“All men lie. At least this time, the truth was in your favor. My dear sister, you will live in a veritable castle with thirteen-thousand a year! You will have a place among thebeau mondeof society. All this with the man you say you love.”
“Of course, you would support my desire to marry for love only when it suits your aspirations for me,” Caroline scoffed. “But I will not be swayed. I will not marry a deceitful trickster. You must give up any notion of my marrying Lord Connally, once and for all.”
“Well! If you are not the most stubborn sister in the world, then I do not know who is!” Louisa snarled.
S
How could I have been so daft!Theo cursed. He kicked over an empty crate near one of the stalls, scaring a flock of chickens in their pen.
“Theo! Theo!” Oliver called, running over to him.
“You were right about everything. This was a bloody foolish plan! I should have listened and never embarked on it.”
“You must come, Theo. Beaujean is in trouble.”
Theo quickly ran with Oliver. A crowd had gathered to watch the fight going on. Beau and the Lord Mayor were in the middle of the circle, their coats cast aside, their sleeves rolled up. Beaujean had his fists up to defend himself, but as more of a poet than a pugilist, he was not faring well. He already had a bruise on his face and blood coming from his nose. The Lord Mayor threw another punch, hitting Beau squarely in the jaw, knocking him down. The mayor dove on top of Beau, punching him repeatedly. “That will teach you to dance the goat’s jig with my wife!” he roared.
Theo pushed through the crowd and grabbed the Lord Mayor’s shoulders. “Enough with it! Break it up!” he ordered. Beaujean scrambled to his feet and wiped the blood dripping down with his sleeve. Oliver took Beau’s shoulders and led him away from the crowd.
“Go on, then!” Theo shooed the crowd. “There are other entertainments to be had. Go back to enjoying the fair!” He gestured to the band, and they resumed playing.
Theo found where Oliver and Beaujean had gone. The seller of flavored ices had been generous enough to give them some of his dwindling supply of ice and Oliver had used it to fashion a cold compress out of his handkerchief for Beau.
Theo looked at Beaujean disapprovingly.
Beau shrugged with an ornery grin. “The Lord Mayor caught me giving his wife a green gown behind the stalls, but apparently he did not like that.”
“Do you blame him? What man wants to find out his wife has doubled the Cape Horn behind his back? I take it she is the lady you’ve been going out to see in secret?”
Beau nodded. “In my defense, I did not know she was married the first time I met her.”
“But it did not stop you from carrying on once you did learn,” Oliver pointed out. “I hope you have learned your lesson.”
“What can I say? I am a lover, not a fighter!” Beau laughed.
“I do not know how you can be so glib about this,” Oliver scolded. “Beau, you really are incorrigible!” He turned to Theo. “Has Miss Bingley gone home then?”
Theo nodded.
“I am so sorry, Theo.”
“Let us go home,” Theo said. “I have had my fill of the fair today.”
S
The remaining days of the fair passed by, but the men from Raven’s Cliff did not attend. One would expect that, like a ship without its captain, it would have run aground, but they had done such a good job of planning, that in the hands of the townspeople, everything ran smoothly without further incident.
Theo attempted to call at Fairclough. The younger Mrs. Hurst seemed especially glad to see him, and asked him if he would be so good as to wait, while she went to see if her sister was accepting any callers.
Theo tapped his foot impatiently while he waited.Is there even a chance she is willing to see me, or am I wasting my time?
“I am so sorry, Lord Connally,” Mrs. Hurst said as she descended the staircase. “My sister refuses to see anyone. You are welcome to call again, however, Your Lordship.”
It is as I expected. It was a fool’s errand coming here.
Theo took the path by way of the garden gate, then cut across the moors until he reached his own orchard and gardens. After examining the growth on his trees, which now had the beginnings of fruit on them, he went to see his new garden.
His grounds now rivaled that of his next-door-neighbors. In the time since his return from Ireland, Mr. Hodge and his gardeners had done a spectacular job of renovating the gardens. The new parterre, fashioned in the shape of a star, boasted a stunning fountain in the center. Theo had it commissioned based on the drawings he brought back of the original one in Ireland. Theo sat down on the stone bench near the fountain. Before long, Mr. Hodge came by, carrying a shovel. He noticed Theo and came over.
