Page 4 of Stolen by My Knave
CHAPTER ONE
Elizabeth sat on the window seat in the library and stared outside at the greenery. It was a beautiful day, but she was stuck inside. She’d been working on her needlework for a while and had grown bored with it. Summer was fully upon them and she wished for the days of her youth, when frolicking in the sunshine had been acceptable. Now four and twenty, she didn’t have that luxury any longer. She was expected to be a lady at all times. Her mother wasn’t strict and didn’t enforce that behavior, but Elizabeth understood what society’s expectations were. If she didn’t want to be ostracized, she had to hold herself to a higher standard.
“Why are you so melancholy?” Christian, the oldest twin, entered the room. The twins had finally lost any extra fat they’d carried for years. They’d bloomed while away at Eton and now were lean and muscular. They resembled their father, the Duke of Weston, but had their mother’s green eyes. Elizabeth supposed females might find them handsome. Having grown up with them, she found them annoying most days. Lucky for them, she loved them despite their maddening behavior.
Elizabeth turned to Christian and smiled. She tried to think of an acceptable answer to his inquiry, but failed to come up with one. Diversion would work better regardless. “Where is Nicholas?”
The twins were almost inseparable. Two brothers couldn’t be closer than they were. Still, neither one of them had to live with the same rules she did. She doubted either of her brothers would understand her conundrum. It must be nice to be a man and not have to answer to anyone. She wasn’t so foolish as to believe her brothers didn’t have responsibilities. They both had their own burdens. It just happened they weren’t the same as hers. Their choices had more freedom attached to it. Elizabeth either married or became the responsibility of one of her family members. She wished she didn’t have to be dependent on any of them for her security.
“He’ll be around shortly. He wanted to take his horse for another hard run. I think something may be bothering him. Whatever it is, he won’t talk about it no matter how much I needled him.”
Elizabeth smiled. “He’ll tell you when he’s ready. When have you ever known him to keep to himself? He doesn’t know how.”
He nodded. “You’re right. I’m concerned though. It usually doesn’t take this long for him to spill.” Christian crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. “Since he’s being so obstinate, I decided to come see how my favorite sister is doing.”
“I’m your only sister,” Elizabeth said.
“Ellie,” Christian said placing his hand over his heart. “I’m wounded. That’s a minor detail. You’d be my favorite, even if you suddenly found you have a twin.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I think one set of twins is enough for our parents. I don’t know if they’d survive another.”
“Truer words have never been spoken,” Alys, the Duchess of Weston, said. “The twins give me hell on a good day. I can’t imagine two Ellies.”
Christian and Nicholas were well loved. They all were. In her family, any new edition was a blessing. Before they were born there had been a lot of heartache they’d had to survive through. Their father’s older twin had died in a carriage accident. He hadn’t planned on being the duke and was surprised to find himself stuck with the title. He’d joined a Calvary unit and fought against Napoleon in the war. He’d been wounded and thought doomed to die. Lucky for him, the surgeons had been wrong and he’d made a full recovery. The dukedom would have died out and Elizabeth, along with the twins, wouldn’t be around. Her mother, Alys, might not have had a chance either. She wasn’t from their time and had somehow managed to travel two hundred years to the past. Their father rescued her from the beach and helped her to survive. They’d fallen in love and the rest was history.
“You’d find a way to handle us all,” Elizabeth said. “Sometimes I marvel at your skills.”
“I don’t know myself sometimes. I suppose you’ll figure it out one day when you have children of your own. Though I’m far from ready to be a grandmother. Don’t take that as a hint I’m ready for you to move out and start a family. Take all the time you need.” The duchess turned to look at Christian. “One of you is missing. Where is Nicholas?”
“He’s still out riding,” Christian replied “Do you need him?”
“No.” The duchess waved her hand. “You can fill him in on the details when he decides to grace us with his presence.”
“What is it, Mama?” Elizabeth asked.
Their mother didn’t seek them out often. Not unless she had something of importance to say. Whatever it was had to be significant if she sought out all three of them...
“We’ve been invited to a house party at the Earl of Clifton’s country estate. I believe his mother wishes to marry him off. It’s either him or his sister.” She shrugged. “It might be a two for one. Pawn both off at once and wash her hands of the two of them. I really don’t understand the aristocrats in this time. Why are they all in a hurry to get their kids hitched?”
Elizabeth chuckled. “What else are they to do? They don’t believe in working for their money. Most of them need to marry in order to obtain some sort of income. Plus, females don’t have much choice.”
Unfortunately for Elizabeth, her mother’s progressive ideas had rubbed off on her in her formative years. She wanted to do more with her life than being a man’s wife. What she could possibly do that might make an impact on the world she didn’t know. All she wanted was to leave her mark so she’d be remembered as more than a mother and wife.
“Too true,” her mother agreed. “It’s unfortunate. At least I know at some point it will change. If only it would in your lifetime.” She patted Elizabeth’s hand. “But I digress. Your father and I have decided to attend. We think it will be good for you three to get out of the house and socialize.”
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose in displeasure. “Must we?”
“You’re too old to pout, young lady,” her mother chastised her. “And yes. We’re all going. I’ve already instructed the servants to pack our trunks. We leave in the morning.”
“I don’t see why Nicholas and I have to be punished,” Christian proclaimed. “We leave the house without being prompted to. It’s Ellie who will gladly sit in that window seat and get lost inside her head daily.”
Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at him. It was childish, but she couldn’t help herself. Her brothers brought out the worst in her. They were quite familiar with her weaknesses and managed to bring them to the surface regularly. They considered it their job as her brothers to irritate her whenever possible.
“The invitation is for the whole family, so we’ll all go.” The duchess sighed. “I don’t enjoy these events any more than you do. If I have to suffer, you all do too.”
“Then why are we going at all?” Elizabeth asked. “I’m rather attached to this window seat, as Chris already pointed out.”
It really was her favorite spot at Weston Manor. She’d always gravitated toward it and didn’t see that changing anytime soon. The window seat was where she dared to dream of a time she’d never see in her lifetime and imagine what it might be like to be loved the way her father and mother did. So far, the men of the ton had left much to be desired in that regard. She’d rather be an old maid then willingly tie herself to the current lot of lords.
