Sleeping Engagement

XXXV. The Leaguer

They did not stay long in Sheills. Everyone knew the sole reason Alice Everard wanted to be there and when she finally accomplished her mission, she announced her desire to return home. Ysabella was perhaps the only one who was disappointed, claiming she had made friends during the social season.

"I'm yet to introduce my friend," she whined the morning before their departure.

"Who?" Emma absently asked as she read her book over a cup of tea. "The one with the dark hair?"

"Yes. Aurora." She turned to her brothers and grinned. "She's actively looking for a husband. You should meet her."

"Isn't she a little too old to be your friend?"

"Oh, merely by a few years. We relate on many things. And again, she's looking for a husband and I happen to be a part of the best matchmaking duo in Wickhurst! And I have three unmarried brothers!"

"Never," Nicholas said, throwing his napkin on the table. "I'm ready to return home."

"I was not thinking about you, anyway. Max?" Ysabella said, smiling sweetly at Maxwell. "Miss Aurora will be staying in Wickhurst next year."

"No," was Maxwell's curt reply before he, too, followed Nicholas out of the breakfast room.

Ysabella sighed.

"I'm available," Ralph said.

"No," Ysabella said the same time Emma did, too.

"What? What's wrong with me?"

"Everything," the twins replied.

"Stop it," Benedict ordered when Ralph opened his mouth. "Finish your breakfast."

The day was spent mostly in the hotel and a short shopping trip for gloves and fabrics for future dresses.

By evening, Margaret slipped into Cole's room.

They just had another long dinner, and like the five others before, it was chaotic. But it did not focus much on them. It seemed that her brothers had grown accustomed to the idea that Cole might someday be a part of the family. His presence was still met with hostility now and again, and each time, they would express their wish that Margaret would say no, but oddly enough, the hostility would wear off after a bottle of brandy where they would then express that there was no other way but for Margaret to marry Cole. They could live with the idea. Once, they even consulted him about legal matters concerning their estates.

Benedict, however, was a different matter. He was not as hostile as his brothers. It may be because he had a different understanding of the past, or maybe he was just keeping a promise to give his sister the freedom to make her own choices. He was always silent, and he seemed to enjoy playing chess with Cole. But they never finished any game. There was never a winner.

Hours after she entered his room, Margaret slipped out of bed. "I may not be able to return to Wickhurst soon," Cole said while she dressed to return to her room before anyone found out she was missing.

"Are you going to try to talk to Edmund Trilby again?"

"Yes. He has not returned my missives."

She slipped her arms into her dress with a frown. "You look worried."

"He's always said he's afraid of his family."

"You think they did something to him?"

"Maybe," he replied, reaching for her and turning her around to button her dress.

Margaret looked over her shoulder. "Cole, he may be playing with you."

"I know," he said, planting a kiss on her back before he closed one button.