Authors: Stephanie Maddux
“Who
will be in attendance
?” Jake asked.
“There will be just some old friends, the
Duke
and
Duchess
of Bainbridge,
t
he
E
arl of Worthington, and some other friends
,
” Katherine answered a little
too
fast
.
“I would like to invite Lord Hubert and Lady Felicia Fairchild and their daughter
,
if I
must be in attendance
,
” Jake said with authority.
“
I suppose
I
could
send the invitation to them as well
,
but may I ask why? Didn’t you and Miss Fairchild have a falling out?” She asked innocently
.
“Jake wants to marry the chit,
can
you believe it mother?”
Jordan
stated before his brother could reply. Jake scowled at him.
“I would like to explore the option, but it is not official
,
by any means.” Jake corrected.
“Whatever you say, but I hope you cho
o
se differently
,
”
Jordan
stated
.
Jake frowned
.
He
knew his brother never like
d
Sarah,
so
he
had been
glad when he began to court Ana instead
and he had never made a secret of that fact
.
“Why did you join us at the theater if you
don’t
like her?” Jake asked curiously.
“I knew Ana would be there
,
and I
also
knew where she would be sitting. I went for the amusement
,
and I do believe I found it.”
Jordan
smiled knowing he would pay for it later.
“You bastard
,
” Jake spoke between his clenched teeth. “You could have told me.”
“No. I think not. You
had
already issued the invitation to Sarah and her mother, so there was no backing out of it.”
Jordan
laughed.
“Now
, the two of you will behave
. So
, it is settled,
I will see you there, yes?” Katherine already had her answer and now she would have to go plot, plan and prepare with time working against her.
“
Three days from now we
will leave
,
and
you will be expected to
act with your best
behavior until then
,
”
s
he smiled as she looked at the two and turned to leave.
“Mother, it is nice to see you out of your mourning clothes
,
”
Jordan
said unexpectantly
.
“Yes. Well, I will see you
both
soon
,
”
s
he replied and walked away before her sons could see how much the comment affected her.
Ana woke up after having very little sleep. While slow, the morning had proved successful. She met with her solicitor and got all her business needs dealt with. She was going through her correspondence with Eliza. The first letter in her pile was from her aunt in
America
. They had finally received the news. They grieved
the
loss of her parents. They were returning to
London
and
would be
giving their daughter a season. Ana was thrilled and she was looking forward to introducing her cousin into society. She was
also
looking forward to spending
some
time with actual family members and getting to know them. Her eyes misted as she realized she would have family
a
round
her again
soon
. She was looking forward to it.
The second letter caught her eye. It had elegant handwriting
, which
she knew well. It was from the Duchess of Ashbury. She ripped it open, nervous about what she was about to read. After a few moments, she was shocked by what she had received. Eliza came over, read over her shoulder, and smothered a laugh. Ana looked up and frowned at Eliza.
“Why would she send this to me? Surely it is a mistake.” Ana looked back down at the letter and could not believe what she was reading.
It was an invitation
to a house party for the weekend. Her best friend laughed harder at her confused expression.
“Be careful Ana, you don’t want your face to freeze like that
,
and besides I’ll be there as well.” Lady Elizabeth was the daughter of the
Duke
and
Duchess
of Bainbridge. Ana was glad they ha
d
also been invited.
Then she
would not feel so out of place. Wait, she was not serious about going,
so
it would not matter. She kept repeating the thought in her mind.
“I just don’t understand,” Ana frowned.
“My lady, you have a caller.” Her butler handed her the card, she looked down, and her eyes widened in shock. Eliza took it away from her and saw who was calling.
“Obviously it’s not a mistake
,
”
s
he spoke to Ana softly. “Send her in
,
Samuels.” Eliza directed toward the butler
,
who went to do her bidding
.
A moment later
,
the
D
uchess
g
race
d Ana and Eliza with her presence. They both curtsied to her and sat down. Lady Katherine had not changed in the slightest since the last time she had seen her. She was still an elegant woman, holding herself in a regal fashion. How they
had
managed to avoid each other in the same city was a question she did not want answered. The wrinkles were starting to show, but did not take away from her beauty. Her cheeks were a rosy red and her hair
was
pulled tight into a bun. She looked fierce and stunning for a woman of her age.
“Hello
,
Lady Ana, thank you for receiving me and hello to you as well
,
Elizabeth
.” Her
Grace
continued
,
“I wasn’t sure if you would see me or not. I’m sure you understand.” She was a little breathless when she
finished speaking
. Her face flushed
as if
she were
embarrass
ed
.
“No
,
I
don
’
t understand. Perhaps you
could enlighten me as to the reason for your visit, and also
why I have this in my hands.” Ana knew she was being rude to her
Grace
, but the woman could still have her shaking in her boots, not that she would ever let it show.
“Your
Grace
, It is good to see you. You look lovely in your gown. I am happy to see you out and about
,
” Eliza spoke up. Ana sco
wled at Eliza's placating tone.
“I feel much better.
I dare say that the
country has done wonders
in restoring my constitution
. I do hope I will see you and your parents this weekend at the house party
,
” she
directed the question to Eliza.
“Yes, we will all be there. However
,
I
will
be traveling with Ana and
therefore
will be
arriving
a little later than my parents.” Eliza looked over at Ana and smiled a little.
“Ah, well I am so glad to see I am going. I wasn’t aware
of
that
,
until just now.” Ana’s tone
dripped
with sarcasm. The conversation was
beginning to annoy
her.
“Lady Ana, I came here today to apologize for my behavior toward you
,
” Lady Katherine said.
“Why? I really don
’
t see the need. I have done just fine without it
and
I certainly don’t need it now.” Ana did not believe the
Duchess
for a minute. Ana glanced over at the cough that Eliza did behind her hand.
“I need to apologize
,
regardless
of whether
you accept or not
,
” Katherine
stated.
It was a
couple of years too late, but Ana did not point it out.
“Her
Grace
came here to make things right Ana. Let her say what she needs to say and stop being rude.” Ana knew that Eliza instantly took her
Grace
’s side in this issue. She was not surprised by her friend’s
actions
. Eliza
had
always
been
the forgiving one.
“Ana, my dear
,
I did you a grave injustice when I interfered with you
rs
and my son’s courtship
,
”
s
he paused and waited for
a response
.
When none came, she continued,
“
I
have
never forgive
n
myself
, so
I want to
repair the damage I caused, but
I need your help to do that. I want you to come to the house party and talk some sense into my son.”
Ana could not believe what she was hearing. Was this woman serious?
“What makes you think I even want your son? If
memory serves me correctly, I believe I was the
one
who walked away from him.
“
Why
do you think I
would I change my mind now?” Ana asked
,
wondering what this was really about.
Ana knew Lady Katherine was relieved when she did break the relationship off, because she had actually sent a letter thanking her for coming to her senses. It was the biggest insult she had ever received and she still had the letter to this day.
“
My son is in danger of marrying someone who will never make him happy so I need for you to reconsider.
I don’t like Miss Fairchild
,
and
it has come to my attention that he might be pursuing her,
” Katherine pleaded. Ana did not know what to say.
On one
hand
,
she did not want to see Jake marry Sarah either
,
but on the other hand, if
that is what would make him happy, then
she wanted him happy.
Ana decided to remind the
Duchess
of the requirements a wife for her son should have.
The offensive letter had detailed those requirements.
She went to the bookshelf and pulled out one of her favorite books
.
She took out the worn letter and silently handed it to Lady Katherine
.
“
As you can see, Miss Fairchild has all those requirements for a future
Duchess
.
You are
finally
getting what you want
, so you
should be happy
,
" Ana spoke disdainfully.
“Ana,
please understand that
I’ve changed, this isn’t me anymore.” It was the only thing the Duchess could think to say
, a
fter
all
, there was no denying that
she had written the letter.
It was possible that Lady Katherine had indeed change, but
Ana
had
avoided the
D
uchess since the broken engagement
, so she
could not say one way or the other if
she were being sincere
. She did know
that
ever since her own parent’s death, she herself had changed. Ana wanted to believe her
,
but she needed to see for herself and the only way to see that was
to
go to th
at
damn
house
party this weekend!