Page 4 of Twelve Drummers Drumming

She certainly possessed many of the necessary features to be considered beautiful. Her light brown hair curled naturally, and she was slightly taller than all of her sisters. Her lean frame could have done with slightly more padding in certain areas, but the empire-line dresses complemented her figure. And her eyes, shining as they were, were certainly pleasing.

Jemima knew all this. She had a looking glass and saw the woman blink back at her each evening before she was trotted out to meet yet more people.

A wry smile appeared across her lips. Her real trouble, not that she would ever admit it to anyone, that she had encountered in each of the five Seasons she had been paraded around by her father and Selina, was that she was no one’s fool.

Forceful when she thought she was right, blunt when she couldn’t help but be honest, most people found her…what was it Selina had said?

“A difficult conversation partner at the best of times.”

Jemima sighed as she looked at her sisters, all charming, all elegant. As each year passed without any invitations to courtship, her father and stepmother would exchange concerned glances.

Yet Caroline…

“That is the reason, after all,” Jemima said bitterly, “that this celebration is so effusive, you must admit. At the same age as I, we all feared—unspoken, of course—that Caroline had also missed her chance of matrimony. Yet, here is Stuart Walsingham, determined to marry her and make the entire Fitzroy family practically giddy with joy.”

Jemima felt sick.These thoughts are getting you nowhere, she scolded herself.Ignore them and pay attention to the moment at hand. Try to be happy for her.

“Jemima!” Arabella was shocked—and, Jemima thought, rightly so. “You must be tired. Come, let us join the family.”

Bracing herself, Jemima turned her eyes and ears to the rest of the room’s inhabitants, but almost immediately regretted doing so when she realized her stepmother was speaking.

“…finest day of a mother’s life,” she was saying, tears blossoming in her eyes as she spoke, “to see her daughter find someone who can make her as happy—nay, happier—than her parents. And now this day has come for our eldest child.”

Arthur drew a loving arm around his wife, and the two of them beamed at Caroline.

And that was the moment Jemima lost her temper.

“Excuse me!” she said loudly, rising from her chair with her arms crossed so tightly they may have been stitched there.

The entirety of the room turned, and Jemima could instantly tell from their confused and rather startled faces they had completely forgotten that she had been sitting there.

Jemima smiled thinly. “I hate to point this out, butIam actually the eldest child.”

Selina’s mouth fell slightly open, and Jemima’s suspicions were confirmed. Were there daughters who truly loved their stepmothers? She had tried to love Selina, tried with all her might, but Selina had always loved her daughters so much more.

Jemima had ignored it as a child. She had not permitted it to injure her when she had first been announced to Society.

But no more.

“What you meant to say,” Jemima continued, her voice low and steady. She was not going to lose her temper…she was determined not to lose her temper, “was that Caroline isyoureldest child. Papa’s eldest child is me.”

“Well, of course!” Selina swallowed, suddenly looking nervous. “You know that is what I meant—”

“Then why didn’t you say it?” said Jemima, her voice carrying all the hurt which had been brewing for the last ten minutes. “Papa, I had really wished to speak to you, do you have any time now?”

Arthur looked around the room hesitantly. “Naturally, my dear, I will stay a while with Caroline and Dr. Walsingham as—”

“I see,” Jemima said bitterly. The pain she felt was surely written across her face; she had never been very good at hiding her emotions. “I see now that only if I can bring a gentleman to this house will I be listened to. The fact that thousands of men have perished while we sit here and chatter about how many roses Caroline must have is of no importance. No matter. I shall see myself out.”

Jemima strode to the door, ignoring the calls from both her father and a few of her sisters to stay. She regretted it immediately, of course. It was always the way with her furious temper, but there was nothing for it.

She had nothing to say to Caroline and Dr. Walsingham, and no words could prevent her from storming out of the room and of their home.

Chapter Two

The fury, theanger, the hurt coursing through Jemima’s veins gave her the strength to battle through the winter cold, and she almost forgot she had left her entire family behind. Caroline was probably upset she had gone.

But Jemima did not think about that, could not think about that. As she pushed past a gaggle of people, she almost fell to the ground as she tripped over a stone in the road as she crossed the street.

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