Chasing Hope [COMPLETE]

3. A Dragon and a Prince Come for Tea

Hope tossed and turned all night the following evening. Even though she wouldn't admit it to herself, thinking of Jonathan with some other woman planted a seed of envy in her stomach, thigh she still had no idea what she was envious of. For such an intelligent young woman, Hope was behaving rather stupidly.

It was the short amount of uncomfortable sleep that left Hope with a crink in her neck and a foul temper. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant combination.

And to top it all off, she had slept in till the late morning and therefore, her porridge was cold and ruined. Her only comfort was that her father had already eaten and was tending to the estate's business, meaning she didn't have to face him after having just woken up. She knew that in her current mood, she would most likely lash out.

Sighing to herself and pushing away her half eaten breakfast, Hope left the dining room in search of activity to ease her temper.

After finally settling on knitting, Hope sat in what had become her parlor. The lilac sitting room used to belong to her mother, and after her passing, Hope had a difficult time entering the room. But after a while, the lavishly decorated room brought her comfort, and siting in her mother's chair reminded her of the times her mother would sit in that very same chair, with Hope in her lap, while telling her daughter tales of beautiful princesses, fierce dragons, and handsome princes.

At the time, Hope had been far more interested in the dragon than the prince. So much so, that her mother began to leave out the prince all together.

Hope wishes she could leave out the prince I her own story. Now that she thought of it, she reasoned that in her story, the prince and the dragon seemed like the same character.

As if on cue, a servant entered the room to announce that Mr. George Millbrooks had arrived for a visit.

Mr. Millbrooks was an attractive sort of man, though almost a decade older than Hope. His age suited him though, and gave him the appearance of a wiseness he didn't necessarily have. At thirty one, Mr. Millbrooks was an accomplished member of the navy and had earned a large fortune as such. With fashionably styled blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, George Millbrooks attracted the attention of many a woman in the small town of Hambleden. However, it seemed Mr. Millbrooks only desired the attention of the one woman in town that paid him no attention. One could guess who that was.

"Miss Edwards," George began in an overly chivalrous tone, while bending to give an extravagant bow. "I wondered if I could have the honor of joining you for tea."

"You are welcome to join me Mr. Millbrooks, though I can't say I was expecting your visit." Hope began, attempting to be friendly to the intruder. "May I inquire as to the purpose of your visit?"

"You need not ask for permission," Millbrooks said, whilst placing himself on the seat closest to Hope's armchair after lifting his coattails delicately. "Your father invited me, but as I was arriving, he informed me that he had unplanned business to attend to. He suggested that you wouldn't mind having me for tea before I left. I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy the company of such an agreeable young lady, and thus, I am here."

At the end of his little speech, Hope had to refrain from rolling her eyes at his aura of self importance and overt attempts at flirtation. In truth, she couldn't believe his forwardness and complete disregard for subtlety. Was he so convinced of his own importance that he thought not of propriety?

"Mr. Millbrooks, you flatter me too much." Hope spoke in a falsely chipper pitch paired with an even more contrived laugh. "You mustn't be so complimentary, you'll make me far too vain."

"Oh, but Miss Edwards, any vanity you could have, not that you have any mind you, would be much deserved." Mr.Millbrooks' gaze lingered on Hope's blossom in an almost predatory manner.

Hope almost choked on her tea. The boldness of this man was decidedly not deserved. Hope knew she had rather generous attributes, but she didn't need some creep staring at them. An appreciative glance was one thing, a lingering and lusting stare was another. And the worst part was that Mr. Millbrooks acted in such a forward manner even when her father was present. The man truly had no shame.

"Mr. Millbrooks, please. Let us talk of something more interesting. Politics, perhaps?" Hope prayed to any deity listening that he would take the chance to seem intelligent and interesting.

Mr. Millbrooks scoffed and spoke in a patronizing tone. "Talk politics with a woman? Oh, Miss Edwards, you are as funny as you are beautiful." He once again took on a flirtatious tone. "Besides, no topic is as interesting as you are."

Sure Hope thought to herself with an internal eye roll, I'm interesting until I want to talk about something other than my breasts.

And at just the right the right time, Jonathan Langston entered the room. Hope could have cried in relief at the sight of her dearest friend. She could have kissed him, though that might have been out of more that relief.

"Hope, I'm here for tea-" Jonathan began. "Oh, hello Mr. Millbrooks, how are you?"

Mr. Millbrooks looked thoroughly put out at what he thought of as an intrusion on a private moment, however, he needed to maintain appearances. "I'm doing marvelously, Langston, I always feel marvelous in the presence of a lovely young woman," Mr. Millbrooks then turned to Hope. "Especially one as lovely as you."

Hope internally cringed and looked towards Jonathan pleadingly. "Jonathan, join us, won't you?"

Mr. Millbrooks looked put out at Hope addressing Jonathan by his Christian name, however, he kept his mouth shut. While it may have bothered him that Hope was close with another man, he didn't view Jonathan and any kind of competition. He was just that conceited.

"Of course, Hope" Jonathan spoke, before purposely adding, "After all, you did invite me."

"What can I say?" Hope said while sending Jonathan a genuine smile. "Your company always brightens my dreary days."

Now Mr. Millbrooks was the one that seemed to be chocking on his tea, however, Hope and Jonathan were already engrossed in conversation. A conversation regarding politics nonetheless.

And that is how the afternoon passed. Mr. Millbrooks eventually left the two friends to talking after realizing he couldn't get a word in edgewise nor did he actually have that much knowledge about politics. Odd for a soldier who claims to have firsthand accounts of the napoleonic wars. Regardless, no one missed his presence when he left, and the prince and princess enjoyed their tea and engaging conversation, the dragon long slayed.