Lady Evan Wins the Day, The Cousins Book Two (Rough Draft)

Chapter Ten

"How was Lawrence Manor? Did you find it much changed?"

Raising her eyebrow, Rosalind looked up from her letter to her cousin. "Lawrence Manor? Shouldn't you be asking after our cousin before you ask after a building?"

Closing her book with a snap, Emily straightened up. "If he were not as he usually he is, I would have heard about it or you would have said so straightaway, so why bother asking? I am interested in knowing the state of my old home, Rosalind."

"From what I saw, it was as it has ever been. Just without the little baubles we had when we lived there."

Emily frowned. "So he has not been making 'improvements' as everyone has been saying?"

"I cannot say," Rosalind said carefully. She set her pen down as it was clear she wouldn't be able to finish her letter for some time. "Every room I saw did not look any different."

"Did Percival say anything?"

Thinking of Percival's accusation that she would carry tales to Emily, Rosalind hesitated. "If you are so interested in what our cousin is doing, why don't you visit Percival yourself? It would be simple enough for you to walk over. I am not your spy or messenger, Emily."

"I never said you were," Emily said with a huff. "Why shouldn't I ask you about what you noticed when you were there?"

"For one thing, I do not want to be caught between you and Percival if you decide to be angry with him. He is your closest neighbor and you ought to at least be civil."

"Where would you get the idea that I would be angry with Percy? And if I were to be angry with him for some reason, wouldn't I have just cause?" Emily paused. "And I am civil."

Sighing, Rosalind turned back to her letter. "Really, Emily, what Percival does or does not do to Lawrence Manor is completely up to him. It belongs to him. He could burn it down if that's what he wanted."

"Does he want to burn the Manor down?" Emily asked in alarm.

"What? No!"

With a sigh of relief, Emily crossed the library to join her cousin. "Well, what else was I supposed to think when you suggested it? Honestly, Rose. You shouldn't do that to me."

Unimpressed by her cousin's dramatic tone, Rosalind shook her head. "I wasn't suggesting any such thing. I was making the point that you don't own Lawrence Manor and have no say in what happens there. Shouldn't you be happy with Waverly Place and your own family now?"

"Why can't you understand? I spent most of my life there, of course, it matters to me what happens to it."

Frustrated, Rosalind tightened her grip on the pen. "Emily, will you please let me finish this letter? Henrietta and I may not be close friends, but she deserves to know we arrived safely and that all is well."

Dropping into the chair next to the desk, Emily leaned over. "Maybe, but it's hardly that important," she said. "Why won't you tell me about the Manor?"

Sighing, Rosalind laid her pen down. "I did tell you. Everything looked as it ever did. If you want to know anything more about the estate, you're going to have to talk to Percival yourself. That's all there is to it and I am not going to say another word about the manor."

A frown creased Emily's forehead. "Why are you so defensive about this? This isn't like you, Rosalind."

"Maybe I don't want to be the mediator between you and Percival. You are both grown adults and should act like it."

"Who said anything about you having to mediate between us?"

"Because that's what will happen," Rosalind said sharply. "It's what always happens. You will get angry and expect me to take your side. And that's not fair to me. I agree Cousin Percival can be...difficult to get along with, but I have no reason to quarrel with him."