do so.

During their holiday here in Bath, Newton had solved one of Charlie’s mysteries: the reason for his animosity toward Artemis. Now if only he knew the reason for Charlie’s dislike of London.

He saw Charlie off. Things would be different between them moving forward. They would no longer be in school together, something that had been true for only one year of the past seven. Life would take them in different directions now. Change was a good thing, but it was also difficult. Somehow, Newton needed to convince him to come to Town, if not for the social whirl, then at least to spend a little time together.

Newton found himself restless, unable to remain at home. And though he was feeling more confident where his parents were concerned, he wasn’t particularly in the mood for a confrontation. So he set his feet to the pavement and began to walk. He told himself he was aiming for the Gravel Walk, but his steps took him, instead, to the Lancasters’ house.

Henson showed him inside with a little more finesse than he usually employed. The man was learning his job. Newton hoped Henson never became truly stodgy. That would be a shame.

“I would like to visit with Miss Lancaster and Miss Ellie,” Newton said when the man neglected to ask for whom he had called. Henson nodded but seemed a little unsure what to do next.

“You can wait in the sitting room,” Henson said. “I’ll go ask what’s to be done.”

Upon entering the sitting room, Newton discovered it was not empty. Lillian Napper sat inside.

Newton kept relatively near to the ajar door. No maid was present, no parent, no sign of the master or mistress of the house. Ellie’s sister had shown herself to be quite single-minded and unlikely to give up easily on something she wanted. Newton knew with perfect and alarming clarity that one of the things she currently wished for was an advantageous match with him on account of his family’s connections and coffers.

“Do you need to stand uncomfortably far across the room?” the lady inquired with sweetness that did not ring true.

“I assure you, I am not the least uncomfortable in my current location,” he said. “Henson has gone to quickly ask a question. I am remaining only until I receive that answer.”

She could not have missed the lack of intimacy in his response, though she showed no signs of being discouraged. Indeed, she lifted a shoulder a little, watching him with head slightly tilted. It was the practiced pose of a young lady hoping to lure a gentleman closer. How little she knew him. He remained near the door and did his utmost to show no signs of interest.

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