Distraught and grieving over their beloved grandfather’s death, they had not put up too much of a fuss at the time.
The time came, however, for Ned to return to Cambridge, but Mandy’s plans to be brought out by her maternal aunt had to be canceled as she did not wish to be brought out during the first year after her grandfather’s death.
Thus, Mandy had remained at the Halls. At first she didn’t mind. She loved the Dales countryside and there had been much at the estate to occupy her time.
As the months progressed, however, Mandy’s youth pinched and made her restless. When Ned’s term at Cambridge came to an end and he returned to Sherborne and began displaying an interest in Celia, she became concerned. It had in fact, gotten on her nerves.
Celia gave him very little attention when he had been with them during Easter and even as late as two weeks ago after Ned had been home for some weeks, Mandy could not recall Celia in the least interested in him.
Mandy had thought it remarkable actually, as most of her acquaintances and friends considered him a fair Adonis. In addition to that, he was titled, and would soon be extremely wealthy.
The secretive Celia had few prospects with her small dowry and her lonely location in the Dales. As Celia had been unable to afford a true London Season, she had somehow (for she was lovely) been passed over for marriage.
Such things happened when a woman had no dowry or entre into society.
Mandy had noticed the sudden shift in Celia’s attentions toward her twin only recently. It was as though her cousin suddenly woke up to the fact that she could do much worse for herself than Lord Edward of Sherborne.
This could get complicated.
* * *
Ned had fallen into deep thought. He and Mandy were approaching their twenty-first birthday. She needed a Season, but their maternal aunt was away and unable to give her one this year. In addition to that, he would soon have to take over his vast inheritance. Was he up to challenge? He hoped so. His grandfather had taught him everything he needed to know.
Celia had become a sudden problem. He had as Mandy said followed her about like a puppy early on. However, he had seen her flirting with so many different gentlemen that he soon realized, she was not who he had fashioned her to be.
However, she was older, seductive and had a way of looking at him lately that made it difficult to resist her company. He wasn’t ready to get married. He liked women, all sorts of women and one day he would marry, but he was far too young and had not truly fallen in love, yet.
He was, like his sister, a bit of a romantic. He wanted to be hopelessly ‘in love’ when he got married.
Mandy was right. He had to avoid the lovely Celia.
How to do it? He had not told Mandy everything. He had not told her that when he kissed her, she had taken his hand and put it to her breast and that for a moment, just a moment, he had actually fondled her. It had taken all his strength to pull away, and then he was able to only because she had asked in a whisper, “Do you love me, Ned?”
His blood had immediately started to freeze and he had jumped away from her and said, “What?”
She had repeated the question, “Do you love me?”
“Love? Well, that is something quite…well, love is another subject,” he uttered and felt a fool.
She had gotten up from the stone bench they had been sitting on by the reflective pool and huffed, “Think about that question the next time you try and make love to me.”
He had thought about it, and the answer had been, no, I don’t love you. And then that same night she had crept into his room in a scanty nightdress.
He had nearly been undone.
Miraculously, a loud clatter down the hall, made them both jump. He ushered Celia to the door and down the hall to her bedroom, while he went the opposite way toward the noise telling Celia he had to investigate.
At first he had thought he had been saved by a miracle, but it turned out to be Mandy. His sister had stood eyeing him oddly as she pointed to an armor shield lying on the floor. “I bumped into it in the dark and boom, it went down,” she said.
He had eyed her suspiciously, but thankful all the same, he didn’t bother to ask what she had been doing walking at this end of the hall in the middle of the night. Instead, he said, “Ah.”
She folded her arms across the cream colored shawl she hugged around her nightclothes and added, “I mean to lock my door tonight. You do the same, Ned…you just never know.”
To this cryptic remark he said nothing because he did know. Mandy had surmised what was afoot. She was ever a knowing one. He knew she had saved him from Celia.
He had walked her to her room and she touched his hand, “You will lock your door?” she had asked.
Mandy was right and it was precisely what he did. Now, he thought, he would do well to remember this incident and steer clear of Celia—no matter what.