Catherine smiled. If Ashley’s brother had heard of her actions, the plan was working. “The last part is true. Where on earth did Devlin hear the rest?”
“I think he was at the butcher’s. The man claims the two of you were practically engaged.”
“What?”
“Yes, that’s just what I said.” Ashley flounced inside and flopped down on Lizzy’s new bed, careless of her riding dress or the intricate style of her blond hair. “I made Devlin take me right back over there, and then the butcher admitted you weren’t quite engaged. But what about the rest of it, and why are butchers courting you? I thought we promised to be adventurers, not wives.” She said the last as though it were a curse.
Hoping her cousin’s tirade was over, Catherine sat next to her. “I am going to be an adventurer. Josie and I are planning an exciting adventure right now. But until we’re ready to leave, I have to keep my father from marrying me off. I thought if I caused a bit of commotion, it would put off some of the suitors my father has been bringing home. Men like that butcher.”
Ashley sat forward. “Really? That’s actually a very good idea.”
“Thank you.”
“But don’t you think starting fires is taking the scheme a bit too far?”
“I didn’t start a fire or shoot at anyone. I did tackle Lizzy, but—”
“She deserved it,” they said in unison and then laughed.
“Good for you,” Ashley said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“I was hoping you would ask that.” Catherine had been sitting in the attic for several hours contemplating her next plan of attack as well as praying her father would not break down the door and beat her senseless for her earlier behavior. He had gone out after the incidents of the afternoon and hadn’t yet returned. Thank God. As much as she’d like to run and hide at Maddie’s home, Catherine knew that would only make her father angrier and guarantee her own punishment was that much worse in the end.
“I’ve been thinking, and I feel that continuing my efforts to dissuade my father’s suitors are not wise. I can’t keep acting like this,” Catherine said. “You know how my father is.”
Ashley nodded, uncharacteristically silent. She was not the kind of girl to be afraid of anything, but she was cautious around her uncle Edmund.
“I have to work even harder to delay Lord Valentine’s wedding to Elizabeth. I made one attempt at the Beaufort ball, but I must do more. I need more time.”
Ashley nodded. “Yes, I see your point, but the announcement appeared in the Times. Valentine will be in a hurry to get Lizzy to the altar now. He’s a proud man.”
“Arrogant, you mean. The only reason he wants to marry Elizabeth is because he needs an heir, and he thinks it will help his career. He doesn’t care one fig for her.”
“Nor she for him, I imagine,” Ashley said.
“So what do we do? How do we keep them from the church?”
“I don’t know, but I promise to think about it. I’ll talk to Madeleine and Josephine, too. Between the four of us, we’ll come up with a plan. Until then, don’t do anything rash.”
“Me? Rash?”
Ashley laughed. “Very well. I won’t do anything rash. Just sit tight, Catie. We’ll halt that engagement if it’s the last thing we do.”
Catherine sighed. Leave it to Ashley to put it in the most dramatic terms possible.
Chapter Five
Edmund Fullbright moved away from his daughter’s door before his niece could emerge and catch him snooping. Goddamn little hoyden. That was the influence of his wife’s family for you. Her brother’s brood was an absolute disgrace.
Did he not have enough problems with his stubborn, ungrateful daughter without Sir Gareth’s litter putting ideas into her head?
He swore and kicked at a loose rail on the banister as he made his way to his study. It was more of a closet, really. The house the family had occupied for the last twelve years was tiny. He had no privacy here.
After shutting the door, Edmund went to his scratched desk and opened the bottom drawer. It was the only drawer that still opened and closed properly, and he kept a store of blue ruin and a glass inside. He removed both, poured himself a glass, and leaned back in his creaking chair to contemplate.
What was he going to do about his two broodmares? Not for the first time, he wished he had a son. A boy would accompany him to the gaming hells, play as his partner. With a boy, he would have won at the tables. A boy would have been useful in so many ways, while these daughters of his sat at home and wasted his money, bringing nothing in themselves.
The time for that was over. Until now he’d had no use for his daughters. He’d watched and waited and doted on Elizabeth, knowing she would be the one to repay his efforts. His younger was the prettier of the two, and now she had scored herself a future marquess. Valentine would pay nicely for the privilege of wedding and bedding little Elizabeth. But weren’t there men in England willing to pay even more? After all, Elizabeth had just come out. This was her first real Season, and Valentine was her first acceptable suitor. Not for the first time, Edmund feared he had been too quick in his acceptance of Valentine’s proposal. He should have waited for a duke or even a foreign prince.
