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“I will not lie. The thought has crossed my mind. However, I will not abandon you all just yet. After all, once I am married, Trinity must learn to rely on herself eventually.”
“What of your other sisters?” Kitty asked. “How are they faring?”
“Oh!” Lydia cried, remembering. “Johanna, the youngest, has had a proposal from Mr. Weller, the new owner of Wexford Manor. She hasn’t accepted yet, but she’s quite pleased.”
“That’s wonderful news!” Michael said, smiling. “Wexford is not far from here. I’ll inquire if he’ll be home during your visit, perhaps we can call on him.”
“The youngest engaged before all the others?” Kitty asked. “That seems terribly odd.”
“I’m sure my uncle would want to discuss the details as soon as he’s heard the news,” Lydia said. “She is quite pretty though, and it is her first Season.”
“I’ve heard wonderful things of Wexford,” Kitty said, clapping her hands. “I’ve always wanted to see it.”
“There’s no guarantee he’ll be home, having just proposed to a lady at the end of the Season. He will likely want to stay in town to court her and secure her acceptance,” Joseph explained to Kitty.
She pouted, a childlike gesture that Lydia was starting to find quite annoying.
“Say, at the end of your trip, when you go back to London, will you be going to the next Assembly?” Joseph asked.
“I’m sure of it,” Lydia said. “The Duchess of Beaufort is also hosting her ball, which is the talk of theton. Your Grace, I understand that the two of you are close friends. Do you plan to attend?”
“I politely declined her invitation,” Michael said, but then pondered a moment. “However, if you plan to attend, perhaps I shall as well. Joseph, Kitty, I believe both of you were invited too?”
“We were,” Joseph agreed. “We neglected to send a reply just yet. It’s in two weeks’ time though.”
“I’ll send her a note to beg her forgiveness and allow us all to attend,” Michael said. He smiled to Lydia. “It would be a great way to end the Season, do you not agree?”
Her stomach turned inside of her. She wanted to be excited to attend a ball with Michael now that they were acquainted. However, she dreaded the end of the Season and their public break up. Wondering briefly if he would want to stage the scene there, she smiled weakly at him.
“It will be the highlight of the summer,” she agreed.
“What of the other two sisters?” Kitty asked, interrupting Michael just before he started to speak again.
“Oh, Marcia and Lucretia are having a grand time,” Lydia laughed. “I do not hope to see either one of them married this year, nor do I blame them. At eighteen and nineteen, they just want to have another Season of fun. I cannot say I truly thought of marriage seriously until I was nearly two and twenty years old.”
“Well, I’m engaged at just nineteen,” Kitty bragged, smiling at Joseph. “Some of us are just luckier than others, I suppose.”
Hearing Kitty’s age suddenly shifted Lydia’s perception of her. Thinking of her in terms of Lucretia, her bright eyed, fun loving sister, she thought she had judged her too harshly. She had no idea what upbringing Kitty had, but an engagement to the cousin of a duke was possibly a more advantageous match than she could have dreamed of.
Michael shifted beside her, leaning closer to her, and draping his arm around the back of the couch behind her. She tried to act like his presence did not impact her, but she had to restrain herself from falling closer against him.
“Well, I think I’m quite finished with charades,” he said. “That was fun while it lasted, but Joseph’s last character stumped me, for sure.”
“What should we play next?” Kitty asked.
Michael glanced outside as a stream of light fell upon them. “The sun is breaking through the clouds, perhaps we could take a turn about the garden,” he looked to Lydia, his intent clear in his eyes, “What do you say, my lady?”
* * *
Michael grew increasingly frustrated. He desperately wanted to be alone with Lydia, yet he could not simply send Joseph and Kitty away. Escaping to the gardens, he hoped that he could lose them, or sneak a kiss with Lydia when they could. At least, he could have her hand on his arm as they walked and feel her pressed closely against him. The sun peaked between large gray clouds that rolled across the sky. A dark storm loomed on the horizon.
“We probably won’t have long until the rain starts again,” he mused, as they followed behind Joseph and Kitty.
“It’s nice to get outside, though,” Lydia responded, smiling up at the sun. “Promenading in the park is not nearly the same as these walks in the country.”
“Sometimes I take it for granted.”
Watching her smile, blissfully warmed his heart, opening his eyes to the sights around him. Joseph and Kitty had their heads leaned closely together, whispering low. Even though they were not overly affectionate with each other, they still spent time with their heads bent together. He imagined them sharing romantic daydreams of their future life together.
