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JANE DRANK HER TEA and nibbled her toast slowly, but still Lord Harrington did not appear for breakfast. Miss Pratt was missing as well, so could not be observed. Meg was so quiet that Jane had asked her twice if she was feeling well. In fact, not one person of any interest was there to inform the unlucky few left over of the missing details of The Event.
At 11 o’clock, a servant entered the breakfast room and announced to them both that Lady Harrington would appreciate their presence in the drawing room at their convenience.
Together, Jane and Meg entered the drawing room and stopped short. There was the infamous blue couch with a large water stain on one side and a maid scrubbing it for all she was worth.
“That will do, Mary. We will just have to try again later.” The maid wiped her forehead, and clasping her bucket and rags, hurried to leave. Jane turned to see Lady Harrington rise from a corner desk, her hands clasped in front of her. Lord Petersham entered in a moment with Lord Wyndham and his son. Very soon the drawing room was full – a meeting of sorts must have been called, for Lady Harrington didn’t sit, but rather herded people to specific spots. Jane stared at the door for a while, but Lord Harrington remained absent as Lady Harrington cleared her throat.
“I am so pleased you are all here, for we have an announcement to make.” She stopped and looked at Miss Pratt who sat next to her while she patted her hand. “An engagement between my son, Lord Harrington, and Miss Cynthia Pratt has finally been made official.”
Jane turned her head from the doorway. Official? She felt hot and all of a sudden very desperately needed some air. She closed her eyes as the congratulations began.
“Yes, yes, the announcement was sent to the newspaper this morning.”
Jane opened her eyes to see Lady Harrington looking better than she had in weeks, content in her situation. Miss Pratt was the only one who looked at her – the curl of her winner’s smirk taunting her. She stood in the chaos – no one would miss her – and left the room.
***
LORD PETERSHAM BOUNCED next to his fiancé. “Mary, let us head for the woods, for you know we should have plenty of privacy there.”
Mary blushed, then protested. “George, we must be somewhat circumspect. After all, I am sure your mother does not quite accept it is -”
“What, official?” George grinned. “I have a plan for that. If she should try to stop it or get some hare-brained scheme like she did for Charlie, I’ll just have to kiss you very soundly in public, which of course -“
“George, what do you mean?” Mary had stopped to look at him, her face now serious.
“Oh Mary, you know if we kiss in public – oh you mean about Charlie?”
She nodded.
He moved forward again as he told her what he knew. “I came home last night to find Charlie gone on some rescue for Miss Pratt. Something about the rainstorm, but you know I asked Pratt about it, and it sounds pretty havy-cavy to me.” Mary smiled at his slang, but didn’t remonstrate. “Anyway, I’m not sure how Charlie’s supposed to have compromised her with her brother and the groom there, but I told you he fell sick last night and hasn’t come out of it yet, so Our Dear Mother has taken charge of the situation.” This was said much more seriously, as if he just realized the predicament his brother was in.
“Surely Miss Pratt wouldn’t stand for such...underhanded schemes.”
“Oh, my love, she would entirely stand for such schemes. Or at least her mother would. And if either of those two balked, I’m sure our mother would, so there you have it. A triple threat.”
Mary thought a moment, distracted by the situation. “George, do you think...”
“Do I think? I should say so. But perhaps we could set that aside for a moment, for – “
Mary stopped him, her hand to his lips. “George, pay attention. I should think you would be able to come up with something to help him. Especially after going behind your mother’s back to arrange our engagement.”
“I’m two steps ahead of you, Mary, for when he awakens we’ll come up with something to shake things up a bit.”
“I daresay those words ought to send shivers down my spine.” Her mouth twitched and he grinned.
“No, my love, the only thing to send shivers down your spine should be –” But then he was kissing her, showing her exactly what he meant.
***
DEAR FRIEND,
You are entirely correct, for my heart is full of the past few day’s events and despite your encouragement with the sonatina and your friendly discourse, I cannot focus on anything but the rather intriguing affairs occurring in this house.
You have requested to know my heart, and in this moment I can only tell you I have given it entirely to Lord Harrington. Since he is engaged to Miss Pratt, I know this is entirely futile. And given that state of finality, I find myself longing for home. As Lady Harrington has hinted that the house party end early due to Lord Harrington’s illness, I will be leaving as soon as arrangements can be made.
Forgive me, dear friend, for I have failed to perform for you either with the sonatina or the duet. I wish you well in your future endeavors and hope we may yet again cross paths.
Jane
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JULY 13, 1813
Holcombe Manor, Kent
Dear Aunt Jem,
I will be arriving home Friday quite late if our journey here is any indication. Lady Harrington has suggested we end the house party a little early due to Lord Harrington’s abrupt illness. As the engagement between Lord Harrington and Miss Pratt has now been officially announced, she also has much to do to prepare for the event.
Jane
***
“JANE, WHERE HAVE YOU been?” Meg came from behind, grabbing her hand.
“I was writing letters. In the library.”
“Oh Jane, mother will never care if you correspond enough with anyone now, and anyway there is too too much to discuss! Can you believe the engagement? I can’t, for I know for a fact Charlie had no plans to marry her.”
“I believe there was a lot of,” she pressed her lips together, feeling bold, “conniving, to make it happen.”
“Why Jane, that is rather forward of you to say so, but only because it’s you and not me, although I entirely agree with you, for Cynthia’s face was ever so smug when she came up those stairs and I am sure she knew exactly what was going to happen.”
Jane smiled at Meg’s sentence, shaking her head as she threw caution to the wind. “Yes, but you see I also overheard her and Lady Wyndham discussing just such a plan as getting caught in the rain. I did not mean to eavesdrop, but,” she sighed, “I believe it was a result of your brother paying a little too much attention to me.”
Meg grinned. “As George would say, you are the pot calling the kettle black. At any rate, it was a method of survival in this house. One time I barely missed a bucket of whitewash that was strung to – oh Jane, are you alright?”
Jane’s eyes were red as she held back tears. “Of...of course I’m alright, Meg. I knew this was very probably inevitable, but, oh, you know how I feel...” She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Tell me about how you barely avoided getting whitewashed.”
Meg looked at Jane’s face and sighed. “Alright, but you know a good cry never hurt anyone, although I always have a raging headache afterwards and mama says it’s – oh, I’m sorry, I’ll stop. One summer when I was about eight, I was in the stables, and...” She told her story which had Jane in giggles by the end, and together they made their way to dinner, feeling much more courageous.
***
LADY HARRINGTON WAS in the hallway saying good bye to the doctor, when Lord Harrington hissed. Startled, the maid fumbled the bowl, the towel slipping off to the floor as she looked at her wild-eyed master.
“My lord?” She whispered.
“Simmons.” He breathed it out, his exhausted face white from the effort.
“Oh! Yes, my lord.” Wide-eyed, she retrieved the towel and left.
Only a few minutes later found Simmons at the foot of Lord Harrington’s bed. He eyed the pink sweat drenched face, and frowning, went to close the door. Dipping a cloth into a fresh bowl of water, he dabbed at the face of the young man who had his unfailing loyalty. The motion awoke him, and Lord Harrington’s eyes met his own.
“Simmons.” His whisper was clear, but his eyes had a hard time staying open.
“My lord, you may not be able to stay awake for long, as you have been medicated. The doctor recommends rest. If there is something I should do, you must tell me quickly.”
“Letter.” His head swiveled as his hand swung aimlessly. Simmons looked about – there under the candlestick was a letter. He glanced at Lord Harrington, whose eyes were surrendering to the laudanum.
Moving the candlestick, he picked up the letter, unsurprised at the name scrawled across the top.
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JANE SHAW
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SIMMONS LOOKED ONCE more at Lord Harrington, who had fallen asleep, but with the knowledge of a butler, knew exactly what to do with it. With a bow to the comatose earl, he left to carry out his duty.