Winston eyed his mother curiously. “Should we not have Father present during this family meeting?” he asked.
His mother waved her hand in front of her. “I will relay what we discuss with him. Do not worry,” she replied. “But I am worried about Mattie. As you all know, I have offered to host her for the upcoming Season, and I think we must help prepare her for what is to come.”
Winston rose. “And that is my cue to leave.”
“Sit down,” his mother ordered. “This is a family meeting, and no one leaves until I give you permission to do so.”
“But I have nothing to contribute to this meeting,” Winston attempted as he returned to his seat. He truly didn’t wish to speak about Mattie. He had more important things to do with his time.
“Au contraire, Son,” his mother said. “You are an integral part of this plan.”
“What plan?” Winston asked with dread in his voice.What did his mother have planned? And why did he need to be a part of it?
His mother smiled as she walked further into the room, making him feel even more unsettled. “I would like you to take Mattie on a carriage ride this afternoon.”
Winston could not have been more surprised by what his mother was asking. “Why me?” he blurted out.
“Because you have known Mattie for years and you two are comfortable around each other,” his mother responded.
“We hate each other,” Winston muttered.
“Hate and admiration go hand in hand,” his mother countered.
Winston huffed. “Not in our case.”
His mother’s smile grew. “It is one carriage ride. I am not asking you to marry the girl,” she said. “And I will expect you to behave like a gentleman.”
“Again, why me?” Winston asked, his voice much harsher than he intended. “Surely you can convince another gentleman in the village to do so.”
“Mattie is in mourning, but it is perfectly acceptable for a friend of the family to console her by taking her on a carriage ride,” his mother replied.
Rising, Winston declared, “We are not friends, and I am a grown man. I will decide who I take on a carriage ride.”
His mother approached him and patted his cheek. “Of course, my dear. But it is just one carriage ride, and I ask so little of you,” she said.
“Mother…” he sighed, “I am a trained barrister. Your tricks are not going to work on me.”
“You are right,” his mother said as she turned towards Elodie. “How would you like to drive a carriage?”
Winston frowned. “Surely you jest. Father would be furious if Elodie drove one of the carriages.”
“Would he?” his mother asked, feigning innocence.
He knew precisely what his mother was doingand it vexed him to no end. But he wasn’t about to let Elodie drive a carriage. What would people think if they saw her? He did not wish to open their family up to gossip. “Fine,” he mumbled. “I will do it.”
His mother met his gaze. “What was that, Dear?”
With a clenched jaw, he said, “You win. I will take Miss Bawden on a carriage ride, assuming she even wants to go on one.”
She clapped her hands together. “Wonderful. I will see to the carriage being brought around front,” she said before departing from the room.
Elodie giggled. “That was entertaining to watch.”
Melody bobbed her head in agreement. “Mother would have made an excellent barrister,” she said.
Winston dropped down onto his seat. The last thing he wanted to do was spend time with Miss Bawden but he had been outplayed by his own mother.
Mattie stood in the drawing room of her cottage, her eyes fixed on her mother’s dresses spread out before her. The sight filled her with a sense of overwhelming frustration. Each dress, though once elegant, now seemed hopelessly outdated. A small part of her had hoped she could alter one of her mother’s gowns for the Season, but that would be an impossible feat. It would take far more effort than she had anticipated to transform even one of these gowns into something suitable for high Society.
