“He turned out to be nothing but a heartless flirt. He has begun standing up three times or more with a horrid freckled redhead at every dancing class.”
“Lizzy!” admonished Frances.
“You should take up novel writing, because nearly every word you just spoke is pure fabrication.” Her sister’s tone was uncharacteristically sharp.
Lizzy showed her unrepentant dimples. “But it doesn’t matter a whit, because Anne is always besieged with partners, and he is just an idiot!”
Her older sister sighed. “Promise me again that you do not say such things to Georgiana and the other girls. It would be disastrous to have your outrageous flights of fancy circulating in society. As if they came from me!”
“I wouldn’t,” Lizzy protested. But she looked away, meeting no one’s eyes.
“If you have,” Frances chimed in sternly, “then you must stop. Such stories really could make it much more difficult for Anne when she comes out.”
Her dark blue eyes large and serious at last, Lizzy nodded.
Anne turned to Charlotte. “How are you? You have made this room look quite lovely.”
She accepted the compliment with a smile, and they talked for a while of inconsequential things. Then, Anne and Lizzy went down to visit the Trasks, whom they knew well from Derbyshire, and Callie followed them. “I am glad to have a moment alone,” Frances said then. “I wanted to thank you.”
“Me? For what?”
“Do you remember, soon after we met, you asked me what it was that I wanted out of life? I must tell you, that question has been an immense help to me.” She smiled at Charlotte’s look of surprise. “Perhaps it sounds simple and obvious to you. But if one has never looked at things from that perspective, it can make a great difference. I have been acting on it.”
Charlotte was pleased and fascinated. “How?”
Frances’s smile broadened until it bore a remarkable resemblance to one of Lizzy’s mischievous grins. “Don’t expect heroics. But, for one thing, I have been corresponding with old friends, renewing contacts. I never fell completely out of touch with them, but I didn’t write as often as I might have during these busy years. The response has been gratifying.” She gave Charlotte a look from under dark lashes. “I have an invitation to spend part of the winter in Greece.”
“In… that sounds… interesting.”
Frances nodded. “My best friend from school is living there. Her husband is involved in some sort of diplomatic mission that is likely to take more than a year, she says. She is urging me to come.”
Charlotte knew little of Greece beyond the ancients. “The country is ruled by the Turks?” she managed.
“And perfectly safe, Diana assures me. Of course I cannot go this winter.” Frances looked at Charlotte with what seemed like speculation or assessment. Charlotte couldn’t imagine what she meant by it. Frances started to speak, hesitated, then added, “But once Lizzy is older, I am determined I shall have an adventure of some kind, thanks to you.”
The energy and determination in her voice were inspiring. Charlotte started to deny any responsibility for this change, but she had been thinking that one must grasp the possibilities that presented themselves in life. Frances was right. You had to dare. She turned to agree with her, and Callie streaked into the drawing room trailing a tatter of pink ribbon. Lizzy was right on her heels. “I thought it would look pretty around her neck,” she explained, breathing hard. “But she doesn’t seem to like it.”
Since the cat was manically shredding the bit of silk in the far corner of the room, Charlotte could only concur.
***
The piles of papers on his desk had totally lost their hold on Alec. The mood of the countryside was dire, he told himself. Events were nearing a flash point, and no one seemed able to halt the slide. But his mind continually veered back to gold-coppery hair and eyes, to a smile that made his heart turn over. He would see her this afternoon. Not so very long, though the minutes dragged like hours.
A knock on the door heralded Ethan. “A letter come by courier, sir.” He handed over a thick packet. “He rode hard.”
Alec slit the envelope and began to read, his mood quickly going grim. This was it, then. Time was up. Personal considerations would have to be set aside. He summoned Ethan back and rapped out a string of instructions.
Alec’s mind remained burdened later that day, as he took Charlotte to