“How dare you make such an outlandish accusation!” Elodie exclaimed, feigning outrage.
Shifting her gaze from the window, Delphine said, “I would love to have Elodie come live with me.”
Elodie gave her brother a smug look. “Did you hear that, Bennett? Delphine said she would love to have me come live with her.”
“I heard it, considering we are inside of a coach,” Bennett teased. “But Mother would never let you go live with Delphine. She wants you to find a husband and settle down.”
“We both know that is never going to happen,” Elodie remarked.
“Whyever not?” Bennett asked.
Elodie gestured towards her sister. “Melody will be the diamond of the first water this Season, and she will have her pick amongst suitors. But I…” she hesitated, “I want more out of life.”
Delphine placed her hand on Bennett’s sleeve. “Elodie is always welcome to live at my castle with me. It would be fun.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to live with Elodie,” Bennett said.
“Why is that?” Delphine asked.
He leaned closer and whispered, “She has the terrible habit of thinking she is always right.”
A smile came to Delphine’s lips. “Ah, it is a family trait then.”
Melody giggled and her hand came up to cover her mouth.
“I should warn you that Elodie loves goat cheese,” Bennett said. “She would eat up all of your profits.”
Elodie huffed. “I could not eat that much goat cheese.”
The coach came to a halt, its weight shifting as the footman descended from his perch. Moments later, the door swung open, and Bennett emerged, extending a hand to assist the ladies.
As they began to walk towards the lake, Delphine’s gaze swept over the body of water. “Frankly, I had imagined it to be much larger,” she commented.
“My mother refers to this as a pond, but Bennett insists it is a lake,” Elodie explained.
Bennett’s eyes scanned the expanse of water before him. “I like to call it ‘Lockwood Water.’ Isn’t it lovely?”
“It is indeed lovely,” Delphine agreed.
“When I was younger, I learned how to swim here,” Bennett shared. “Most parts are shallow enough to stand up in.”
Elodie increased her stride and reached the rowboats first. “The first ones out to the middle wins.”
“The winner of what?” Bennett asked.
“I don’t know, but you are wasting your time asking such foolish questions,” Elodie said. “Come along, Melody.”
Bennett rushed forward and held his hand out to help his sister into the rowboat. “Careful,” he encouraged as she stepped down.
Elodie jumped into the boat and reached for the oars. “Since you are here, Brother, can you push us off?”
“Of course,” Bennett said.
After he gently pushed the boat into the water, he reached back and assisted Delphine into another waiting rowboat. Hewaited until she was situated before he pushed the boat off from shore.
Not long after, Bennett heard Elodie’s triumphant shout. “We won!”
“It was never a competition!” he retorted playfully.
