Chapter 20

Chapter 20

When Diana walked in the door, there was a fair amount of stress in the atmosphere. It didn't take much to know that her aunt and uncle had likely had a row. They were not in the same room. And even her cousins weren't in the room with them.

Jane and Emma sat in the living room by the fire as they read books and remained as quiet as possible.

Diana came in and sat down with them. "Everything alright?" she asked.

"Yes," Emma sighed. "Mother is upset with father because he drank too much and used some of her letters to stoke the fire."

Jane chuckled. "It was a little funny."

The three of them shared a chuckle together as her cousins told her what had happened. It was the first time in some time that she was not fighting with them. She wondered what had changed. In particular, something had changed with Jane. She no longer scowled and pouted in Diana's presence.

Diana wasn't worried; she was just happy that there was some peace between them for the first time in a while.

"You got a letter," Jane said, motioning towards a side table.

"Really? When did it arrive?" she asked.

"Not more than an hour ago," Jane said. "Where were you anyway?"

"I was out with Anna," Diana answered in short as she reached for the letter.

The handwriting on the front wasn't one that she recognized. She tore it open and was surprised to see that the letter came from Lady Elizabeth.

Dear Miss Fairchild,

I am so pleased to have run into you at the park this evening. I fear that we have got off on rather the wrong foot, and I would love to make it up to you.

I am hosting a ball at Barker Manor this weekend, and it would mean a lot to me if you attended. It only seems fair. I just know that everyone will enjoy your company and graceful presence.

Regards, Lady Elizabeth Barker

Diana leaned back in her seat and opened her eyes wide as she read it again. Jane was peering at her from over the top of her book.

"What is it?" she asked. "You look like you've received bad news."

"It's from Lady Elizabeth," Diana answered. "She's invited me to a ball at her family's manor this weekend."

"Isn't that nice?" Jane asked with a smile.

That bothered Diana. She expected Jane to be upset at not receiving an invitation, but instead, she seemed entirely unbothered by it.

"I'm not sure I should go," Diana said. "When Lady Elizabeth and I first met, we weren't exactly friendly with each other."

"Well, perhaps she's trying to make things right with you," Jane offered.

"That's what the letter says," Diana sighed. "I still don't think I'm going to go."

"Oh, don't be so boring," Jane snapped, showing a snippet of her poor temper. "You could use some time out at a ball. Maybe you'll meet someone important."

Diana shook her head. "I just don't like her. Why should I go if I don't like her? That seems like a poor use of my time. Besides, you know I don't enjoy parties."

"That was clear when you disappeared at my birthday ball," Jane commented.

She read the letter the third time to make sure that she had truly understood it correctly. Their meeting that evening had been nothing of importance to Diana. In fact, they had hardly spoken more than a few words to each other before Mark had excused him from her company.

"Just go," Jane said. "What's the worst that could happen? Who knows, maybe you and Lady Elizabeth can one day be friends. It wouldn't hurt for you to have a few more friends."

Diana thought about it, and it wasn't the worst idea. If she and Lady Elizabeth could be on better terms, then perhaps the Dowager Duchess of Blackwood would be more open to her, too.

"Alright," she relented. "I'll go. But you must promise to help me get ready for it then."

"Whatever you say," Jane mumbled. "I'm sure I can help you with something."

Diana didn't want to overstay her welcome there and was eager to get some rest. So, she excused herself to write her response in which she accepted Lady Elizabeth's invitation. She would send it out first thing in the morning.

As she readied herself for bed and unbraided her hair, she thought back to her walk with Mark. It had gone just as she'd hoped, but still something was missing. He had made her want to break the rules a little.

There had been a few times when she'd considered doing something reckless with him. When they'd said goodbye, she'd almost kissed him on the cheek. The very fact that she'd been having that thought was a problem.

It wasn't like her to feel so reckless and free-spirited. Not since her parents had died, anyway. But she wanted to be a perfect lady for Mark. That seemed important to her so that they could start their relationship in the best way possible.

She crawled into bed and pulled the covers over herself. Her mind was racing with a multitude of thoughts. Did she really want to go to the ball? When would she Mark again? And when would she be ready to make their courtship more public?

That, she suspected, would have a lot to do with how she would get along with Lady Elizabeth.

In a scary change of events, Diana found herself worried about how people might see her and if they would like her. It struck her then that if she were to marry the duke, she would become a woman of status. That scared her. However, she knew that having Mark and Eva in her life permanently would make it worthwhile.

That was what she told herself as she slowly dozed off to sleep, eager for what the new day would bring.

*

Lady Elizabeth tapped her fingers impatiently as she waited for Lord Starling to join her in the parlour. Her lady's maid waited outside for her.

"What are you doing here?" Lord Starling asked as he entered the room.

The top few buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing some of the muscular chest he hid underneath. Lady Elizabeth averted her eyes, offended that he would appear in front of her in that way.

"You won't believe who I saw this evening, walking tightly together on the promenade," she snapped.

"I don't know," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Your Miss Fairchild and my Duke of Blackwood," she answered. "I am furious. It seems that everywhere I turn, there they are. I sat at dinner with them the other night, and he could barely take his eyes off her."

Lord Starling sighed. "Yes, it appears we're both going to have a hard time with this. I've been to see her twice now and got nothing out of her."

"Well, I have a plan, no thanks to you," she said.

"Please, enlighten me," Lord Starling said, his words closely followed by a yawn.

"I've invited her to a ball at my manor this weekend," she said. "Consider this your formal invitation, too."

"What?" he asked. "That's the last thing I'm in the mood for."

"Well, we need to fix this if either of us is going to get our person," she said. "So, you'll be there, and you'll enjoy it, too."

"So what is the plan?" he asked.

"This ball is the perfect place for the two of you to disappear somewhere together," she said. "Then someone can find you both in a compromising position, perhaps. That should be more than enough to put an end to their attention to each other."

"And that would be believable, given my reputation," Lord Starling said with a smile.

Lady Elizabeth was growing rather tired of him. But they'd made a bet, and she wanted the duke for herself, but she wished there was a way to do it without Lord Starling.

"You only have to get her in a compromising position somewhere quiet," Lady Elizabeth instructed. "I'll make sure that you'll be found."

"Are you sure you're up to the task?" he teased.

"I'd like to ask you the same," she snapped. "Might I remind you that she's rejected you multiple times? It might not be so easy to get her somewhere alone with you."

"I have my way," he said with a smirk.

"This woman is not like the other daft women who throw themselves at you," she reminded him. "I don't know what's wrong with her, but she seems to be uninterested in most people."

Lord Starling got up to pour himself a drink. Lady Elizabeth didn't have a lot of time. She had a ball to plan, and so far, she had only invited two people. Diana, and Lord Starling. There was much to do if she was going to pull it off.

"How compromising?" he asked.

"As bad as you can get it," she demanded. "Make it so bad that she will have to marry you."

"That bad?" he asked.

"As bad as you can get it," she said. "And if you don't pull this off, then do me a favour and make sure you're never in my presence again. If this doesn't work, there might not be any hope for either of us."

Lord Starling agreed, and with that, Lady Elizabeth left to continue her preparations. She hoped that Lord Starling would not let her down because she would be working very hard to pull the party together.

The hardest part was trusting Lord Starling to do his part. But she had no choice in that matter; he was all the help she had.

*

Colin swigged his drink. His head was pounding, and he wanted nothing more than to spend a quiet night alone in his home to wallow in his feelings. He was feeling truly rotten from Diana's rejection.

Colin couldn't remember the last time he had been rejected at all. It simply never happened. Most of the time, women did as he asked of them without any question. He had never even bothered asking to court someone properly before. This time, he had, and she hadn't been interested.

The last thing he had wanted was a visit from Lady Elizabeth so unexpectedly. He had hoped his somewhat dishevelled appearance would ease her along to leave sooner rather than later, but it hadn't seemed to bother her at all.

He thought about the ball. While Lady Elizabeth's request was easy enough to follow through on, he wasn't sure he was entirely happy with the outcome of it. He liked Diana and was interested in her, but he in no way had any desire to marry her.

Colin was only interested in winning the bet, proving Lady Elizabeth wrong, and he wanted to prove to Diana that he would not simply go away because she'd brushed him off.

He knew what he was willing to do, though. Colin would lead her on as if he intended to marry her, just to make sure that the plan worked as intended. Then, at the last minute, he would call off the wedding.

In the meantime, he would enjoy what he could with Diana, knowing that she would feel she had no choice but to be with him. It would not only help him win the bet, but it would teach Diana a lesson for rejecting him.

His weekend had become rather exciting then. Lord Starling liked the idea of being the victor in it all. If he were honest, Lade Elizabeth's plan impressed him. She'd clearly thought about it well and was eager to follow through on it.

He'd never seen Lady Elizabeth quite that fierce and determined before. It changed the way he saw her then. It almost made her seem less annoying to him.