Rushbrooke End (Book 4)

Chapter 17

"You can kid the world, but not your sister."

― Charlotte Gray

Luke Grimshaw's mind turned over to Lillian Thorpe more often than he cared to admit. He often considered paying Cole Hall a visit but the thought of facing Lady Mary and the rest of the female brood was too much for him. His fondness for Lillian wasn't strong enough for him to endure her family for any longer than he had to.

Nevertheless the temptation was still there and he rode past the house on several occasions over the next few days, slowing his horse as he ventured on the path near the front door.

Other than those small excursions his days consisted of fretting over Charlotte. She had gotten worse in the past few days, her fits of rage increasing. She had smashed a vase that had sat in the corridor for as long as Luke could remember and thrown several books across the room in fear. Ursula had reported as well that Charlotte had spent several nights crying as she huddled under the blankets. Luke received all this news grimly, though he pushed the thought of Doctor Bernard's letter from his mind and busied himself with other work.

A letter arrived one morning, from the Viscount Wendell, who was hosting a ball in two days for his son's birthday. Luke was going to ignore it, as he usually would, but the thought that Lillian Thorpe may be in attendance convinced him otherwise. To say he was excited was an exaggeration, but he wasn't dreading it, as he normally would. So when the evening rolled around he found himself filled with pleasant anticipation as he dressed with the help of his faithful valet.

"What colour cravat, sir?"

"The black one I think," Luke ran a hand over his hair, trying in vain to smooth the unruly curls that spilled everywhere.

"Very good, sir," Jeremy started helping him with the cravat.

"Thank you, Jeremy. I'll be back at half eleven or thereabouts." Luke took his hat and balanced it on his head, flicking back another stray curl before looking at himself in the mirror and acknowledging his appearance with a nod.

"You look quite dashing sir, I'm sure she'll be impressed."

"Who will?" Luke tried to arrange his features into puzzlement rather than hope.

"Oh, any young lady I'd imagine." Jeremy smiled innocently and Luke just shook his head.

"Don't wait up." He took one last look at himself before making his way out of the room and towards the stables where the carriage was waiting for him.

   

   The evening dress had arrived that afternoon and Lilly, despite her earlier reluctance, thought the dress looked magnificent.

More specifically, it made her look magnificent.

The cobalt velvet overskirt extended over the bustle and accentuated her small figure, the corset giving her a small S shape. The overskirt cutaway to reveal an underskirt of light blue, the bottom of which was trimmed with lace. Around her neck, Isabella had lent her a bejewelled choker, dotted with pearls and black onyx.

All in all she was quite pleased with the way she looked and she caught herself admiring her reflection more than once.

"The dress fits well," Alice remarked after the maid had helped her on with her own attire. "But your gloves are too short. Take these," she pulled a long white pair out of a drawer and handed them to Lilly who pulled them on gratefully. They pulled up past her elbows and she wiggled her fingers marvelling at how long they looked.