A Season of Masks and Masquerades

Chapter 53: The last of the season's weddings

"You are surely joking!" Nate barked a laugh. 

Esther couldn't make sense of what was so hilarious. Either Edward was too rich to mind tens of such rings or he was so poor that he had to buy it after putting all his wealth and life on a mortgage. Either way, she didn't want to know.

"You want me to tell you how r-" 

"NO." Esther raised a finger to make him shut up. "Thank you, but I shall rather hear it from him." 

"But I can tell you-"

"But you shall not." 

Nate smirked enjoying her displeasure but decided to not step in between their romance.

The rest of the ride was another episode of Esther smiling foolishly while her fingers tugged on the ring and it was overwhelming, to say the least. Which was why Nate couldn't help but jump off the carriage the moment it halted afront the Sherborne house. 

Esther on the other hand couldn't delay it enough. 

Life was bliss until she was far from London, but once familiar landmarks began to appear, the fear of the inevitable began crawling up her throat. Facing Lady Sherborne. 

Esther had done many remarkable mishaps in her life, skipped lessons, bunked parties, dumped men, but none of them and neither all of them together could stand equal to what she had pulled in the past week. 

She skipped town, dodged her men and God help her, she got engaged. 

Wait. 

This perhaps was not all that bad. Perhaps, not at all.

"Are you not getting off?" Nate's annoyed call broke her train of thoughts and she realised he had been standing there with the door open and his hand out for her all this time. 

"Well, of course!" She mumbled and put her hand into his but instead of stepping out, she pulled him in with a jolt.

"Why, woman. Are you insane?" He cried in shock.

"Is she here?" Esther asked in a whisper paying no heed to his complaining. 

"Is who here?" 

"Mother, of course." She answered in the most unladylike manner, "is she here, at the door?" 

Nate looked over his shoulder and then looked back at her with blank eyes. Esther's brows rose in question and impatience.

"Yes." Nate replied, "right here." 

"You are not joking, yes?" Her tone was almost threatening. 

"Boy, why would I?" Nate pulled his hand out of her grasp in exasperation and said loud enough for even their neighbours to hear, "Mother is right here, waiting for you, her run-away daughter. Where else do you suppose she would be?"

Esther cursed her own sensibility inwardly for putting her trust in her brother, surely he meant no good, nothing else could be expected out of him. 

"Well done digging my grave, brother." She said in the most ungrateful tone, her eyes the very picture of sarcasm. 

"Come now, don't keep her waiting," Nate said, giving her his hand yet again. The mischief in his voice urged her to pull it, and out of his shoulders this time, however, she was not in a position to cause more mischief.

"Of, course," she replied with a humourless smile as she stepped out of the carriage onto the familiar land of London. 

Lady Sherborne was the very picture of anger and betrayal when Esther's eyes first landed on her face and it was only fair. Not only had her only daughter run away in the middle of the night only to return to town after a week, but her one son, who, one must add, she took great pride in, aided her escape. That after he had been away for the entire season no less.