Page 15 of Never a Bride
But Blythe grabbed her arm and dragged her into her own bedchamber. “Emmy!” she wailed and fell back on the bed.
Emmeline folded her arms over her chest and watched her sister disapprovingly. The girl was still so young. “That is not the best reaction to this news.”
She lifted her head up. “But I don’t know what I shall do!”
“About what?”
“I have made…plans tonight.”
Emmeline’s head began to pound harder and she steadied herself by gripping the bedpost. “What do you mean? You’d best explain everything, because I shall only find out in the end.”
The girl sat up with a long-suffering sigh. “Twice this week I have exchanged letters with Alex, and he’s coming to meet me tonight, to walk in the gardens.”
“Blythe! Have I taught you no better than this? You cannot go wandering off with any man who takes your fancy; it could be dangerous.”
Blythe smiled and shook her head. “He’s not dangerous, Emmy. Our mothers knew each other; our fathers respected each other. Alex would never hurt me.”
“Then why do you think he wants to be alone with you?”
“But it was my idea! How else will I learn to be alone with a man if I don’t try it?”
Emmeline threw up her hands and began to pace. “Maybe he just made youthinkit was your idea. Regardless, you can’t go out there tonight. Father will expect you to sing for him after supper. If he has guests, it will be an even longer evening.”
“I know, I know,” Blythe said, rubbing her hands up and down her arms.
“Can you send Sir Alexander a message?”
“’Tis too late! He already said he’d meet me at the stables at nine of the clock, but that he would be about town during the day.”
“Calm yourself, dearest.” Emmeline sighed, leaning forward to take her sister’s hands. “I will intercept Sir Alexander.”
“But I could not ask that of you! Father will wonder where you are.”
Knowing she would not be missed after supper, Emmeline smiled at her sister’s naiveté.
“I will claim illness after eating,” she said, putting a hand to her head. “And it will not be far from the truth. I will lie down now, while you prepare yourself for Father and his guests. Everything will be all right.”
Blythe stood up to hug her, and Emmeline felt how fragile her sister was. After a slight hesitation, she whispered, “Does this man mean so much to you, then?”
Blythe laughed. “No more than any other. But I so enjoy flirting with him.”
~oOo~
Supper that evening was formal, with many courses of pheasant and lamb and trout, as well as several types of wine. Emmeline did not have to lie when she said she felt unwell. She left Blythe with their father and his guests, Lord Seabrook and his father, the Duke of Stokesford. How her father had known just the right suitor to invite, Emmeline would never know.
As she returned to her chamber for her cloak, she told herself not to dwell on the fact that her father had never invited men home to meet her. She knew it would be far easier for him to marry off Blythe, with her radiant beauty and agreeable disposition.
The mansion was so large that Emmeline had no difficulty eluding servants on her way outside, and the light of the half-moon guided her down the gravel paths to the stables. The familiar evening sounds of her home made her spirit ease. She could hear the boats on the Thames, their owners calling to one another across the water. Insects buzzed and chirped within the garden. Though a cold breeze ruffled her cloak and slid beneath her hood, she was thankful for the coolness on her flushed face.
She did not like lying to her father, liked even less how disappointed Sir Alexander would be to see her instead of Blythe. What had their correspondence this week said?
When she reached the stables, she avoided the warm room at the front used by the grooms, horse trainers, and stable boys. As she passed close to the wall, she could hear their laughter, and knew there would be cards and dice aplenty.
She slipped in between the stalls, reaching out to pet one horse after another, shushing their neighs and murmuring to them.
Suddenly, she bumped into what she had thought was a shadow. She gave a startled cry, and the “shadow” reached out to grab her, putting a hand over her mouth.
Chapter 6
