The Suitor List (2 page)

A special acknowledgment to my fellow
Avalon author Beate Boeker and her Latin
teacher, Jurgen Wagner, for their assistance

March 1811-Faraday Hall, Essex

Oh, Moo, do put that book away" Seated at her usual
spot at breakfast, Lady Augusta Worth turned a page of
the La Belle Assemblee magazine before her. "It is exceedingly rude to read at the table."

"And what are you doing, pray? Browsing fashion
plates is equally as impolite." Muriel sat directly across
from her eldest sister. She placed her morning correspondence in her book, marking her place, flipped it
closed with a snap, and glared.

"It is most certainly of no consequence to you, but as I
am to come out this year, I must have all new gowns and
a court dress for when I am presented to the Queen!"

Fair-haired Charlotte, the middle sister, remained quiet
during the heated exchange and demurely gazed into her
porridge bowl while nibbling on a corner of dry toast.

"The Queen!" Muriel snorted.

"I'm sure the Queen shan't want a determined bluestocking such as you presented, I daresay." Augusta
placed her napkin next to her plate.

"I'm twelve!" Muriel cried out.

Charlotte looked up from her bowl and stared across
the table, seemingly out the large picture window across
from her that faced the expanse of the front drive of
Faraday Hall.

She had the peculiar talent of holding her left eye
perfectly still while moving her right eye outward with
a decided twitch. The effect was quite unsettling at the
least and wholly disturbing in the extreme.

Her right eye began to quiver and it alone moved to
stare at the eldest sister while her left eye remained quite
still and continued to look out the picture window.

"Stop it, Char-Char!" Augusta brought her hands to
her eyes, shielding the middle sister from view.

Muriel laughed out loud. "Oh, Char-Char, that is
famous!"

Charlotte closed her eyes, pressing her palms to her
lids, and chuckled. Performing the quivering eye trick
kept her eyes open for such an extraordinary amount of
time it made them ache.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Augusta turned to scold her. "No
one will want you if they see you do that!"

"And you know all there is about being a real lady,
don't you, Gusta?" Muriel slipped from her chair and
swept her book off the table and into her arms.

"Oh, Moo, you just-"

"Girls!" Their aunt, Mrs. Penelope Parker, stood at the
doorway. Her lace cap and somber attire indicated her
widow status. In reality, she was not much older than
Augusta. "Please, ladies do not go on so"

Augusta straightened and sniffed in what she must
have considered victory.

Charlotte gave a little sigh, displaying innocence.

Muriel, definitely the more precocious of the three
nieces, made a triumphant chuckle and offered a selfsatisfied smile.

"Tell them," Augusta demanded in a straightforward
manner. "Tell them both!"

Aunt Penny dispensed herself a cup of coffee from the
urn on the sideboard while her eldest niece continued.

"I am going to Town" Augusta's tirade did not ebb. "I
am going to be presented. I am to find a husband. I am to
be the first one to be married."

"Well, you have to be the first because if any man sets
eyes upon Char-Char before making your acquaintance,
no one will want you!" Muriel added to her sister's diatribe with precision timing, knowing exactly what to say.

"That will be quite enough, Muriel!" Aunt Penny
scolded.

"Tell Moo she's not going because she's just a silly
little girl. Not to mention childish!" Augusta glared at
her youngest sister. "Char can't go because-" Well ...
because Muriel had been correct about their middle
sister.

On first sight there was no denying that shy, unassuming Charlotte was a diamond of the first water. Everyone
who was acquainted with their family knew it to be true.
And if Augusta were to make a match, she needed to be
without Charlotte, who would surely lure all the men
away.

"We are to leave for Town in two months' time,"
Aunt Penny announced, occupying the chair next to
Charlotte.

"Two months?" Augusta stood, clearly outraged. She would miss the beginning entirely. "The Season begins
in just over a fortnight. We should leave in a day or two.
What does Papa have to say about this?"

"Your father and I have given your coming out, for
each of your entrees into Society, great consideration.
We must be very careful . . ." Aunt Penny was their
mother's youngest sibling. She had also grown up in a
family with three beautiful sisters and knew where the
difficulties lay.

"Do you not know what a catch you are? All of you"
Aunt Penny stared at each one in turn. "You have connections, beauty, position. Your father, His Grace, and I
have done our best to shield you from the influences of
the outside world. But now you are young ladies, nearly
all at the age to consider marriage. There are men out
there, not all of them gentlemen."

Augusta, Charlotte, and Muriel exchanged glances.

"Some men would seek you out because you three
have beauty beyond compare. To some undesirable suitors your dowry is more than a modest fortune they cannot
ignore. And some would wish for the excellent connections that marriage into the Duke's family would bring."
Aunt Penny leaned back in her chair and continued. "His
Grace, your father, has bestowed upon you everything he
has-his love and attention. He has spared no expense in
your education."

A groan emanated from Muriel, followed by an animated gaze heavenward.

"All of you are accomplished-oh, dear, yes, I should
say so. In dance, music, various artistic achievements,
and languages. Your manners, deportment, and character
are without equal. Any gentleman would-should feel honored to have you for a wife-you mustn't forget that"
Aunt Penny's eyes seemed to mist over. "You deserve the
best. Why should you not make a love match? Do you not
recall how your own parents had been? They were very
happy, indeed."

Before Mama died, Augusta mused. And look at Papa
now. Alone, with only his four children to give him joy.
Fredrick, his only son, had already flown the nest to attend Eton. What would happen to their father when his
daughters had all married and left?

"I know what difficulties lie ahead" Aunt Penny regarded each of her nieces, who stared back in wide-eyed
fascination. "You must be cautious in choosing, for once
married you are at the mercy of your husband.

"The highest ranking are not always the most worthy
and you may not find their ilk agreeable," she cautioned
her nieces. "Even you may not know who will win your
heart. You must remember that you always have a
choice. Do not allow anyone to tell you otherwise."

"Good afternoon, Charlotte" Richard Wilbanks escorted his eldest sister, Emily, into the Blue Parlor of
Faraday Hall.

"Isn't this all so very exciting!" Emily was friend to
both Charlotte and Augusta. The Wilbanks resided in the
adjacent property; their home was called Yewhill Grange.
"Mama is ever so glad to be rid of us, if only for a few
hours, while she's making final preparations to leave"

Charlotte pushed the harp off her shoulder and firmly
onto its feet before rising. She straightened the skirts of
her green sprig muslin. "Pray, Em, please do not speak
of going to Town when Gusta arrives"

"Arrives?" Richard, who had already disposed of his
gloves and hat when he entered, glanced about, looking
for the eldest sister. "Where is she? I thought she'd meet
us at the door with her list of a half-dozen frocks to order
from every modiste in Town."

"Oh, such a notion!" Charlotte pressed her fingers to
her lips to stifle her giggle.

"And two hats from every milliner, three for each new
dress" He directed his discourse first to his sister and
then to Charlotte. "Then she'd plan to purchase a reticule
for each dress and hat combination."

"That is famous!" Charlotte felt her face warm at the
idea-extravagance, thy name was Augusta!

"And what other gewgaws does she plan to purchase?
I dare not contemplate the possibilities, but I am quite
certain she will contrive something as extravagant and
outrageous!"

"Oh, Richard," Emily scolded while working off her
gloves. "He is truly addled in the upper works, CharChar. Don't believe a word he says."

Charlotte imagined the finery Augusta would have
to do without and felt the smile fade from her face. "But
that sounds so delicious-so many dresses, hats, and-"

"What is it, Char-Char?" Emily approached her, seemingly showing as much concern as Charlotte herself felt
for her sister.

"Augusta is quite put out because she will miss the
beginning of the Season," Charlotte enlightened her
friends.

"What?" Emily cried. "You can't mean that!"

"How I wish it were not true, Em. Aunt Penny and Papa have decided it would be best. They are making
plans that she arrive near the end of the Season."

"They think it would be best?" It was difficult to say if
Emily was just as upset or more so than Augusta had
been. "But how is she ever to meet any gentlemen?
They'll all be gone-the good ones will, at any rate"

"One would think as much," Charlotte concurred, but
maintained her opinion that her father and her aunt must
have known what was best for Augusta-even if she and
her sisters, and apparently their friends, had not agreed.

"Where is Gusta now?" Richard seemed genuinely
concerned that Augusta was nowhere near.

"She left the breakfast room hours ago. I haven't seen
her since." Charlotte moved to the chintz blue-striped sofas near the hearth. "Our tea will be here soon."

"I believe I know where she is to be found. You two
need not wait for us" Richard headed for the door. "I'll
fetch her."

Augusta glanced down at the rose-colored skirts of
her morning dress, then lifted her head to gaze at the
marble statue of her mother that stood in the center of
the hedge maze. She wished her mother were still alive.

Her mother might have stood in agreement with Papa
and Mrs. Parker, but she certainly would have sympathized with Augusta and perhaps taken some of the pain
of her disappointment away.

"Gusta, are you all right?"

Augusta spun round at Richard's unexpected voice.
"How did you know I was here?" She was not fit company for anyone.

"You always come here when you want to be alone"
Richard smiled and tugged at a dry leaf on one of
the hedge walls. "I know how upset you must be ...
especially with your father."

"I'm not upset with him in the least." She did her
best to look anything but put-out.

Tranquil. Calm. Indifferent.

"I have every confidence that Papa has my best interests at heart. He always has. I have no reason to question him now." But she did not care for his decision.

Richard regarded her beneath his arched eyebrow.
"Then what is it that's bothering you?"

"I'm not denying his choice doesn't sit well with me.
I had thought ... "

"Of your mother" The compassion in Richard's voice
touched her. "Your mother, if she were still alive, I'm
sure would have wholeheartedly agreed with the Duke.
You know how famously they got on"

Augusta's parents had been in love. They never argued and above all showed complete devotion to each
other and their family.

Richard took up Augusta's hand in a reassuring manner, as he had many times before. "Oh, you shan't miss
a thing, I can assure you. Not one dinner party, rout,
soiree, or ball will be left to your imagination. I have no
doubt that Em will write of every eligible gentleman, if
he is worth notice, and he shall be described in excruciating detail-down to the shine on his boots"

"Will she?" Augusta began to feel hopeful that she
would not be entirely closed off from news of the Town's
festivities.

Oh, what a wonderful friend Emily was.

"I believe it is your father's wish that you be spared the
crush of the beginning of the Season" Richard placed
her hand on the arm of his brown frock coat and led her
away from the statue.

"You mean the fun," Augusta corrected him. Wasn't
this what every young lady hoped for-to go to London
for the new gowns, to attend parties until all hours of
the morning, and to dally with dozens of young men?

"You'll not be missing a thing." Richard stepped
away from Augusta. "I can promise you the dramatics
will restart when you arrive. Oh, yes!" He chuckled and
looked away from her as though he could imagine the
scene playing out before him. "Most of the gentlemen,
those poor unfortunates who made hasty engagements
before your arrival, will consider their futures lost once
you arrive. The poor souls who gave up on this Season's finest and have already abandoned Town will rue
that decision. Who knows? Some of them may even decide to return"