So a little more drama in this chapter...hope you all enjoy it!
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It wasn't long until Mr Colin Black came to claim his dance from Lavinia and Charles grudgingly allowed her to be led onto the dance floor after giving her a pointed look to remind her to let him know the moment she felt ill. Caleb was still away with Judith and he hoped that Mr Black would look after his sister while he could seek out a dance partner.
"You look brilliant, dearest Lavinia," Colin said in a low voice, bending down towards her ear.
She blushed slightly but pulled away a little feeling uncomfortable. "Thank you Colin, you look well yourself," she replied politely.
He stood across from her as the music began. She felt a little lightheaded still and her cheek throbbed but she ignored it and tried to focus on the dance and avoiding Colin's feet. His dancing was acceptable and certainly better than a few others but he had a tendency to come too close to her.
"I am glad you seem recovered Lavinia," Colin remarked as soon as they were close enough to speak.
"I am well, thank you," Lavinia replied, beginning to feel like all she did was reassure people of her health.
"I was beginning to be afraid of being alone for the first dance since I had reserved it for you as promised."
Not remembering any promise to him for any dance, Lavinia was confused but afraid of seeming stupid she simply smiled and nodded and remarked on the general splendour of the ball and they kept that conversation for the rest of the dance. He continued to compliment her and her family at every opportunity making Lavinia feel flattered however uncomfortable. What had she done to encourage him? She had simply been polite.
As the dance ended she looked around, searching for her brother or Caleb to escort her away from Colin. Caleb was nowhere to be seen and Charles was on the other side of the room speaking to a pretty young debutante that Lavinia recognised as Miss Kelly, one of Judith's friends. She had no other option but to be led by Colin off the dancefloor. She was feeling rather fatigued from the dance but did not want to alert her brother.
"I am feeling rather warm, I would like to go outside," she told Colin. He immediately smiled that made her even less comfortable.
She clearly wanted to be alone with him and outside was the most private place, he thought. He wanted to talk to her anyway so he led her out, choosing to walk towards a more private area surrounded by trees.
"You cannot be without suspicion of my marked attention to you Lavinia," he began, causing her to look up in surprise at him. A deep blush was crossing her face as she realised what he had just said. "I see you are surprised, let me explain."
He sat her down on a bench, sheltered by the trees. Her feelings of unease increased as she realised that she was out, unchaperoned, away from any others with a man who already put her on edge. But he was a gentleman, was he not? He would not do anything to compromise her reputation.
"From the moment I first met you I was certain there was a spark. Our similarity in opinion on the most important subjects of books, poetry, art and music made me feel that we were just perfect for each other and seeing you tonight, in your white ball gown, made me realise that that is exactly the way I want to see you in three months after our courtship. Walking down the aisle towards me at the altar."
Lavinia could only sit there stunned at his forwardness. Courtship? Marriage? She did not know this man. She knew it was rude but she had to get away before anything more occurred. Standing up she said, "I apologise, sir, if I have seemed to reciprocate any feelings for you. I assure you it was unconsciously done. I was merely looking for a friend to help me throughout my first season, not a husband. Good evening."
Lavinia curtsied and turned away until she felt a cold hand grip her upper arm swinging her back round to face him.
"You will court me," he growled. "You don't have a choice."
He then pushed her away from him and she hit the ground hard.
***
Caleb walked around the gardens as he tried to calm down. His mind was whirling with images of Lavinia's blood seeping from her head and her body limp in his arms. How could Judith not see the seriousness of the consequences of her inconsideration? It was her fault that Lavinia had been left to walk alone and that she had end up hurt. Despite her brave face, Caleb had noticed Lavinia wince several times during the carriage ride and he had been on the verge of ordering the carriage to return them home when she had briefly turned and smiled at him. In that moment he had seen her strength and her resolve and he knew that arguing was pointless and he did not want her to be angry with him again.
He had reached the edge of the garden and began to turn back the way he had come. He wanted to erase all thoughts of Judith and her pathetic smiles and her useless justifications. Now he could simply ignore her, his duty was done, and now he could go and rejoin the ball and the Bradley siblings - in particular, Lavinia.
Reaching a gap in the trees, Caleb stopped as he heard a man talking. Caleb rolled his eyes as he listened to the man talking of his reasons for a courtship and a marriage. He really is tactless, he thought, the lady isn't interested, just move on. He groaned internally in impatience.
At that point he heard a voice he was not prepared to hear. "I apologise, sir, if I have seemed to reciprocate any feelings for you. I assure you it was unconsciously done. I was merely looking for a friend to help me throughout my first season, not a husband. Good evening."
Caleb peeked around the tree he was standing behind just to make sure, but there was no mistaking the white dress, the caramel hair and the sweet voice.
"You will court me," came the aggressive reply. "You have no choice."
Caleb's insides raged with fire once more. Who did he think he was, speaking to a lady like that? Running out from behind the tree, Caleb gripped the arm of the man, Mr Colin Black he realised soon after, as it was raised to strike Lavinia who had fallen on the ground. Her hair was covering her face as she braced herself for the impact of the man's fist.
"Get off me!" Colin pathetically exclaimed as Caleb wrestled his arm backwards and pushed it up his back.
"You will never lay a finger on any woman again," Caleb threatened through clenched teeth. "Lady Lavinia is leaving with me and she is under my protection. If you even ever look at her again you will live to regret it."
In one final burst of anger, Caleb drew back his fist and knocked the man out cold with a single blow. Breathing deeply he turned to see Lavinia getting to her feet. Reaching out, he helped her up and wrapped his arms around her. She was the perfect fit. Her head rested on his shoulder as her arms reached around his waist.
"Are you hurt Lavinia?" he asked softly. Lavinia simply shook her head against his shoulder, too shocked to speak.
After a few moments she managed. "Thank you Caleb, once again, for saving me."
"You are my best friend's sister, I'll always look out for you," he replied. Caleb knew that the obsessive nature of Colin would no doubt have scared her and that she would probably find it difficult to befriend any man for a while. He didn't see her as simply 'Charles' little sister', but he knew he couldn't be away from her, he liked her too much.
"Please, don't tell Charles," she pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. "You saw how he felt the other night after realising what had happened. He would never get over the guilt of not being here for me again."
"I understand," Caleb said, nodding. He knew that Charles would take it hard that he had failed, in his own eyes, his sister. "We better get back, are you ready?"
"Yes, but must we go back? Can we not just leave?" she implored him.
"One more dance and then you can tell Charles you are not feeling well so as not to raise his suspicions. May I have this next dance, Lady Lavinia?" he asked formally.
"Indeed you may," she replied happily.
***
'You are my best friend's sister' were the words that whirled around in Lavinia's mind as Caleb led her towards the dance floor. She was grateful that it was a waltz as she wanted to talk to him a little more and thank him again for everything. But those words had jolted her back to reality a little as she realised that Caleb was only being kind to her as she was Charles' sister. She also then thought back to Judith being led away on his arm earlier that night. Of course he wouldn't see her as anything more than a sister, he was going to marry Judith.
"May I ask you a question?" Caleb asked hesitantly.
"You just did," she pointed out before she thought about it. Realising how rude she had sounded, she blushed deep red and looked away before saying, "Of course, my Lord."
Caleb chuckled lowly in his chest. "Lavinia," he said softly, causing her to look up at him. "You don't need to be so formal with me. It is nice and refreshing to have a lady be honest and direct with me. Please, call me Caleb."
"Alright, Caleb," she replied, smiling a little more. "What was your question?"
"When I saw you being taken by those men, there were three of them. One was dragging you off, another was holding a purse and the third was holding his nose. It was clearly broken and still bleeding. Was that you?"
At the memory of the night before, Lavinia shuddered and Caleb's grip on her waist tightened a little.
"I am sorry Lavinia, that was thoughtless of me. I should not remind you of that night."
"No, it is alright Caleb," was her brave reply. "Yes, that was me. I was brought up by brothers, so although they never taught me how to fight, the same principle is used in several sports."
Caleb looked down at her, stunned at her reply. After such an ordeal, many young women would have most certainly stayed in bed for a week and spread the news of their drama far and wide. Lavinia however, had been strong and determined to attend the ball to avoid any drama or concern.
"I am sorry that you had to see me like that Caleb," she continued. "And again tonight."
"Mr Black was out of line. He is no gentleman and I am again simply grateful that I was there for you," Caleb said. Lavinia's face was beginning to look rather pale as they danced. It took her a while to reply as a wave of dizziness passed.
"I am too," Lavinia agreed. "What were you doing there anyway?"
"I had to speak to Judith and then I went for a walk in the garden when I overheard Mr Black speaking to you."
"You were spying on us?" she realised. "Why?"
This time it was Caleb's face that turned red. He turned away and tried to avoid her gaze. "I'm just glad I was there," he repeated as the music came to an end and they broke apart.
"There is Charles," he pointed out to avoid further questioning. Charles had also finished dancing with Miss Kelly and was looking around, probably for them both. When he spotted them, he came over with a look of concern as he took in Lavinia.
Lavinia was breathing rather deeply next to Caleb as she clung onto his arm and her face was growing pale.
"Lavinia?" Charles called softly, as he laid a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Are you ok?"
"I think we should go home now please," she begged him.
"Of course, I'll fetch Aunt Julie and Caleb will escort you to our carriage," Charles said before he was lost again in the crowd.
Caleb put an arm around Lavinia's waist in fear of her collapsing however they made it to the carriage unharmed and Lavinia sat down, resting her head against the side.
"Thank you again Caleb," she whispered as she finally gave in to her exhaustion and fell asleep.
Caleb leaned over and kissed her forehead before whispering back, "As always, my angel."
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