The Unknowing Heiress

Chapter 15

“This is probably England’s signature beverage,” Maggie informed Nora. “We drink it morning, noon and night.” She lifted the cup up to Nora. “Just sip. There are loose tea leaves in the cup.”

Nora looked quite concerned. “Are you sure you want to share a cup with me?”

“Yes,” Maggie replied simply. She knew that Nora’s reservations were about their prospective colours and positions. She didn’t want to encourage those sorts of thoughts. The way Maggie saw it, she was the future of the Lavelle Cotton Plantation, and the future would be very different from now.

Nora carefully took the cup from Maggie and took a sip of the tea. She thought for a moment before smiling. “Not something I’ve ever tried but it wasn’t half bad,” she said cheerfully. She gave the cup back to Maggie and she took a sip as well. She liked tea twenty times better than the coffee she’d sampled the day before.  

“My boys told me that they met you yesterday,” Nora commented as she chose an outfit for Maggie to wear for the day.

“I did meet them.” Maggie nodded. “Please do apologise for me. I fear I may have frightened them a little.” They did seem awfully rigid when they realised just who she was.

Nora laughed lightly. “They liked you just fine, Miss Maggie,” she assured her. “In fact Anthony thinks you are real easy on the eyes but don’t tell him I told you,” she whispered.

Maggie was very flattered to hear that. She thought them sweet, caring brothers, especially the elder in Anthony who seemed to take on a protective role when it came to his younger brother, Albert. “My lips are sealed,” she promised.

The garments that Nora selected for Maggie did not belong to her. She wondered where they had been sourced from.

“I put these in here last night,” she explained. “Mrs Lavelle thought you might be able to use them for today’s activity.”

A clean, button down shirt and a sturdy, brown skirt were in Nora’s hands. That was oddly thoughtful of Joanna.

“Pray, what is on today’s agenda?”

“Town ball, Miss Maggie,” replied Nora. “Do you know it?”

“No.” Maggie shook her head. “Though I can assume it is a sport of some sort.”

Nora nodded. “It’s something the master has played with Mr Kincaid since he was a boy. They’ve asked you to join them this morning. That was why your breakfast was served in your bedroom.”

Maggie enjoyed playing sports. She was a proficient cricketer thanks to her father and Uncle Emmett’s interest in the game. Now that their families were grown, it was often a Swifts versus Wildes affair.

She also enjoyed horseback riding, jumping and dressage, as well as archery and climbing. She did enjoy the outdoors very much.

Nora laced Maggie into her corset tightly and then helped her to slip her arms into the white shirt. Maggie buttoned it herself as she stepped into a single petticoat. The usual volume was simply impractical for playing sport. Maggie also donned a pair of her boots that lacked a heel. Nora brushed Maggie’s hair and fixed it in a tight bun. The fashionable, shoulder-length ringlets were, again, impractical for sport.

Maggie offered her breakfast to Nora, electing only to finish her tea before going downstairs to play town ball.

The outside temperature was cloudy and the sunshine was coming through from behind a blanket of clouds. The clouds made it look like it might rain in the afternoon.