Page 33 of Mischief and Manors (Change of Heart #1)

CHAPTER 33

W hen Mrs. Kellaway found me in the vestibule, she knew something was amiss. I had forgotten how my face turned a splotchy red when I had been crying.

When I asked to return to Kellaway Manor early, she didn’t object.

I rode in one of the carriages with the Everards, keeping silent as I stared out the window. My mind was numb, but my heart most certainly was not. I relived Owen’s words, his kiss, and his promises to me over and over. I remembered the glint of determination I had seen in his eyes—the assurance that he would fight for me.

I felt my own determination burning inside my chest, a fire that was uncontrollable. Aunt Ruth might end up victorious, but I would not surrender without a fight. I no longer regretted that Lizzie had sent my bold letter to her. I was glad.

I had never stood up to her, and the mere idea of doing so made me feel as if I had suddenly sprouted powerful wings. Why should I go quietly home to Silton? Why should I bend to her will a moment longer? If I fought hard enough, Aunt Ruth might find that her stubbornness wasn’t worth the effort. Hope unfurled inside me, shifting restlessly. But it couldn’t fly yet, not until I awoke in the morning. I still wasn’t certain that I hadn’t been dreaming.

When morning came, I was still at Kellaway Manor, still tucked in my bed. My head no longer ached, and the soft glow of light from the window blanketed me in warmth.

I sat up. My blue ballgown was no longer on the back of the chair where I had left it. Lizzie must have added it to my other belongings.

I stared at my trunk, clasped shut and full. I had promised Owen I wouldn’t leave, but I hadn’t told Mrs. Kellaway about my change of plans. She—and everyone else—had been hushed and confused after witnessing my dance with Owen, and the way I had fled from the ballroom.

I called for Lizzie, and chose to wear my pink dress, the one from the garden party. I sensed that I would need some form of confidence today. I smoothed my hands over the dress in the mirror, drawing upon my mother’s strength as I touched the soft fabric.

She would have loved this dress, and she would have loved to see me happy.

My throat tightened as I met my own gaze. Deep in my heart, I felt Mama’s hands on my shoulders, her smiling face observing my reflection beside me. Was she proud of who I had become? Perhaps I had been wrong about enjoying the beautiful things of the world without her. She was still enjoying them with me, but simply from somewhere a little farther away.

Owen had said he would speak more with me today, but I didn’t know what he meant by that. Was he coming back to Kellaway Manor?

As I walked down the stairs, I heard voices from the breakfast room. I paused by the door, listening for Peter and Charles. They had been in tears the last time I had seen them, and all I wanted was to reassure them.

I opened the door and peeked inside, but it was only the Everards and Edmund at the table so far. I frowned, turning back toward the staircase. Peter and Charles were usually eating breakfast by now.

“Annette! There you are.” Mrs. Kellaway hurried up behind me. Her distressed features made my stomach drop. “I wasn’t aware that your aunt was coming to retrieve you today. I thought you were taking our carriage.”

“What?” A chill spread over my shoulders.

Mrs. Kellaway was still breathless from her rush to find me. She pressed a hand to her chest. “She is waiting outside with your brothers.”

The strength I had felt moments before deserted me, and my chest clenched with dread. If she had come all this way, she must have been quite angry. It was now the second of August, two days later than she had demanded we return to Silton.

Had she received my letters? The thought filled me with apprehension. How had she arrived so early in the day? She must have begun the journey the day before. After an uncomfortable stay at an inn, she would be even more irritable.

Mrs. Kellaway scowled. “She is an unpleasant woman.”

My brothers must have been so confused and afraid being left alone with her! That was enough to uproot my feet from the floor and send me racing toward the front door.

My heart pounded as I spotted the coach on the drive. Aunt Ruth stood just outside of it, her hair pulled into a tight knot atop her head. Her features were stern, even from a distance.

I didn’t see Peter and Charles.

They must have already been inside the carriage.

My chest constricted with panic. I held my chin high as I strode toward her, forcing myself not to cower. I wouldn’t give in to her demands until I had no other choice. Grey clouds gathered in the sky, snatching the warmth and sunlight from the air.

The door of the coach was already closed, and Aunt Ruth blocked the window from view. Her posture was threatening, her broad shoulders filling out the dark green sleeves of her gown. She wore a lace chemissette, the collar grazing the bottom of her chin. She looked down her nose at me. Her dark eyes took me in from head to toe as I approached.

I drew a deep breath and stopped several paces away. “Where are Peter and Charles?” I demanded.

“In the carriage.” I hadn’t missed her gruff voice, nor the dangerous gleam in her eyes. She took a step toward me. I wanted to back away, but I held my ground.

“Did you leech this gown from the Kellaways?” she asked. “I refuse to be indebted to them.”

I shook my head. “It was a gift.”

She narrowed her eyes in skepticism, but I saw the anger she was masking. “I will have a word with you later about your letter.” Her quiet voice made my stomach lurch. “For now, you will join your brothers in the carriage without another word. You have delayed this long enough.”

I set my jaw, fisting my hands so tightly that my fingernails dug into my palms. “I do not accept Mr. Frampton’s proposal.”

Aunt Ruth glared at me, her nostrils flaring. “It is already done. You will marry him without protest.”

“No. I will protest.” My heart hammered at her shocked expression.

She gritted her teeth. “You disobedient, odious girl!” She took a step toward me. “You will do as I say, or I shall depart this very instant with your brothers, and you shall never be permitted to see them again.”

I wondered why she hadn’t already dragged me to the carriage by the arm, but then I noticed Mrs. Kellaway, out of breath once again, rushing up beside me.

Aunt Ruth’s gaze flickered in her direction before settling on me again. I couldn’t predict how cordial she would be in Mrs. Kellaway’s presence, but it was bound to be better than if we were alone.

It took all my concentration not to obey her demands, especially with Mrs. Kellaway watching me, and my brothers trapped inside the carriage.

I glanced behind me, surprised to see the Everards approaching from the drive. They must have thought we were leaving, and had come to bid their farewells.

Behind them, Mr. Kellaway, Edmund, Alice, and Miss Lyons followed. I took a deep breath. Aunt Ruth was one against many now. I held perfectly still as the others stepped up beside Mrs. Kellaway, quietly observing the scene.

The air was tense, and I was certain they could easily perceive Aunt Ruth’s anger.

“I do not wish to marry Mr. Frampton,” I repeated, mostly for the others to hear. “Please, aunt, do not force me to wed him.” I squared my shoulders, preparing to deliver a piece of news that would shake everyone. “I have received another offer of marriage from Dr. Owen Kellaway, their second son.” I gestured at Mr. and Mrs. Kellaway. I barely had time to register the surprise on her face. “He has offered to take guardianship over my brothers as well. So you shall finally be free of all three of us.”

A quiet scoff came from my left, and I saw Miss Lyons cast her gaze to the sky. “Please, not another false engagement, Miss Downing. You are causing great embarrassment to yourself.”

Alice scowled at her, tugging on her arm.

“This time it’s not false,” I said.

“This time?” Aunt Ruth gave a hard laugh. “I won’t tolerate another moment of your excuses and lies.” Her eyes darkened. “Bid your farewells and get in the carriage. I already have your brothers, and I will not hesitate to take them home without you.”

Mr. Kellaway took a small step forward, and so did Edmund. Both men wore deep scowls. Mr. Everard, even with his frail build, seemed prepared to leap forward and wrench my brothers free of the carriage if he had to.

“I can attest to my brother’s affection for Miss Downing,” Edmund said, his stern brow directed at Aunt Ruth. “He told me himself.”

Alice stepped forward tentatively. “I shall add my witness as well. Owen’s feelings for Miss Downing were made quite obvious at the ball yesterday.”

Miss Lyons stared at the back of Alice’s head with a look of betrayal, a furrow between her delicate brows.

“And I have been most certain of their attachment from the very beginning,” Mrs. Everard added with wide eyes. Her jowls wobbled as she stabbed that sincere look in Aunt Ruth’s direction. I wasn’t certain if Mrs. Everard’s witness would add or retract credibility, but still, I was grateful for it.

Aunt Ruth released a huffed breath. She seemed to be growing flustered with the attention, and her vexation was rising. Mrs. Kellaway stepped forward and looped her arm through mine.

Aunt Ruth glared at me. “Even if you are telling the truth, it is no matter. That is not the arrangement we have made. Mr. Frampton has offered the same thing, and he offered it first. He is a respectable man, and you are obligated to him. Everyone in Silton knows it.” Her eyes flashed with anger. “Surely Mrs. Kellaway will attest to the importance of honorable behavior and the fulfilling of obligations.”

Mrs. Kellaway’s brow pinched, and I had never seen her so discomposed. Anger shone through her usually kind disposition. “I don’t think you are one to speak on the matter of fulfilling obligations honorably, Mrs. Filbee.”

Aunt Ruth’s face fell, a dark shade of crimson rising to her cheeks. She sputtered a few jumbled words before a glare settled over her face.

Mrs. Kellaway’s voice was steady and strong, her gaze direct. “Do you know how often I have wished that my dear friends had left their children to my care instead? Not only would I have done all I could to make them comfortable in my home, but I would have allowed them to grieve. I would have allowed them to be children . I would have loved them these past five years as I love them now.” Her eyes shone with tears as she held me close to her side, but her voice was still stern. “Your treatment of Annette, Peter, and Charles is not only dishonorable. It is detestable.”

Aunt Ruth’s jaw slackened. “I beg your pardon.”

Mrs. Kellaway held her head high, eyes narrowed. “I do not presume you hold any legal right to refuse or accept a marriage proposal for Annette. She is above the age of majority at one and twenty. If she hasn’t yet, my husband and I will gladly take her to sign all the necessary papers to discharge your guardianship and receive any inheritance her parents have left her with.”

I had never heard of such papers and legal proceedings. Aunt Ruth had never mentioned it. But Mrs. Kellaway still didn’t know the recent threats Aunt Ruth had made against my brothers and the control she still claimed over them.

I glanced at the carriage and spotted Peter in the window. Charles pressed his hands to the glass beside him. The tears on his cheeks made my heart wrench, and I was tempted to shove Aunt Ruth out of my way to reach them.

I glared at her, my anger tumbling close to the surface.

Aunt Ruth inhaled deeply, as if to compose herself, as she addressed Mrs. Kellaway. “I think it is a testiment to my hospitable nature that I have continued to care for Annette even after my obligation expired. I have been kind enough to secure her future with Mr. Frampton so she will be taken care of. She is engaged to him , and that is the end of this conversation. She will come with me now, or she will take your carriage home later. It makes no difference to me. Either way, I am taking the boys home with me now.” She marched toward the carriage door.

I lunged forward, grabbing her by the back of the dress.

She spun around, thrusting me off of her with a firm push. I tripped on my hem, but Mr. Kellaway and Edmund caught me before I hit the ground.

Mrs. Kellaway and the other women gasped.

I scrambled to my feet. Peter and Charles watched from the window, and I could hear the faint sobs coming from both of them now. My pink dress might have made me look like a lady, but I was prepared to fight like a madman. Hot anger made my skin burn. If Edmund and Mr. Kellaway hadn’t been holding me steady, I might have charged at Aunt Ruth.

She glared at me through a strand of hair in her eyes, tugging on her gown to straighten it. “How dare you—” Her face was red again, a sheen of sweat on her chin.

I looked up at the path behind the carriage. Two men on horseback approached quickly, hooves beating hard against the ground. My vision was clouded for a moment, but then their faces came into focus.

It was Owen astride the dark brown horse, and a man I didn’t recognize astride the black one.

The moment I saw him, my emotions scratched at my throat. My fortitude threatened to fall to pieces at the sight of his face. I didn’t have to be quite so strong if Owen was here. He would surely make up the difference.

He stopped his horse on the path in front of the carriage and dismounted, striding toward me. Mr. Kellaway and Edmund stepped back, and Owen took both my hands. He looked surprised as he took in the scene—Aunt Ruth, the carriage, Peter and Charles inside. A dangerous look entered his gaze. “Are you hurt?” he asked.

I was disheveled, but not hurt. I shook my head.

Owen turned slowly toward Aunt Ruth. I had never seen her intimidated, but that was the only name I could give her expression. I swallowed, clinging tight to Owen’s hand.

“My aunt, Mrs. Filbee,” I said, looking in her direction.

Owen didn’t move, his jaw tight. I saw his eyes flicker to the carriage window.

“She doesn’t believe that we are engaged,” I added.

Owen’s gaze met mine. In certain terms, I had never told him I could marry him, but he understood my meaning.

“We are engaged,” he said in a confident voice. He turned his attention to Aunt Ruth. “And I must assure you, Mrs. Filbee, that I fully intend to have the guardianship of Peter and Charles transferred to me immediately upon our marriage.”

She scoffed, but I saw a hint of doubt cross her face. “What makes you think you can do that?”

The man on the black horse dismounted and began walking in our direction. He looked vaguely familiar, and I quickly realized that he was one of the gentlemen I had seen Owen standing with at the ball. He looked to be similar in age to Mr. Kellaway, with greying hair and a pointed nose. He was tall and thin, his slight figure floating somewhere inside his eccentric orange jacket.

I realized that I hadn’t stayed at the ball long enough to meet Owen’s uncle. Could this have been him?

Owen tucked me partially behind him when Aunt Ruth took a step closer. She crossed her arms, eyeing him with scrutiny. Surely she was wondering how on earth I had managed to attract such a man. I wondered the very same thing.

“My uncle, Mr. Bartholomew Pratt, is the master of Willowbourne,” Owen said. “It is arguably the finest house in Hampshire. I assume you have heard of it?”

Aunt Ruth’s nose twitched, and she glanced in Mr. Pratt’s direction. “Yes.”

Owen gave a nod. “Well, my uncle has had many dealings with the courts to appoint me as his heir. He has made me aware that since the late Mr. Downing appointed Mr. Filbee as guardian over the legal affairs of his children, your husband’s death prior to the reading of the will would have nullified that.”

A deep line appeared on Aunt Ruth’s forehead, and her gaze shifted to the ground.

“By marriage,” Owen continued, “you were still the closest relation to Mr. Filbee, so you were given the responsibility of nuturing the children. But the role of testamentary guardian over their legal affairs would have been granted to someone else—most likely another male relative of the Downings.” Owen waited until Aunt Ruth looked up at him again. “Who might it be?”

She tugged at her gloves, her lips pursed tight. For a moment, she looked like a child who had been caught making mischief. She was cornered. “The late Mrs. Downing has a cousin in Yorkshire,” she muttered. “He accepted his duty in court, but he has done nothing to uphold it. He has never even been acquainted with them.”

“That should make my task easier, then,” Owen said. “It seems that the current guardian will have no objection to relinguishing his responsibilities to me after Annette and I are married. As their closest relative above the age of majority, there shall be no contest as to who should be nurturing the boys. Annette, of course.” He glanced at all the others standing beside us before addressing Aunt Ruth again. “And with so many to testify to your incompetency and cruelty, any argument you might make to keep the children will be overruled. Be assured, Mrs. Filbee, that everyone here, myself included, will prevent you from leaving with those boys today.” He took a step forward, his voice low. “By any means necessary.”

Aunt Ruth’s face darkened a shade.

“I would suggest,” he continued, “that you open that door, set them free, and return quietly to Silton.”

My mind raced. Aunt Ruth’s power had just been tugged out from under her like a rug, her ruse revealed. She had never had as much control over my brothers and me as she had pretended. Hope gripped my heart.

Aunt Ruth set her gaze on me, her eyes gleaming with hatred. Owen had silenced her, but she was still not intimidated by me. That didn’t matter though, not now that I was surrounded by so many others. I wasn’t alone anymore. The thought made my eyes swell with tears. I blinked them away, holding firm where I stood.

After a few seconds, she finally turned toward the carriage and opened the door.

She stepped aside as Owen ran forward, lifting Peter out with one arm, and Charles with the other. He carried them to me, and I stretched out my hands to take Charles from him. He threw his arms around my neck, burying his face in my shoulder. Peter held tight to Owen, rubbing at the tears on his freckled cheeks.

I whispered reassurances to them both.

Edmund strode forward and led Owen’s horse away from the drive, clearing the path for Aunt Ruth’s departure.

The driver helped her into the carriage, and I caught her gaze through the open door. Would I ever see her again? The moment that carriage door closed, she would be gone from my life forever. I never planned to return to Silton. The chains she bound me with would be severed by the latch of that door, and I would finally be free.

I felt a surge of anger—of resentment—but mostly pity. She had chosen not to marry for love, and she had chosen not to love me or my brothers. Her heart was bitter and cold, and I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone.

“I will send my regrets to Mr. Frampton,” I said through the open door just before it closed.

There were no parting words, not a hint of sadness or loss. Through the window, she turned her gaze forward, and the coach began its journey down the road.