Daughter of the Rebellion

Chapter 40

When the time for the party finally arrived, I was very satisfied with our plan to ambush my sister and her would-be beau. Some details might have to be changed based on how things went of course, but I was confident that we'd manage to trap them together.

I was pleased that all of the invited guests had been able to attend. Of course, the men with whom my siblings had been living for the last several years - William in particular - were the honored guests. But otherwise, I'd been very selective with the guest list. Amelia was practically beside herself with horror at the idea, but it was primarily middle class guests. There were a few upper and lower class girls who I considered my friends and who might be prospects. But nearly everyone in attendance who hadn't been part of their band, was an eligible female.

I hadn't mentioned anything of the sort to either of my brothers, but tonight was not just a plot to ensnare Keira. It was for them as well. If they knew what I had planned, they'd all have been stubborn enough to refuse to attend.

Richard laughed at my devious plans, but promised to keep my secret.

Wanting plenty of activity and plenty of opportunity for interaction, I planned for an evening full of dancing, and I was satisfied to see that Stephen and Jeremy both seemed to have taken particular interests in different girls.

Stephen was spending a great deal of time, and dances, with Genevieve, an adorably pretty middle class girl with auburn curls, whose family owned a flower shop. Jeremy, I was overjoyed to see, was obviously interested in Susan, who happened to be Jeremiah's wife's sister. She had long, dark hair and dark green eyes. I didn't know her well, but I liked her sister and she seemed to be a lot like her.

On the whole, it appeared that most of the men were taking advantage of the party and seemed to be taking a particular interest in one girl or another. Which I thought was a nice side benefit.

My sister, of course, was the only one who didn't seem to notice that there were available possibilities all around her. One in particular.

Or maybe she did notice. I didn't think I was imagining seeing her completely avoid William. She was dancing almost nonstop, and I was gratified to see, actually voluntarily wearing a dress. But any time William was anywhere near her, she'd find a reason to go somewhere else.

I figured I would give her a chance to do things herself, but apparently she wasn't taking it. And so, I would have to intervene.

Meeting Stephen's eye, I motioned for him to begin the plan. He was speaking with Genevieve but he wouldn't mind a small interruption.

A mintue later when the music was drawing to a close on the current dance, Stephen moved to ask Keira for the next.

When I was satisfied that everything was going nicely, I found Jeremy. He nodded when he saw me and went to find William to encourage him to try again with Keira.

It took several minutes, but once it seemed that William was amenable, I made my way over to them.

"William," Jeremy said. "You remember my sister, Cecily."

"Of course." William stuck out a hand. I bit back a smile and shook his hand. The lack of Society presence tonight was refreshing.

"Thank you for inviting us all." William motioned around the room. "We haven't had many opportunities for parties like this. And your house is beautiful."

"Thank you," I said. "But I'm sure you're no more comfortable here than my siblings are."

William laughed, seeming grateful for my stating the obvious. This place was very different from the world we came from.