Desire and Deceit [bxb]

16. Mansfield Park

Everyone give it up for Saint Vincent (he's really not)

...

Sometime during the day after the luncheon, Alvin had wandered off on his own, exploring the dreamy country house.

And he had found a library.

Countless shelves of books, old and new alike, lined the circular walls. The tiny windows in the corners provided enough light for one to read comfortably during the daytime. A supply of candles and lamps rested on a desk in a tidy corner for overcast days and evenings.

When he ventured closer, he found that the books had been sorted first by the colour of their spines – black, then brown, then blue, and finally red. And then they had been sorted by authors. It was all very pleasing to his artistic eyes.

He perused the collection, and settled on a simple read for the time being, and one that he had enjoyed before – Mansfield Park.

He had scarcely started reading, when-

"I see you've busied yourself already."

"Oh." Alvin turned around, a little startled but pleased to see the older man nonetheless. "Tis a lovely library. Wonderful, really."

"I'm glad." Duke Presley inclined his head. "The ladies have decided to promenade, and I have been sent to fetch you."

"Promenade? Really?" Alvin groaned. "I'd rather read."

"Mansfield Park?" Vincent asked pointedly, arching one dark eyebrow, as if to say, really?

"I'm quite partial to the heroine." Alvin admitted, caressing the book's red spine. "Though I was disappointed by the ending. Have you read it?"

"Of course. I don't like passing judgement on things I haven't tried out for myself." The duke grinned. "Why do you not like the ending?"

"I mean, Edmund Bertram over Henry Crawford?" Alvin scoffed. "Miss Austen was wrong for that. Fanny could've done better."

"I'd say Fanny ended up exactly where she wanted to, from the very beginning. Cheers for her!"

"And where's the fun in that?" He retorted. "Goody two shoes Fanny ends up with goody two shoes Edmund! Bah! Boring!"

"Oh, so it's the hero that you're partial to? Or rather, the villain?"

"Henry is no saint, I will admit. But when you put him next to Edmund, you see, he has better charms, better manners, and a better fortune." Alvin defended. "And he has no shortage of ardent love for Fanny, something which Edmund persistently lacked for the first 400 something pages of the book!"

"I concede to that."

"And he only used Fanny as a second choice!" He exclaimed, coming closer to the duke in excitement. "I'm telling, Fanny would be much happier with Henry."