“No. Besides, Richard is very old-fashioned and disapproving of my behavior. We’re entirely incompatible. I’d probably run the poor fellow through with a dirk before we reached our first anniversary.”
Ainsley laughed. “Then why in heaven’s name did your parents pick him?”
“Papa and Sir Hugh—Richard’s father—have been fast friends since they were boys, and both of them wish to see us settled. Mamma likes Richard precisely because he is so old-fashioned and staid. She seems to think he’ll bring me into line.”
Ainsley shook her head. “It won’t work.”
“No, indeed.”
“That being the case, what is your plan to manage this situation?”
Charlie rubbed her cheek. “Well, I was hoping to resist your efforts to make me over. I would mostly go on as I am, with the occasional tweak here and there.”
“I see. Anything else?”
“I thought I’d wear my kilt as much as possible and perhaps organize a cricket game with the lads from the village. I also thought to make a point of drinking whisky in front of Richard. He would think it appalling for a young lady to imbibe strong beverages.”
“I sense a hitch in these plans, though.”
Charlie sighed. “I don’t actually think they’ll work. My dowry is rather stupendous. Most men will put up with quite a lot if the marriage settlements are substantial enough.”
“Some man are indeed avaricious that way,” Ainsley replied in a serious tone. “But there are those who are not. Kendricks, for one, don’t give a damn about things like that.”
“Richard does, though. Not that I intend to cave, you understand, but I suspect Mamma and Melissa will drive you batty with their deranged plans to sell me off. Melissa’s already on the verge of hysterics over all the wedding folderol.” She crinkled her nose. “It’s too ridiculous.”
“I’m certain I can handle both Lady Kinloch and Melissa.”
“All right, but what will we do, then?”
“We will spruce you up just enough to appease your mamma, while also giving you room to maneuver around dreary old Richard.”
Charlie expelled a frustrated breath. “I’m afraid that sounds rather complicated, to be honest.”
“Yes, I’ll need to think on it more. But I’ll come up with something, never fear.”
She’d been thinking, too, just in case annoyances like cricket games in kilts and the occasional belt of whisky failed to put Richard off. She needed an alternate plan that would make it clear marriage was entirely off the table—a plan that would work not only with Richard but with her parents, as well.
Ainsley glanced at the bracket clock on the fireplace mantel and came to her feet. “Goodness, look at the time. We’d best get you dressed or we’ll be late for dinner.”
After retrieving the dress hanging on the door of the wardrobe, Ainsley helped Charlie into it. The dress was a struggle, as always. Charlie hated the huge, puffy sleeves and even bigger skirts, but Mamma insisted she have a few fashionable gowns for visits with guests. Frilly gowns were wasted on her, since she invariably crushed her skirts or caught her trim on the doorknobs. On one memorable occasion, she’d set the lace of her sleeve on fire when she got too close to a branch of candles. Thankfully, no one had seen that except a sweet but terribly ancient uncle who didn’t quite register that she’d all but gone up in smoke.
“This is a very pretty gown,” Ainsley said as she moved behind her to fasten the buttons.
Charlie critically inspected the green silk gown, with its low-cut shoulders and trim-fitting bodice. “It’s not a patch on yours, though. I look like an old spinster by comparison.”
Not that she had any objection to spinsters. Unless something revolutionary was to occur, she expected to spend the rest of her life as one.
“You don’t need frills and furbelows,” Ainsley said. “You’re perfectly lovely without them.”
“You’re very kind.”
“I never lie about things as important as one’s dress. That being the case, I will deliver my first lesson. You must recognize your own sense of style and stick with it. Whether you know it or not, you do have one.”
Charlie closed one eye as she studied herself in the mirror. “I do?”
“Yes, a simple and elegant one.”
She opened both eyes wide. “I can believe simple, but elegant? No one’s ever said that before.”
