“Well, let us come with you,” Clara whispered back, but her comment was slightly too loud.
Walters stopped his reenactment, and gave Luke a withering stare which drew the attention of every other guest in the crowded sitting room.Blast you, Clara!Luke mentally cursed as he lowered his eyes to his lap. But reprimanding the girl would not help, so instead, he turned his thoughts heavenward, praying silently, but fervently. Having two or three sets of eyes on him was uncomfortable. With all thirty of the Merritts’ dinner guests staring, Luke felt a bit light-headed. Thankfully, it only took a few seconds for Walters to find his stare a sufficient punishment. Relief flooded through Luke—which seemed contradictory to his usual feelings during the lackluster tales—as the man started again.
Clara whispered, quietly this time, “Say yes or I will groan back here, and Walters shall have to start the entire tale over.”
Luke’s usual feelings about Walters’ recountings returned. “Yes!” he answered, but in his haste to respond, he had forgotten to maintain a soft volume. Onceagain, every head turned in his direction. John chuckled into his hands as Luke hid his face. He wanted to blame Clara, but this was obviously his own doing.
Like a knight in shining armour, Lord Merritt came to his aid. “Thank you for the stories, Walters, though I am afraid we must stop there.” The heads shifted from Luke to the earl. “Now, how about a game of whist?”
Thank goodness!Luke thought, deciding he would make a quick exit. John jumped from the sofa as well, hoping to find a partner before one of Clara’s friends tried to ensnare him.
“Luke?” Clara sprung to her full height, popping up from behind the sofa muchlike a jack-in-the-box toy. “Will you be my whist partner?”
Don’t do it!His head warned.The girl is trouble!But Luke made the mistake of looking into her bewitching blue eyes, and before he knew it, he was playing whist.
The ride to the Sprout’s cottage went about as Clara expected. Miss Courteney spent the entire time trying to impress John in ways that were utterly ridiculous. The first time she openly attempted to flirt with him, John gave Luke and Clara a pleading look, but they both shared a silent laugh. The second time it happened, Luke mouthed the word “two” when Eliza wasn’t looking. John did not find it nearly as funny as Clara did, and while she knew she really should rescue him, it was just too entertaining to intervene.
After that, it was somewhat of a game to see how many times the girl would so unabashedly push herself on the obviously uninterested John, batting her eyelashes, placing her hand on his forearm, and attempting to tell jokes when she had absolutely no grasp on John’s sense of humor. Luke and Clara were at ‘fourteen’ when the carriage finally reached its destination.
The Sprouts had moved into the smallest of the tenant homes. It had a thatched roof and two petite windows on either side of a slightly crooked front door. Vinesgrew on one side of the house, and the other side shaded a small patch of dirt that would one day be an herb garden.
The moment the carriage rolled in, Robert and Anne stepped out of the front door, ready to greet their visitors. “Lord Rollins!” they called enthusiastically, “why, and Lady Clara! T’ank ye fo’ comin’ by.”
“Congratulations, Mrs. Sprout.” Clara gave the young woman a genuine smile. They were similar in age, and acquainted with each other, having lived in the same village their whole lives.
“T’ank ye, miss. Why, I stills can’t believe I’m fin’ly m’erried.” She looked affectionately at her husband.
“I can imagine,” Miss Courteney replied blissfully. John, Luke, and Clara shared a look. Perhaps bringing her along was not such a wise idea.
“We have a small gift for you,” Clara said, gesturing for the footman to retrieve the wedding basket full of kitchen necessities. “We women can go inside while the men inspect the land.” They all quickly agreed to the arrangement. John’s nod came a bit faster than the rest.
“So how did you meet your husband?” Eliza asked eagerly before the women had even fully entered the small house.
“Well, first we ‘as just f’iends,” Anne explained. Clara refused to meet Eliza’s eye as she attempted to give her a pointed look.
Luke and I really are just friends, she mentally refuted.
Anne offered the women a seat in her small, two-room cottage. The front acted as both kitchen and sitting area, and back behind stood the bedroom. The only visible furniture was a small round table with three wooden chairs, so it was not difficult to determine where the chat would be taking place.
“T’en one day, I forgots to close t’e gate, and all me chickens gots loose. Robert ‘elped me get t’em all back in.” She smiled. “I figu’ed, a man like t’at is wort’ keepin’ round.”
“You were a damsel in distress!” Eliza gushed, which made Anne blush, “and Mr. Sprout was your knight in shining armour!”
“Not su’r I woulds put it quite like t’at,” Anne commented, but Eliza was far too lost in her daydreams to hear her.
Clara felt it best to change the subject. “Is the house to your liking?”
Anne nodded enthusiastically. They would outgrow it quickly once they started having children, but it would suit them at this stage of life.
They had offered congratulations, delivered the gift, and assessed the housing. “Is there anything else we can do for you?” Clara asked. She wasn’t sure how long the boys intended to survey the land, but she did not want to overstay their welcome.
“Oh, please stay ands ‘ave a drink wit’ me.” Anne’s tone was more pleading than Clara expected. “I ‘ave t’ree sisters ands its been odd livin’ wit’out women.”
“We would love refreshment."
As they drank, the women chatted about shops in Faversham and the weather. It was simple and short, yet Anne’s eyes lit up.
“Don’ts gets me w’ong. I love me ‘usband,” she explained, “but, eve’y now and t’en, I needs to talk t’ women.”
