Shadows

XVI

"Not coming?" Lottie shrieked, rising from the settee abruptly. "What do you mean? Not coming?"

Marching across the summer parlor, Charlotte confronted me angrily. I had just announced that Spencer would not join us for dinner that evening. His excuse seemed simple enough. His younger brother, Benedick, had a riding accident, resulting in a broken leg. Naturally, when his father, the Earl of Barnchester, summoned him home, he departed quickly.

"His brother had an accident," I repeated patiently. "His father summoned him home."

"Well," my brother's wife propped her hands at her waist, tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. "If that's his excuse..."

"I assure you, it is not an excuse," I sharply countered. "It's a family emergency."

"Humph," Lottie snorted disdainfully. "A likely story. He did not wish to join our company and departed quickly. He'll have to learn his place around here."

"His place," I sputtered, flabbergasted. "Indeed, you must remember he is a Viscount and outranks Papa and Joel."

"Nevertheless, you get him here tonight," my sister-in-law demanded. Inching closer to me, she pressed her nose against mine and glared at me with wrathful eyes. "He promised to dine with us, and I intend him to fulfill his promise. Am I understood?"

"I most certainly will not!" I exclaimed, standing my ground. "I cannot! Papa?"

Swooping past Charlotte, I approached my father. He tapped out his pipe nonchalantly and began filling it again. Nodding in slow agreement, he accepted Spencer's reason for canceling the evening and hoped he would join us upon his return.

"I'm sorry Spence can't join us, Priss," Grayson chimed in. "When you write to him, please express my hope that Benedick heals quickly. Tell him, also, I am eager to meet his family."

"Send my good wishes also," Joel added from his corner of the settee. "I, too, am most eager to meet his family."

"Thank you, Joel, Grayson," I stated politely. "I shall write to him this evening and express your sentiments."

The discussion ended when Yates appeared in the parlor and dining room doorway. His appearance meant the evening meal awaited us. Papa entered first, followed by Joel and Grayson. When I followed, Charlotte's hand encircled my upper arm, detaining me.

"You tell that hornswoggler he is not fooling me," my sister-in-law hissed menacingly. "He is deliberately avoiding me. You both concocted this excuse between you. You are getting above yourself, Prissy. Just because a Viscount notices you doesn't make you someone special. You are no better than me or anyone else. Understood?"

My temper got the better of me. I felt a fire flame into my cheeks, and my temples pounded a fast staccato. I could not control myself. In the dining room, my family waited to begin their dinner, and my obnoxious sister-in-law continued to detain me.

Lottie spoke disparagingly about the man I loved, the man I intended to marry. Spencer did nothing to offend her other than obey his father's summons. He was concerned about his younger brother and left to assure himself of his sibling's health.

Suddenly, the events of the day overflowed within me. I knew Charlotte had taken over my wedding plans by making herself the Matron of Honor. It irked me that Mama took her side against mine. She knew I intended to ask Dinah but insisted I had asked Lottie. I had not, and I knew it.

The fact that Lottie disparaged Spencer because he did not appear at her demand annoyed me. Ever since she arrived, she tried to insult me subtly. She would not slight my fiancé because he departed due to his brother's accident.