But Mama did not wait for my answer. “The quartet! I almost forgot to write back the man Mrs. Ollerton recommended. I’m hiring them to entertain our guests while they wait. And chairs! We need a dozen more chairs!” With that, she left in a whirl of skirts, and I let out a heavy breath.
Benjamin chuckled. “She shall wear herself thin for you.”
“For me?” I scoffed. “If she had any care for what I wanted, the decorations would be scarce and the music simple. Everything befitting a small ceremony.”
“Ros, you’re marrying the Duke of Marlow. Nothing about your life will be small anymore. You must adapt.”
I stared hard at him. “Oh, how I shall miss you, brother,” I said flatly.
He gave me a quick, wide smile, before looking over his shoulder. When he was satisfied Mama was truly gone, he hurried over to the hearth and rummaged through the bookshelves on either side.
I followed him a few steps. “What are you doing?”
“Lost a book.Fertile Lands. Father means to discuss it after dinner.” He moved to the little table in the center of the room to continue his search. Over, under, around. “Have you seen it?”
I sighed. How many times had we found ourselves in this very state? If it wasn’t a lost book, it was a document or a letter or a pair of gloves.
“Benjamin, you are eighteen years of age. You are the heir. And soon I will not be here to cover your tracks when you misstep.” I watched him drop to his knees to peer under the settee. “You must be more responsible. It is your duty. Have you even read this book?”
“Halfway,” he muttered, opening and closing every drawer he could find. “If I cannot find it, I shall have to run away to America. You’ll come visit me, won’t you? Jasper can manage the estate.”
I snorted and shook my head. “You are not running away to America. And Jasper will stay at Harrow with Nicholas. Simply think on it, Ben. Where did you last read?”
Having upended the entirety of the drawing room, Ben groaned and sprawled out along the settee looking as forlorn as an eighteen-year-old boy of genteel upbringing could.
“I do not know, Ros. If I did, I would not be here.” He lifted a finger. “And I haven’t time for a lecture, so if you’re thinking of speaking more on responsibility, no thank you. I shall have enough of that from Father this afternoon.”
“What would I lecture you on?” I perched on the arm of the settee. “Losing Father’s book? Or waiting until the last minute to finish it? Or perhaps,” I mused, staring at his boots, “I should lecture you on proper manners, and how one should never lie upon the settee with their muddy boots still on.”
He groaned and sat up, swinging his feet firmly to the floor. “At least help me come up with an excuse. Is that not what older sisters are for?” He flashed an innocent smile, and I was thrown back ten years in my memories. Ben, a little boy, chasing me, laughing with a gap-toothed grin and his hair flying wildly in the wind.
I sighed and looked up at the vaulted ceiling. “Bring a few other books to the discussion. Tell Father you enjoyed the first half of the book he recommended so much, you were distracted by research and that you’d like an extension to continue your study. Father will appreciate a studious mind, and you will have more time to find your book and finish it.”
A slow smile turned up Ben’s lips. “Ros, you brilliant, devious woman.”
“Go on,” I said. I stood from my spot and encouraged him up with a wave of my hands. “You must prepare if you are to be believed.”
Benjamin nodded, jumping to his feet. He plucked two books from the bookshelves by the hearth, then turned back to me. “Have you any plans for this afternoon? I am charged with visiting some tenants about a pest problem. Could be fun if you wanted to come along.”
I covered my yawn with a hand. “As intriguing as that sounds, I am exhausted. Perhaps another day. Good luck finding your book.” I waved at him and headed toward the door.
“We are running out of days, Ros.”
His words stopped me in my tracks. The only sound was the ticking of the clock over the mantel. I looked over my shoulder at Ben.
He shrugged with a sheepish look. “Come.”
Part of me wanted to go. To let Ben tease and terrify me like he always did. I’d laugh the sort of laugh that made my stomach ache. Per my list, I owed him an adventure, but if Ben knew, he would not waste it on some pest problem. We could do better than that.
I shook my head. “Perhaps another time.”
He nodded once with a serious look and gripped his book in his hands. “I shall hold you to that.”
Back in my room, I locked the door behind me and plopped down upon my bed.Finally.My head met my pillow in a heavenly wave, with a slight crinkle as I settled in.
My list.
I tugged it out from under my pillow.
