A Chaotic Courtship (Rough Draft)

Chapter Five

I pushed the memory of the situation to the back my mind to deal with later and went through the motions of the following social calls. It was late at night as I prepared for bed when I thought it over, reliving what had happened the month before I went to London. Oh, how I did remember it. Even now, it still caused a tangle of emotions: embarrassment, regret, and shock.

I hadn't seen it coming. Cliché, I know. But it was true. My life changed completely the day I went out for a walk on my own. True, it had been changed for the better, but it took some time for me to see it in that way. Maybe if someone else had gone with me, things would have been different. Perhaps so many people would not have been hurt.

Sarah had refused to accompany me that day because it was so cold. I hadn't thought it an inconvenience at all since she had been an annoyance to us all day. Bundled up, I walked out, determined to enjoy the sun, however cold the air.

I was on my way back when I saw a horse and rider coming towards me. "Miss Richfield!" Phillip Knighton, blond and tall, said, reining his mount to a halt next to me. "What are you doing out on a day like this?"

"Good day, Mr. Knighton. I am enjoying the sun even on this cold day." I directed my smile up at the young man I had practically grown up with. "What about you?"

"The same. What is it they say about brilliant minds thinking alike?" He dismounted and offered me his right arm, holding his horse's reins in his left. "Shall we walk together?"

"People will talk if they see," I said teasingly, putting my gloved hand on his arm.

"Let them."

His serious tone should have been my first warning, but I didn't take any notice of it. Chatting as usual, we neared my home. "Thank you," I said, dropping my hand from his arm. "Do you want to come in? The boys are all gone, but my father would be happy to see you. And Sarah has some new compositions she has been working on."

"Not just yet," he said, grabbing my hand. "Diana, I must speak to you."

That was when I became nervous. "Let go of my hand please." I tried to take a step back, glancing at the house in the hopes someone would see us and come to my rescue. If anything, though, he gripped my hand tighter. "We have already been speaking, Mr. Knighton. I must go inside now. The air has chilled me more than I expected it would."

"I know this will seem a bit sudden, but I have been giving it a great deal of thought. You and I rub along fairly well. I believe the best thing for us to do would be to get married."

"What did you say?"

"I want you to be my wife, Diana," Phillip said his tone earnest. "We can make our home here, and nothing would have to change."

Dumbfounded, I stared at him. My older brother's best friend asking me to marry him? "Is this a jest?" That had to be it. He and my brothers so loved to play tricks. Any moment, my brothers would be jumping out of the bushes, laughing their heads off. It was the only sane explanation.

Phillip shook his head, shattering my hope. "I have never been more serious in my life, Diana. We are friends, aren't we?"

"Yes, of course, we are. Friends." I pulled my hand free. "You are like my brother, you know. I cannot marry you."

"You can't?"

I have never seen a look like the one Phillip wore on a person's face, not before or since that day. It was a mix of disbelief and heartbreak, emotions I have seen before. But it was the expression with it, one all too similar to what would usually follow when he and James were too rowdy, and one of them ended up getting punched in the stomach.