Chapter Fourteen
Kaitlyn sat on the blanket and leaned against a pillow placed there. A small plate sat on her lap, carefully propped up with a fold of her skirt. Small groups of people sat and visited. A few smaller groups sat on chairs, but the atmosphere was very relaxed and light hearted. The difference of the interactions between those of status and those poorer people who still had earned an invitation from Aunt Nellie at the picnic compared to the formal dinners was well pronounced.
Everyone was kind to everyone, but Kaitlyn could still see the very distinct line drawn between the classes. The servants standing in the background ready to serve if anyone needed anything almost disappeared until called upon by someone who might need something.
As she talked with one of the ladies next to her, Kaitlyn had a hard time keeping her eyes and attention away from Jack. He wasn’t seated immediately near her, but as she watched him talk with another young lady, she admired how he was kind and attentive, but he didn’t do anything that indicated he was interested in the young lady. When the realization hit her that she felt relieved about that, she paused a moment, making her miss what her neighbor said.
Kaitlyn scrambled to remember what they’d been talking about. “That’s too bad about your little dog. I’m glad your servant helped her by wrapping the paw. Tell me again what she put on it. I’ve always been fascinated by what kinds of treatments can be used for injured animals.”
Lady Cappel scratched her little lap dog behind the ears. “I don’t know what she used, but I can be sure to ask her and I can send a letter to you about it. Do you have a dog yourself?”
“Not currently. I had been away from home for a while at the university, so my parents didn’t want me to have a dog while I was gone. Once I move back home for good, I’ll get one.”
“You have attended a university?” Lady Cappel asked.
Kaitlyn nodded, having forgotten how strange it was that a woman going to school seemed so progressive and foreign to most of the people here. “I enjoyed it so much. I do hope that more women will be given the opportunity to attend schools. It will do so much good for the world. Can you imagine how wonderful it would be for a family if the mother was able to teach her children everything she had learned at school?”
Lady Cappel seemed unsure of what to answer. “But that is why we hire the best tutors. To give our girls the languages and writing skills they need. There isn’t really a great need to send them away to the university as well as our boys.”
“I do love how so many young women are taught the finer things. And languages are one thing I feel like I missed out on. How many languages do you know, Lady Cappel?”
“I’m fluent in French and Italian,” she said. “And I can read and write in Latin.”
“You truly are well taught,” Kaitlyn said, hoping to make her feel better about her slight against the women in England who hadn’t had a chance to be formally educated. As she glanced around the younger women, she wondered if any of them would get a chance. Would they even want to? Mostly it seemed that a girl’s grandest ambition would be an advantageous marriage. But what about all the young servant girls?
Kaitlyn didn’t know when the women’s movement would affect these girls, but she hoped that they could someday be afforded some basic rights that had nothing to do with what family they had been born into.
Lady Cappel’s attention was drawn away by the dog sitting in her lap and Kaitlyn allowed herself to study Jack as she nibbled on a piece of cheese. He spoke to the young lady beside him, who smiled prettily without any inappropriate movements or speaking on her part. She smiled and laughed softly, reminding Kaitlyn of when she’d been entertained by Jack. He was witty and smart and made her giggle more often than she had in a while, even bringing out some boisterous laughter. She’d caught the eye of many women when she laughed like that, so she had been working on being more demure, but Jack had made her feel comfortable and it was easy to enjoy being with him.
The fact that he wasn’t sitting next to her now saddened her. She wished she had been situated closer to him. Instead she was surrounded by mostly women with a few of their husbands sprinkled around.
Kaitlyn looked for Jem or Cyrus, but the two of them stood close to one of the carriages, having a conversation. Jem looked a little different than usual. Kaitlyn looked around for Reese, wondering where she was. She was surrounded by a bunch of young women, including Lady Ellen. Reese had taken to the girl and it was fun to see her interact with such a refined lady.
Jem was probably trying to give them some privacy, but she did wonder why he hadn’t been with her more today. At least Cyrus wasn’t shadowing Kaitlyn. Apparently with all these people here, she wasn’t in any danger and he could ease up on his vigilance and brotherly concern.
Too bad Jem was so occupied with Reese all this week. It would have been a lot of fun to hang out with him more, like they did before they had gone off to college. Thicker than thieves. He was falling for Reese, and she was so thrilled with the prospect of them getting together that she didn’t want to demand any more of his time than he was willing to give. Maybe that might keep him closer to home instead of all over the world in the traveling Broadway show he’d been with.
Kaitlyn took another bite of the food on her plate and watched the others. She glanced at Nellie. When the cute old woman beckoned her to come over, Kaitlyn happily got up and joined her on the wicker bench that had recently been vacated by one of Nellie’s guests.
“I noticed you weren’t talking to anyone for a moment, so I thought I’d ask how things were going.”
“Wonderful. This picnic is perfect. I’ve always wondered what they were like. It’s so refreshing to see everyone so relaxed and at ease.”
“They are one of my favorite things to do. I try to have one of them at least every few weeks when the weather allows. And today is a perfect day. I do believe we won’t have any rain interrupting us this time.”
“Does that happen a lot?” Kaitlyn asked.
“About half our picnics are cut short. Thankfully, very few have had to be canceled altogether. I am not completely adept at predicting the weather, but as I plan out the dates, I often get a sense for when would be a good time.” Aunt Nellie smiled wickedly. “Long ago, I had someone accuse me of being too lucky, so I had to occasionally guess wrong. Of course, I made sure the man who made that vile accusation had been invited as the guest of honor to the picnic that ended in a week-long rainy stretch. And he had to travel back home to his estate nearly a day’s drive in very unpleasant weather.”
Kaitlyn chuckled. “You are so fun.”
“Are you enjoying yourself today?” Nellie asked abruptly. “I noticed you weren’t as involved in conversation as I’ve seen you before in large gatherings. Where are your gentlemen friends?”
Kaitlyn glanced back at Jack, then to her brother and Cyrus. “They are all around. I was talking to Lady Cappel and then had a few moments for eating.”
“Now that you’ve been with us for a week, what are your thoughts of the area?”
“I really do love it. It has been eye opening, of course. Many things I didn’t realize really went into the real-life experiences of so many people here. You know in books and movies, only the interesting things are shown. The love stories take the place of everything else.”
Nellie smiled. “So tell me about your love story.” She nodded her head toward Jack, and Kaitlyn followed her gaze.
“There is no love story,” Kaitlyn insisted. “I’m not a rich heiress. And I could never fall for someone in such a short amount of time. It’s only been a week.”
Aunt Nellie patted her hand. “Time has nothing to do with it. Besides, living here, I know time is different. If you wanted, you could stay here as long as was needed for you to find love.”
“But don’t we have to go back when you get the painting of us finished?” Kaitlyn asked.
“Not necessarily. The painting is just the doorway. The place where the magic is tied to each traveler so they can be where they are meant to be. If you didn’t return home on this full moon, you could go on another full moon. Whenever you are ready to leave.”
“Do you have a lot of people stay?” Kaitlyn asked after a moment.
“There are a fair number. But not all.”
“Why does the magic pull us?” Kaitlyn asked. “I overheard one of your staff saying it was so people could find their love matches. Another said it was more random, just whoever was nearby when the magic reached out.”
“There are a lot of theories among my assistants. I have seen many love matches. And I truly believe the magic somehow knows who needs to be here. People have come back in time for a reason. Some I’m almost positive have led to wonderful changes, and others I think I’ll learn back in the time where they left from.”
“You know,” Kaitlyn said, “when we first arrived at your house in our time, you seemed like you knew us and you said some things that didn’t make sense at the time, but I do believe you’re right. You will figure it all out after it happens.”
“Oh, I hope I didn’t give anything away,” Nellie said with a small gasp. “That would be so inappropriate of me. I didn’t tell any of you that you’d meet your loves, did I?”
Kaitlyn shook her head. “No.”
“Good, because although I do have suspicions sometimes of who would be a wonderful couple, it needs to be all in the hands of those who are to experience it. I don’t want to encourage anyone one way or another.”
She glanced over at the group of people still sitting on the blankets talking. Kaitlyn looked as well and met Jack’s eyes. He smiled at her. As Nellie's next words washed over her, she felt a flutter of something deep inside.
“However, if someone ever did choose to stay, I have the ability to provide a large dowry. Enough to set them up for life and to make sure they will not want for anything in life. And if someone found love, I make sure everything is taken care of. Because without love, nothing I do has meaning.”
Kaitlyn considered the possibility. Could she actually find love here? And if she did, would she have the strength to give up her life back home for it? She had joked with Jem about their mother’s response, but Kaitlyn knew her mother always wanted the best for her children. And she might even be able to visit the future if she chose to stay in the past. As she looked at Jack, she wondered if she ought to be open to the possibility. There was definitely something about Jack that drew her interest.
Her heart fluttered when she caught him watching her instead of devoting his attention to the young ladies next to him. She had a crazy urge to stand and move over to him. Instead, she had to act proper and remain where she was so she didn’t seem too brazen. But if she could will him over to her with her eyes, she totally would.
She turned to Nellie to see the cute faerie woman smiling softly at her.
“Give yourself time to explore. Don’t close yourself off to the possibility of finding love here. And no matter what happens, I do believe it will be for the best. I don’t exactly believe in fate, per se, but I do believe our lives have a meaning and purpose behind them. And if you run away from what is out there in front of you, you might run the risk of missing out on what was meant to be.”
Aunt Nellie stood slowly. “I do believe I should go talk to your brother and our dear Mr. Manning. The two of them seem to have forgotten to socialize. I think getting them to show us the game they’ve come up with would be a great way to return them to the party.”
“Oh, wait,” Kaitlyn said. “I wanted to ask a favor.”