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Chapter 23
The morning after they were engaged, Anne came up from her room about the same time that Robert had come down from his. They had spent the night in the same bed, of course, but Robert had walked Anne back to her room in the early hours of the morning (even before Alfred was awake) so that no one suspected anything. They arrived in the dining room looking very nonchalant, and Robert was very proud of them both.
But when they saw who was around the table, they were both shocked. Eponine and the children were missing; it was only Lord Graham, Louisa, and George. When George saw them come in, he looked at them both warmly.
“Good morning, Robert, good morning Miss W … Do you mind if I call you Anne from here on out?” George asked Robert’s fiancée politely.
Anne smiled affectionately at him. “I was hoping that you might.”
“Wonderful. Then I should insist that you refer to me as George, and to my sister as Louisa,” he ordered, but Robert could tell that his tone was directed towards Louisa, not Anne.
Louisa looked very displeased. “No, she will not!” she protested. “Just because they are stupidly engaged does not mean that this governess will refer to me by my first name!”
George rolled his eyes. “Yes, she will. Do you not also remember how much she assisted you when you collapsed?”
Robert looked at his sister, alarmed. “You collapsed?”
Louisa did not look impressed. “I did not collapse. I was in a heightened emotional state, and my system was not prepared for it. Regardless of whether or not I did that, she still does not deserve to refer to me by my first name. She’s a governess for heaven’s sake.”
Robert was about to interject and defend Anne’s honour, but George continued, “Would you care to tell our brother …”
“Our half brother,” Louisa interjected.
“OUR BROTHER,” George boomed over her, “why you had fainted?”
Robert could hardly believe that George was taking such charge in this conversation with Louisa. He was used to him being somewhat more withdrawn in these scenarios, so seeing him being so assertive was an improvement.
“I believe that you should, Louisa,” came a deep voice from the end of the table.
Robert had to turn and look and make sure that it really was his father who was talking, which it was, because he had never thought he’d take George’s side in any situation. As he looked at his father, he noticed two things; the first was that he did not look nearly as intimidating as he usually did because his shoulders were more relaxed, and the second was that he was making eye contact with Robert without looking like he was going to murder him. Robert didn’t dare try to make a pleasant face in his direction, though, because he was still mildly terrified of the man.
Then, Robert turned and looked at his sister. She looked just as stunned as he did that Lord Graham was telling her what to do.
“Are you really taking the side of my two brothers over me in this scenario, Papa?” she whined.
Lord Graham gave her a stern look and simply responded, “Two half brothers, you mean.”
Louisa looked as though she had just been slapped in the face. “FINE. If you are going to make me confess my sins, then I might as well do it in such a horrendous public forum as this one.”
Louisa turned to Robert, who was absolutely baffled by what his family was suddenly doing. “Robert. I was the one who ordered the books and got Papa mad at you in the first place …”
“I already know that,” Robert said sternly.
“Which is WHY,” Louisa continued over Robert’s voice, “I have decided that I am going to repay Papa for all the books I bought in an attempt to make myself into a better person.”
Louisa looked very haughtily at everyone around the table, as though this was the grandest gesture that she had ever done for anyone in her life. Robert chuckled under his breath.
“Goodness, Louisa. That’s a very big commitment. Did you come up with that idea yourself? How are you going to earn the money to pay back Papa?” Robert asked his sister.
Louisa looked at Robert queerly. “I’m not going to earn the money.”
Lord Graham looked at his daughter sharply from the head of the table. “Then how will you go about repaying me, Louisa? I do expect that an expense of this size will be repaid in full.”
“That isn’t fair!” Louisa shrieked. “I thought that I would simply say that I was going to repay you, and that would be enough of an apology!”
“Absolutely not,” Lord Graham boomed. “You caused your brother to be thrown from the house, and he was able to find employment and make a good man out of himself. You must now do the same. Perhaps when Robert and Anne are married, you could take up the position of governess for the children and earn some money that way.”
Robert and Anne looked at each other, both trying to stifle their laughter at the thought of Louisa ever having to do any work, let alone work with the children as Anne had. Louisa, meanwhile, looked more horrified than Robert had ever seen her in her life. She made a noise of utter disgust and frustration, and then got up from the table and stormed out of the room.
