Elizabeth had no idea why Isabella was so worried. The men would not go shoot in dangerous weather, would they? She looked across the table at Colin, who seemed to be amusing himself by observing Waldegrave and Lady Louisa. The young woman blossomed under the Baron’s attention, and Elizabeth felt great joy on her behalf.
Colin wouldn’t go hunting anyway,she concluded.Not with his arm. I am not worried.
When the women retreated to the Blue Room after dinner, Isabella started pacing impatiently.
“You need to talk to your husband,” she told Charlotte rather harshly.
Charlotte frowned. “About what?”
“Tell him not to go hunting tomorrow.”
Charlotte raised her eyebrows. “Pardon?”
“I know Sinclair, he always does this,” Isabella continued, like Charlotte wasn’t even there. “He makes these plans with his friends, thinks it will be a pleasant time, and never considers the risk.”
“What risks, Bella?” Lady Louisa asked gently, and that seemed to snap Isabella out of her fit.
She deflated and sat down in one of the many blue chairs. “I have such a bad feeling about tomorrow, like something tragic is going to happen. An injury or an accident. The weather is so foggy and misty and gloomy and… I just don’t want your brother to go.”
“All right,” Louisa said soothingly. “Let’s think of something.”
Lady Isabella exhaled in relief.
“Perhaps a prank might keep the men home?” Amelia, who was used to contriving plots, suggested.
Isabella’s eyes lit up. “Yes! How did I not think of that? Amelia, you clever creature, I want to give you a kiss right now! But what kind of prank? Shall we hide their weapons?”
“No,” Charlotte said pensively. “Ian has an arsenal, we’d never be able to hide all of them.”
“What if we have the servants hide all their boots?” Amelia suggested.
“Ladies, I think it is decided,” Isabella said, looking around the room with a smile.
“Won’t the servants get in trouble?” Lizzie wondered, and the room fell silent.
Lizzie felt like the odd man out for even thinking of it.
“Why don’t each of you hide your man’s boots?” Elinor suggested. “And the unmarried ones we’ll either leave alone, or we’ll try to get their things, won’t we?” She looked at Louisa and Lady Genevieve, who both nodded.
“Yes, yes,” Isabella said feverishly. “Miss Woodhouse, you can steal Pratt’s boots, and Lady Genevieve can take care of young Hawkins. Louisa, can you take the Baron’s boots?”
Louisa nodded bravely, even though she looked like she was going to faint.
“What about Stone?” Lizzie asked, but Isabella dismissed the question with a wave of her hand.
“If he wants to be the only one to go, let him!”
“We should leave a note,” Charlotte said with a smile. “To let them know it was a deliberate prank.”
Murmurs of agreement were heard.
“You’ve been tricked by the Secret Lady Society,” Amelia proposed just as they heard the men approach from the smoking room.
“Agreed, take care of it tonight,” Isabella hissed as the door opened.
Chapter 31
One by one, the ladies excused themselves in the course of the evening, while those who stayed behind exchanged secretive and amused glances. It took Isabella only ten minutes to go to her husband’s room and find his boots, but it took Louisa more than half an hour to go through an acquaintance’s belongings. When it was Elizabeth’s turn, she made her excuses and left the Blue Room. Outside, the housekeeper, Mrs Holloway, who had been instructed on what to do by the mistress of the house, helped her find Colin’s room.
