A False Proposal by Pam Mingle Page B

cousin and making some very rude and unfeminine gestures she’d learned from Jack and his friends when they were boys.
    Deborah, Hugh, and some of the guests who had already arrived were stationed in front of the somewhat austere-looking house, awaiting them. Jenny, her mother, and Atherton. Adam, Cass noted, was conspicuously absent. Perhaps his arrival had been delayed for some reason.
    “No introductions are needed, I think,” Deborah said when the stairs had been lowered and they’d stepped from the carriage. Atherton and Hugh bowed, and Jenny gave Cass a quick hug. And then Deborah took her arm and pulled her a little apart from the others.
    “I am so pleased you accepted our invitation, my dear.”
    Cass smiled. “Thank you, ma’am. It was kind of you to include me.”
    “Not at all. My son was most adamant about it, and I agreed.” She glanced quickly at a landau driving up. “Will you excuse me, Cassandra? I must greet the latest guests.”
    Who turned out to be Elizabeth Morgan and her mother. Oh, no . Cass had had the impression that Adam didn’t care for Miss Morgan. The thought of competing with the younger girl, who had the advantages of youth, beauty, and a fresh face on her side, made her insides roil. Ridiculous, in any case. This was a house party, for pity’s sake, not a competition.
    After they’d all been shown to their bedchambers, and served tea and a light meal afterward, Cass decided fresh air and a walk would lift her spirits. If she left immediately, there would still be time to enjoy the spring sun before it dropped too low on the horizon. Jack was out walking with Jenny. She knew some of the others were in the drawing room, but there was no expectation for her to join them until dinner. After grabbing her bonnet by the strings, she hurried off down the corridor and ran smack into her cousin, outside her own chamber.
    “Where are you going?” Louisa asked, managing to make her question sound like an interrogation.
    “For a walk.”
    “Be so good as to wait a moment. I’ll get my—”
    “I’ve no need of a chaperone. I don’t intend to be gone long or go far afield.”
    “Nevertheless, you should not be alone.” She turned back toward her chamber to get her bonnet, and Cass tried a different approach.
    “You look tired, Cousin. There’s a group gathered in the drawing room. Wouldn’t it be more restful to sit and have a comfortable chat with Jenny’s mother and the other chaperones?”
    Her cousin paused, thinking it over. Deciding if it would be proper for her charge to walk out alone, and if she was willing to relinquish this modicum of control over her. After giving Cass a suspicious look, she relented. “You may be right. I would enjoy that. See you are back in time to dress for dinner.”
    “Of course,” Cass said, feeling like a child of Philippa’s age instead of a grown woman. Sighing with frustration, she hurried away before Louisa changed her mind. If she wouldn’t even allow Cass to explore the expansive—and perfectly safe—park by herself, what would the rest of the week be like? She’d be hovering every time Cass turned around.
    Cass skipped down the front steps, her bonnet flapping against her legs. She paused a moment at the bottom to don her hat and admire the parterre gracing the front of the home. The intricate geometrical beds were planted with iris, lobelia, petunias, and gillyflowers. One section was filled with a profusion of blooming roses, white, damask, and deep red. Since rose was Cass’s favorite scent, she thought they smelled enchanting. The parterre was beautifully designed and meticulously cared for, and the purples, pinks, and scarlets did much to relieve the stark façade of the Jacobean home.
    Deborah owned a lovely piece of property, and Cass intended to explore it more fully another day. For now she’d make do with following the graveled path through the wood near the house. In the distance, she caught sight of Jack, Jenny on