Society's Expectations & Too Many Complications {Finalist}

Chapter 5

Aurora - my gorgeous white Arabian - plodded along, seeming to sense my mood of slow thoughts. By her side was the night-black Latvian horse - Sahara - who was being ridden by Sebastian. I looked up and caught the edge of a smile from him. It was a crisp morning and frost hung in the air. I was glad I had worn my fur riding-coat; the wind was severe enough to chill me to the bone.

"So, milady," Sebastian said, a hint of teasing already upon his tone. "The Duchess extended an offer of dinner. Would you mind very much, if I intruded upon your lovely home?"

"Oh, yes, I would mind exceedingly," I said, jokingly.

"Well, in that case, I would be glad to accept your mother's kind request," Sebastian replied in a gay tone. "It would be more pleasant than my own home."

"Why would you say that?" I asked, curious.

"Oh... my mother wishes me to marry, and soon," Sebastian laughed. "She's already got several lined up for me."

"Who's at the top of the list?" I queried, my stomach suddenly turning tight.

"Lavinia Chesterton. From a distinguished family I hear, and bounteous beauty. Or that's what my mother is trying to sell to me anyway. Doubtless, when I meet the girl, she'll have a face full of blemishes and a hideous smile."

"I know her..." I mumbled softly.

"Pardon?"

"Oh, I know Lavinia," I spoke up, slightly grudgingly. "She travels in the same circles as me."

"Is her appearance as angelic as what I hear seems to bestow upon her?" he asked, his words mocking. "Or is she as dismal-looking as a toad?"

I wished I could say she looked like a toad. I wished I was a witch so I could turn her into a toad.

"She's pretty enough, I daresay. Not much intelligence and lacking in tact," I critiqued. "Nice enough but it's a real task to have a sensible conversation with her." I might have been embellishing. Throwing a little exaggerance into my description.

Okay, I was lying. Lavinia Chesterton was gorgeous, a lovely smile of white teeth and could hold her own in any educational debate. The girl was generous and would do anyone a good turn if they needed it. I didn't quite know why I was lying to Sebastian.

Oh, fine. I did know why. I was selfish enough to not want him to have a wife hanging over him, because I still wanted him as my sparring partner. It would be a dreadful annoyance for him to not attend the meetings as regularly because his wife wanted a bounty of time with him.

"Seems a bit dull," Sebastian said. "And how could I nickname her? Lav-Lav?"

I giggled, feeling slightly guilty. Lavinia really was a nice girl. If only Sebastian's potential wife had been an hag like Miss Winters. It was easy enough to rip her personality to pieces.

"You talk so lightly about marriage and yet I am living in a nightmare of it," I sighed. I stroked Aurora's mane and shuddered from my recollection of the Pig. "My suitor is just an absolute animal and yet my parents are all so eager to push me onto him when he has a title and a wish to gain my hand as so many others seem against doing."

"Do you think you'll have to marry him?" Sebastian inquired seriously. He nudged his horse to a halt and I followed suit, thinking of the answer to his question.

"I... I would have to. If I had no other proposal by Winter. The idea disgusts me and I make so many jokes about it; but I will have to. I will be forced to if I am left empty-handed, when the trees lose their leaves."