Chapter Fourteen
The next morning, Graham and Babette sat patiently waiting for their daughter and host to join them at the breakfast table.
According to what Scarlett had told them last evening after all of the upset about the missing Edward Holmes being the poisoner, they had decided that they could continue with their plans.
It seemed as if the danger might be over for the time being. So, they decided as a group that they would show Scarlett’s parents around Elfyre Hollow. Their outing today was to the market, and then over the course of the next few days, they would show them other places; like the hospital and their herb gardens.
The herbs were not grown on Obsidian Ridge as everything else was, instead being grown at the hospital so that they could harvest them and use them as needed. Most of the antidotes were mixed at the hospitals, but some needed to be produced elsewhere, such as the antidote for what Scarlett was being poisoned by.
Scarlett walked through the door of the dining room and smiled at her parents, excited to spend the day with them.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked.
Graham nodded.
“Where is our host?” he asked.
She looked around, just noticing that Alastair was not there.
“I thought he was down here already,” she replied.
Graham shook his head.
“Excuse me just a moment. I will go find out where he is.”
She turned around and walked out of the dining room, heading to the study.
She opened the door and looked around, surprised to not see him there.
When she came out, she ran into Bard, a smile coming to her face when she saw him.
“Bard, where is Alastair? My parents said he has not yet come down so I was hoping that you had seen him.”
Bard shook his head.
“He has not come out of his room or rang for me yet. I asked Mrs. Boudrow if she had seen him yet and she said she has not. She has not seen his parents either. I am not surprised as Lord and Lady Brannigan are still abed. They never were inclined to rise early.”
Scarlett had to hide a giggle behind her hand.
“That does not explain why Alastair is not out of bed as of yet. Do you think he has caught ill?”
He shook his head.
“I will go check on him, but I do not doubt that he is fine, just still asleep. You all spoke for quite a while last night.”
She nodded.
“My parents and I are waiting in the dining room.”
He nodded and bowed shortly, heading up the long staircase. Scarlett watched him go and then headed back to the dining room to await their arrival with her parents.
A few minutes later, Bard walked past the Brannigan’s door, halting for a moment when he heard a small shriek.
“Beau! You naughty man!” Antoinette cried.
It was Bard’s turn to hide a giggle behind his hand as he headed towards Alastair’s room.
He arrived not a minute later and knocked on the solid door, waiting a moment for Alastair to answer.
When he did not, he knocked again, waiting a minute before he opened the door. What greeted him was a sight he had never seen before. Alastair sat at the small desk he had in his room, slumped over, fast asleep.
He had fallen asleep at the desk and had some papers strewn around him. When Bard shut the door firmly, Alastair shot up, finally awake.
“What’s going on? Is everyone all right?” Alastair asked, turning quickly in the chair to face Bard.
“Yes, sir; everyone is fine,” he replied, taking in Alastair’s half-naked state.
“However, Lord and Lady Kensington and Scarlett are waiting for you in the dining room. Also, your parents are not quite finished with their morning amorous activities.”
Alastair flushed and said, “Thank you, Bard, for that wonderful thought.”
Bard tried to hide his snicker when he replied, “You are very welcome, My Lord.”
“Shall I tell them to expect you shortly?” he asked.
Alastair nodded. “Let them know I will be down shortly for breakfast. Has Sally put it out yet?”
Bard shook his head.
“That is why Lord and Lady Kensington are still waiting.”
Alastair sighed roughly, upset at keeping his future in-laws waiting.
“Help me get dressed, will you?” he asked.
Bard nodded and walked to the dressing room to pick him something to wear.
A half hour later, Alastair walked into the dining room to see the buffet fully stocked, but the other occupants of the room still waiting to eat their breakfast.
He blushed pink and said with a cough, “I apologize for my tardiness this morning.”
As they had all stood when he entered, Graham bowed and he returned it and Scarlett and Babette both curtsied.
He returned them with a short bow and said, “Ladies first, of course.”
Scarlett and Babette headed over to the table and Graham fell in behind them, Alastair taking up the rear.
“Where are your parents this morning?” Babette asked.
She didn’t see his dark blush come to his face as he replied, “They are still abed. Bard said my father was taking care of my mother as she did not seem well this morning.”
He hid his face when Scarlett turned to look at him.
When she realized why he was hiding his face, she hid hers and giggled.
“Are you all right, Scarlett?” Graham asked, a concerned look on his face.
Scarlett coughed harshly and then replied, “No, Papa. I am well. Just a tickle in the back of my throat.”
“All right, darling. Hurry along so the men can get their breakfast.”
“Yes, Papa.”
Scarlett reached out and filled her plate, gathering some delightful crisped potatoes and two banana-nut cakes.
“Is that all you are going to eat?” her mother asked.
“Yes, Mama, it is all I need. I am not that hungry this morning.”
She smiled sincerely and headed to the table to sit down.
When Alastair looked her way from the buffet, he shrugged quickly, understanding how she felt about having her parents around.
A few short moments later, his parents came through the doors, the flush of love on his mother’s face.
“Good morning, Mother, Father. I hope you slept well,” Alastair greeted them as he sat down at the head of the table.
Antoinette just smiled brightly and replied, “Good morning, my darling.”
Beauregard smiled slyly at his son and Alastair rolled his eyes at him.
“Get some breakfast, my dear; we need to get going this morning since we were so slow to rise,” he whispered in her ear.
“There was nothing slow about it,” she whispered back to him, causing him to flush and the entire table to look anywhere but at them.
“Mother, Father, please get some food before it gets cold,” Alastair said.
“Don’t worry, darling. We will,” Antoinette giggled.
Scarlett could not help but giggle at Alastair and how uncomfortable he looked at his parents’ display of affection. She looked back down at her food when he caught her staring at him.
Once his parents were seated, the conversation at the table flowed freely, the previous awkwardness gone.
“Lord Kensington, where do you reside these days?” Antoinette asked.
“Graham, please. We live on Ciomodors Garden at our estate. I would say it is about two or three miles from the castle.”
“How interesting. Do you go to the castle regularly?” Beau asked.
“We do not. We prefer to stay at our home,” Babette replied.
“We do not enjoy politics as my sister and brother-in-law do,” Graham said, looking over at Beau.
“Ah. We do not enjoy politics either. We were asked to come to court on many occasions, but we preferred to stay home instead. Court can sometimes be very overwhelming,” Antoinette said, looking slightly overwhelmed.
“We were expected to be there for a long time before Art finally relented and let us have our peace. That is one thing I am thankful for: that Art is not king anymore,” Graham replied.
“I don’t believe he thinks that way,” Alastair whispered.
“You are absolutely right,” Scarlett whispered back.
She was seated on his right and his father was seated on his left next to his mother, with her father and her mother beside her.
Graham heard them whispering and nudged Scarlett, bringing a flush to her face.
“You are right, of course,” he whispered, winking at her.
Scarlett visibly sighed.
“What did she say, dear?” Babette inquired.
“Something delightful about the breakfast food, my dear,” Graham said, turning to smile at his wife.
“All right. Well, what were we saying?”
She went back to their conversation about the latest gossip on Ciomodors Garden. Alastair sighed and relaxed, grateful that their parents were getting along. He had known some parents of couples who could not get along at all, and that had worried him. He was sure though that they would be all right now.
An hour later they were all finished with their breakfast and ready to see the market, her parents especially excited to see if they could find some trinkets that they could bring back to the staff at their home.
Babette and Graham did not have many staff and they liked it that way. They preferred a small group and their home being modest allowed that.
When they had moved out of their townhouse in the city to the modest home on the outskirts, Scarlett had questioned why they would move to a smaller place. Babette had stated that she preferred to have the smaller house as it needed less upkeep but still had enough bedrooms for any guests that might need to stay. They also had a room for her whenever she felt like coming home.
Scarlett sighed and looked around, happiness filling her heart as she looked at the faces of her parents. Her mother’s excitement could not be contained while her father looked slightly bored as they rode across the long bridge and into the small town on the other side.
Alastair and his parents had chosen to ride in a carriage behind them so they were single file down the bridge and did not have to worry about squeezing uncomfortably into one.
As soon as they arrived back across the bridge, the coachman parked the carriage in the stables, surprising her mother.
“Are we not going farther?” she asked.
Scarlett shook her head.
“The market is right outside the stable gates so there is no need to take the carriage any farther. It is not a long distance at all, Mama.”
The coachman opened the door and helped her and her mother exit the carriage, her father waving him off to get out himself. Just as they were departing from the carriage, the other one pulled up and they waited for the rest of their party to join them.
Once the group had gathered, they headed out of the gates and into the market.
It was bustling and loud, the smell of earth and spices surrounding them as they walked. Scarlett took a deep breath in, a smile coming to her face as she inhaled all the exotic scents. She looked over at her parents and could not contain her laughter as her mother spoke with one of the stall owners, bartering over a gaudy ring.
“Do you think he will give in before she does?” her father whispered to her, taking her arm and walking with her.
Scarlett laughed and shook her head.
“I do not doubt that Mama will win. He will give her the ring at what she is offering to him.”
Not a moment later, her mother walked over to them, triumphantly holding the ring in her hand.
“Mama, do you really need another ring?” she asked.
Her mother shook her head.
“No, but I thought it was pretty so I wanted it. So, I got it. It is not every day that you see something so lovely.”
Babette walked away from them, admiring the piece as she did. Scarlett sighed and Graham chuckled.
He rested his hand on hers and asked, “How are you doing? I know that you have been sick, and that you are feeling better now.”
She turned to look at him and smiled.
“I am doing so much better now. I was worried that I was not going to make it for a little while, but Alastair was able to find out what was making me sick and a cure.”
“You seem to have grown very comfortable with one another to call each other by your given names,” he murmured, peaking her curiosity.
“We have, yes. We did not think that it would matter as much to stick to social conformities with our situation. We are constantly speaking to one another and it is difficult to keep calling each other ‘My Lord’ or ‘Your Grace’ so we decided to do away with formality for now.”
He stopped suddenly and turned to her.
“Have you thought about what is going to happen after this is all over?” he asked her, looking into her eyes.
She looked away and then looked back at him, unsure of how to respond.
“Well, Papa, I know what is going to happen. Or at least, I am hoping it is going to happen as long as you approve.”
Understanding dawned on him and he looked at her, and then at Alastair, and then back at her again.
“Has he officially asked you or has something happened?” he asked, a scowl coming to his face.
“No, Papa, he asked me. Don’t worry. I am still chaste,” she whispered, resting her hand on his reassuringly.
His scowl faded only slightly.
“Why did he not ask me first?”
“We did not want to let anyone know until after this whole situation had settled down. If it got out that Alastair and I are to marry, then that could potentially put Alastair in danger as well. Right now, we are just trying to keep everyone safe. I am sure he would have asked you as soon as this was all over.”
His scowl faded completely, replaced by an almost resigned look.
“Do you want to marry him?”
She nodded, happiness coming to her face.
She felt surprised when she saw a glint of a tear in her father’s eye before he leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Then I am happy for you, my darling. I hope he treats you well. If he does not, he will have to answer to me.”
He hugged her tightly and she breathed deeply, taking in his cologne that brought back all the memories of her childhood filling her heart as she did. She remembered all the times he had carried her to bed when she fell asleep in the library reading or when she was upset and needed comforting. Papa had always been there for her and she knew it would be hard to give her away.
With a sigh, he pulled away, taking her arm again and heading down the street towards a particularly loud salesman calling to them.
A while later, Alastair slipped over to where Scarlett stood, finally able to extract himself from his mother. Scarlett looked at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled.
“How has your afternoon been?” she whispered.
He scowled at her.
“I can only assume that you are being cruel in asking that question.”
She giggled and looked down at the small vase she held in her hand. It was made of glass and beautifully colored, the sunlight creating a rainbow on the ground as it shined through.
She paid the stall owner and headed down the road, Alastair falling in behind her.
“I did not mean to be cruel, please forgive me.”
He rolled his eyes at her and knew that she was just teasing him. His mother had dragged him all over the market today, making him feel as if he was a very ungracious host.
He had apologized to Graham during the few moments he had been close enough to him and Graham had reassured him that he understood as his wife was here with her own child and would not move far from her.
“I do need to tell you something,” she whispered to him, catching his attention and drawing his gaze to her.
“Are you all right?” he asked her, stopping her to inspect her face.
When she showed no signs of a recurring illness, he sighed in relief.
“I told my father.”
Confusion filled his face.
“Told your father?”
“About our… agreement.”
He had to physically restrain his jaw from dropping at her words.
“Scarlett!”
She looked up at him with pleading eyes and rested her hand on his arm.
“Rest assured he will not tell anyone until the time is right. Not even my mother.”
She looked over at her parents standing together and her father smiled and winked at her, and then turned a warning glance on Alastair.
Alastair felt like he should run and hide but instead stood still and nodded at Graham, letting him know he understood.
With one last look, he turned back to Scarlett.
“Your father is just a bit frightening sometimes,” he choked out.
Scarlett couldn’t contain her laughter at his pained expression.
“Don’t worry, he likes you. If he didn’t, he would have let the whole market know that he did not approve.”
He only looked slightly less pained.
Scarlett tried so hard not to continue laughing at him, but it was difficult. She had never seen him look so honestly scared of something before.
He pressed his lips together in a tight line and his eyes crinkled at the edges, letting loose a sigh as he looked around.
“I am glad that he did not make a scene in the market. It would have embarrassed everyone and given away our secret. Of course, it could not be considered a complete secret since now the three of us know.”
“You do mean four of us, right?” she asked.
“Do not forget about dear Bard, who was there when you proposed marriage to me.”
He nodded.
“Of course, the four of us. Please excuse my wording. I would never purposely leave Bard out.”
He looked up and noticed that it was starting to get dark, letting him know it was time for them to go.
“It is time to go. We need to get back to the castle before nightfall.”
“I am sure Mama and Papa are ready to go. At least Papa is. He has never been one for shopping and frivolous things like that.”
He chuckled.
“Indeed not. He seems as if he would rather be inside reading.”
It was her turn to chuckle.
“Not as much as he would like to be inside figuring out numbers. He has a head for those things. Unfortunately, it did not get passed down to me. I have more of an artistic sensibility as opposed to a mathematical one.”
He nodded as she spoke.
“I am more of the mathematical man myself, being a doctor. I feel like the odds are better when you actually can calculate them.”
He was flagged down by the coachman, letting them know that their parents were already at the coaches waiting for them. Alastair let him know they would be along in a minute.
He had walked her down to a small stand that he had intended on coming to for a while now, hoping they still had a certain piece of jewelry he had had his eye on for some time.
Checking the table, he grew concerned when he did not see it.
“Excuse me.” He flagged down the owner.
Leaning over, he whispered in his ear. Scarlett just watched curiously as he did.
The owner looked pleased and shook Alastair’s hand, promising he would bring something to the castle for him.
When they had worked out the details for payment and their business was concluded, Alastair walked Scarlett back to her carriage; kissing her hand softly before climbing in and accompanying his parents back to the castle.