Chapter Nineteen
When she woke in the morning, the sunshine peeking through the curtains made Kaitlyn smile. They had one more wonderful day planned before they would have to head back to Aunt Nellie’s. She would be able take Jem to visit with Amelia and Sir Hughes. She wished they would have invited Cyrus and William as well, but it made sense that Amelia didn’t. She was still incredibly shy and would probably be a little overwhelmed at hosting the little gathering for tea with more than the two guests.
William would keep Cyrus occupied. Or he could go wander the city himself, studying the things he wanted to see on his own without her slowing them down. Then she’d be able to dance with him at the ball. And if they were tricky enough, she could get two dances for sure with him.
She climbed out of bed and made use of the water basin to wash her face and freshen up. When Sarah entered the room with some fresh stockings, Kaitlyn already had some of the layers on in preparation for dressing. With Sarah’s help, she quickly completed her morning ritual and hurried down to breakfast. She wanted to talk with Cyrus and her brother about the night before.
Their carriage ride back had been a little somber. Jem slipped back into his moodiness after she’d made the mistake of mentioning how much Cora and Reese would have enjoyed the opera. She started to tell the others what she’d learned from Jack as he explained the dialogue of the opera, but Cyrus leaned his head back against the carriage wall and fell asleep. She’d quieted down, not wanting to disturb him and the remainder of the ride had been in silence.
Now with the good night’s sleep and the new day, she was hoping they could all have a few minutes to talk and visit before the plans of the day really got going.
When she reached the breakfast room, the only one in there apart from the servant was Jem. “Where’s Cyrus? Or William, do you know?”
Jem nodded with his mouth full and held up a finger to indicate she should wait. She moved over to the side board and scooped up some breakfast. Before she turned around, Jem’s voice gave her the news. “They decided to take a quick trip to Bath. Apparently one of Nellie’s guests like us lives there, and she wanted William to check on her. Guess it’s something he does a lot.”
“They’re gone?” Kaitlyn repeated. “To Bath?”
Jem nodded and took another bite of his eggs.
“When will they return?” Kaitlyn asked. “Are they going to make it to the ball tonight?”
Jem tilted his head to the side. “You do know how slow they travel now? Right?”
“But how could they leave today? The ball is tonight.” All her plans for dancing with him and flirting and trying to rekindle some of the fun they had before they had fallen into the past were ruined.
“Yeah, you mentioned that already.” Jem said with his mouth full again. “And apparently, when Aunt Nellie wants something done, you do it. William was pretty adamant about leaving this morning.”
“But why did Cyrus go?”
Jem put his fork down and looked at her. “I think he didn’t want to be a fifth wheel anymore.”
“What?” Kaitlyn asked frowning at her brother. Had Cyrus mentioned something about her to Jem?
“He didn’t want to play chaperone while you spend time with Jack.”
Kaitlyn took a slow breath as she picked at her food. She hated feeling like she had to be watched over, but she liked it when Cyrus was around. Her brother’s words once again reinforced the truth that Cyrus felt nothing for her. Instead, he was sick of her and decided to go exploring on his own.
“Don’t worry,” Jem said. “They’ll be back in time for us to go home.”
Kaitlyn sighed heavily.
Jem put his fork down. “What?” he asked.
She shook her head, not wanting to tell him how upset she was about Cyrus leaving. He didn’t even say goodbye or tell her himself. She thought they were good enough friends she deserved at least that.
“It’s just that I kinda feel like all my friends are abandoning me. I planned this trip and was so looking forward to having one last hurrah with my besties, yet I’m all alone.”
“Well, thanks for that.”
“No,” Kaitlyn said, “that’s not what I mean.”
Jem chuckled. “I know.” He got up from his chair and moved closer to her, bringing his plate with him. “I’m sure you guys had a blast at Nellie’s before this whole trip back here, but you’ve got to admit, no one could have expected what would happen.”
“Yeah,” Kaitlyn hesitantly agreed. “And after meeting Amelia last night, I can totally see why Reese and Cora went with those other girls. These poor creatures have such low opinions of themselves. I just want to take her under my wing and tell her how awesome she is. To help her grow a little backbone.”
“You think that’s why Reese went with Lady Ellen?” Jem asked, seeming suddenly less confident. Kaitlyn looked at her brother.
“Of course. I told you that, didn’t I?”
He shook his head. “I don’t remember. You might have. There was just a lot of stuff going on that day as we tried to get things ready to come to London.”
“Yeah. Cora was invited by May, too, but she went because she wanted to have a chance to see how they really lived.”
Jem nodded. “So you three ladies are going to help bring England’s traditions to their knees by convincing the women to stop being so docile.”
“Heck yes,” Kaitlyn said. “If I can give Amelia a little bit of spirit, she’ll pass that on to her daughters and then eventually the following generations will make a change.”
“And you aren’t afraid of messing up any space-time continuum?”
“Ha,” Kaitlyn said. “If what Nellie says about time being a fuzzball is right, everything touches everything anyway and it’s already happened. Too bad it can’t happen faster, ‘cause this whole patriarchal society is a pain in the butt.” She glared at her brother. “And I’m tired of having either you or Cyrus or some servant follow me around everywhere to make sure I don’t do anything to get in trouble. If you stupid men would learn to control your own desires, then none of us women would be in this mess anyway.”
“Hey,” Jem complained. “It’s not me. I have the utmost respect for women.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry. But that’s ‘cause Mom taught you well. That’s why I need to help any girl here I meet have a higher opinion of herself, so she can be sure to teach her own children how to properly respect another. You know, that saying is true ― the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”
“Well, then, let’s go make sure you give Amelia all the training she needs.” Jem stood up.
Kaitlyn smiled at him. “Sure. Just let me eat my breakfast. I don’t want to go over there starving at tea time. Can’t make a pig of myself in front of a baronet and his cousin. That would really mess up my plan to rule the world.” She winked at her brother, and Jem chuckled.
As he left the room, leaving her alone, she stared at her plate, not really hungry once she actually thought about it. She picked at the food and wondered once again why Cyrus and William hadn’t told her they were going. She knew they needed to leave early in order to make good time on their trip to Bath, but they could have told her last night.
She pushed that thought out of her mind and instead focused on what she would do when she got to Amelia’s. She was looking forward to seeing the girl again, but less interested in visiting with Jack than she would have been a few days ago.
Yet, if Cyrus wanted nothing to do with her, maybe she could take the time to get to know Jack. If what Nellie said was true, maybe she was supposed to come back in time for a special reason. And if that reason just happened to be a kind and handsome man who was also a baronet and owned some amazing property near London, then who was she to say no to the faerie magic?