Francis waved his hand at her. “No. It is just that I would have preferred that you had told me Walters was making a nuisance of himself. It’s a tad embarrassing for a chap to have his mother take him aside and give him the news. While Mama didn’t go into specifics, I was left in no doubt that his attentions toward you have become somewhat problematic.”
“My apologies, Francis, but you were in such a hurry to get to the card tables that I didn’t get a chance to talk to you in private. You just abandoned me,” she snapped.
She immediately regretted her harsh words. Her wide social circle had of late shrunk to become almost exclusively centered around her group of male admirers. With Eve now gone, there was only Francis left at home to escort her out for evening entertainments. If she fell out of favor with him, she would have to resort to following her mother to social gatherings. She would rather stick pins in her fingers than spend the evening with society matrons. There had to be a solution to the problem of unwelcome suitors. If she could just get away.
An idea popped suddenly into her mind. “Perhaps getting out of London might be what I need. If I ask Uncle Ewan, he might let me travel up to Strathmore Castle. Someone from the family is bound to be making the trip north soon, so I can go with them.”
Time and distance from London would do her good. Strathmore Castle, the family seat, was located in the lowlands of Scotland, not far from Falkirk. Everyone within the extended Radley family usually made the trip north to spend Christmas at the huge Norman-era castle. If she went up early to Scotland, she would have time and privacy in which to find her good humor once more.
She loved Scotland. Being so far from London, it afforded her the opportunity to go tramping over the hills and enjoying the fresh mountain air without the worry of having to observe all the social niceties of London society. In Scotland, she could relax. She could be herself.
“That is one possible solution. I shall of course have a quiet word with Walters when I next see him. In return, I ask that you hold your temper when it comes to dealing with him. You may not be in love with him, but that is not to say that he won’t be disappointed when he discovers that you do not return his affections,” replied Francis.
“Thank you. In the meantime, I shall try to be as tactful as I can if I see him again.”
Scotland would not be the panacea for all her ills, but it would give her time and distance to come up with a better approach to the incessant demands of suitors such as Timothy Walters.
