Chapter 1
Chapter 1.
Don't Shoot the Messenger.
Knightsbridge Castle was all in an uproar. This in itself was nothing new. My father, Lord Charles Davenport, the Duke of Winchestim, had thirteen children, twelve of which were daughters. Uproar had long become daily life.
But it had always been uproar caused by childish drama. Siblings quarreling over petty matters while parents and nannies ran back and forth making peace.
Today it was different. Today it was family honor and family reputation that was at stake. Today could be the making or the breaking of the futures of all the children. Thus, today it was the offspring and parents who were quarreling. And to add insult to injury, the quarrel was taking place at the worst possible timing.
We were supposed to be on our way to London for the season, instead, Papa and Mamma were sitting, angry and frustrated, in one of the drawing rooms. Felicity, the eldest in our family, had locked herself in her room, saying she would only speak to her twin sister.
Eleven unhappy siblings lined themselves along the wall between the bedroom and the drawing room watching as I, Francesca Davenport – the unlucky twin, walked back and forth trying to mediate between the warring parties.
It was a thankless task. "Why me? Why me?" I muttered to myself over and over as I once again crossed the hall. "This family boasts six sets of twins, why does it have to be Felicity creating all the drama?" I could feel the gaze of my siblings as they watched my every move, waiting impatiently for me to perform some miracle and get us all on the road to London. At that moment I hated each and every one of them for not being Felicity's twin.
Felicity had barred the door to her room so the only way to speak to her was by shouting. "Felicity!" I called. "Papa said to remind you that it was you who agreed to the engagement and you did it on your own accord. Calling him medieval and accusing him of forcing you into marriage is rather unfair. Mamma added that it was most unreasonable."
"Huh!" My sister's voice laughed back at me. "I did indeed agree to the marriage of my own accord and I am breaking it of my own accord. The accusation comes from the fact that he is not allowing me to end something I no longer want. And as for Mamma, how dare she call me unreasonable? Is it reasonable for me to bind myself to a man I never met and for whom I harbor no feelings? I am her first born daughter! Does she not want my happiness? How can she side with Papa on this matter? I was coerced into this engagement. I was tricked into it. If they had protected me back then we would not be in this situation. It is their parental duty to keep me from a most unfavorable match. Go and remind them of it, for it seems they have quite forgotten."
Felicity was considered the most eloquent of the family. She possessed a rich vocabulary and knew how to twist words and phrases to her advantage. It was an enviable talent, and one I currently hated her for. I had not the ability to reply in a similar manner and could only roll my eyes (an action she could not witness) and go back up the corridor to the drawing room.
"Well?" Papa asked in his deep voice as soon as I entered.
"Felicity says that she was coerced into a most unfavorable marriage and it is your duty to protect her from being trapped in it."
"Coerced?" My mother, Lady Mary, rose from her seat at my words. "How dare she say a thing like that? Coerced indeed! I will agree that Mrs. Winthorpe was quite persistent in persuading Felicity to accept the match, but I also remember that we advised Felicity not to rush into giving an answer. We asked her many, many times that day if she was willing to enter into an engagement with a man she had never met. We gave her an entire month to think the entire thing through. She was resolute in her decision. She said it was a good match and she wanted it."
"It is a good match," Papa added to Mamma's words. "James Winthorpe came well recommended not only by his mother, who was good friends with your Mamma, but also by his uncle General Isaac Winthorpe. Isaac and I were thick as thieves back in our day. Indeed, it ws Isaac who introduced me to young James while he was still studying at Oxford. I met him several times and found him to be an honest young man with no airs about him. But, no matter how much I approved of James Winthorpe, I never told Felicity she had to agree to become engaged with him. We tried hard to encourage her to at least wait until she met the man before agreeing to be his wife. This whole thing was her doing and she must stop blaming others. We Davenports always keep our word. Go and tell her so."
I felt their arguments were not enough to convince Felicity, but what could I do except go and deliver their message?
"Felicity, Papa and Mamma said that it's incorrect to say you were coerced. Mamma tried to get you to wait until you met Mr. Winthorpe, but you insisted on having your way. Papa also said that the Davenports always keep our word once we give it."
"I am the daughter of a Duke!" Felicity snapped back at me, her voice a little muffled thanks to the oak door that stood between us. "You would do well to remind Papa that to marry a Viscount is to marry beneath me. If I am to marry, it must be the same rank, or higher."
I returned to the drawing room. "Papa, Felicity said that as the daughter of a Duke it is beneath her to marry a viscount."
These words made Papa angry and he rose to his feet. "BENEATH her? BENEATH HER?"
My father was a former general in the king's army, he was tall with broad shoulders and a strong build. I watched him tower over me, his eyes burning with anger ad instinctively took a step back.
"She said she wants to marry someone of a higher rank." I softly added
"HIGHER?"
amma, who seemed be completely unmoved by Papa's outburst, reached over and put a hand on his arm. Papa took a deep breath as he realized anger would get him nowhere. He forced himself to laugh away his frustration before turning back to me. "The only rank that is higher than a duke is royalty. Why would royalty want to marry Felicity? Royalty usually looks to marry royalty."
"Then she wants to marry someone of the same rank."
"The same rank? And how many dukes does she think England boasts of? It's not as though they are growing on stones like mushrooms, waiting for eligible young ladies to come and pick them to be their husbands. The higher the rank, the more scarce they become. You tell that bratty daughter of mine that the Viscount of Hester is from a noble, old English family. They are spoken of very highly at court, and the late viscount, God rest his soul, was even knighted by King George himself. I will hear no more of this nonsense about marrying beneath her. She really should have thought it all through three years ago when she made the promise. Why wasn't it beneath her then?"
I turned to go but Mamma caught my arm. "Francesca, tell Felicity that if she does not come out of her room in five minutes we shall leave for London without her."
Mamma did not issue idle threats, and it was with dread that I departed from the room.
Halfway to the door I found a new obstacle. My siblings, tired of waiting, had blocked the road to my sister's chamber
"So, when are we going?"
"What is taking so long?"
"What did Papa say?"
"Why don't we just break down the door?"
"Is Felicity coming out?"
The voices all sounded out at once. I glared at the eleven sets of eyes and put my hands on my hips. "Why don't you go and ask her yourselves?"
"She won't listen to us."
"She only wants to talk to you."
"Come on, Francesca, think of a way to get her out."
I took deep breaths to calm myself. Why was everyone expecting so much of me? What did I have to do with any of this?
"Listen, there are eleven brains between all of you, put them together and come up with a way to get Felicity out of that silly room. It is not my responsibility any more than it is yours. I'm just the messenger!"
I brushed past the annoying crowd and came to the horrid door. "Felicity, Mamma says that if you don't come out within the next five minutes we will leave for London without you."
This statement produced a large crashing sound. Now I was thankful for the heavy oak that protected me from whatever large piece of ceramic Felicity had thrown at it.
"FINE! Leave me behind! Go to London and have Father present just you to the Court. Let's see what the gossip will have to say about our family then. People will want to know why the eldest daughter was left behind and I am sure they will find it plenty funny when they discover the true reason."
"Papa and Mamma could always just say that your health is far too delicate."
There was another smashing sound as another unfortunate ceramic dish was sent to its destruction. Who would have thought that my placid sister could suddenly become such a villain to pots?
"Do you think I can't get to London myself? And what of the servants? You think they won't gossip? You think there is no way to get the truth out if I want it out? Papa will be the laughing stock of the Court of St. James if he thinks he can just leave me behind only because I want to end an engagment and he wants me to keep it."
The heat rushed to my face. To think she had the nerve to use servants gossip against our family name. "You've read too many novels, Felicity!"
"HOW DARE YOU? What would you do if you were being forced into marriage with a man you had never met?"
"I wouldn't have allowed myself to get engaged in the first place."
"I was but a child back then."
"You were sixteen, Felicity, that is hardly a child. You had brains enough to understand what you were getting into. Mamma had so many conversations with you and you were still so adamant. You have danced to the tune, now it is time to pay the piper!"
"I'm not paying anything! And if Mamma and Papa want to have an old maid for an eldest daughter then so be it. I shall stay here and die of starvation. Go and tell them so, let's see how that sits with them."
A sigh escaped my lips. I did not want to go and deliver that message at all. Mamma would have a hissy fit and Papa might start shouting at me again. This argument was going nowhere and if we didn't strike some sort of compromise we would be stuck at Knightsbridge for the entire season. I was already nineteen, I could not delay my coming out any longer just because I had a sister who had exchanged her brains for pages of romance novels.
My mind raced as I came back to the drawing room. "Mamma, Papa, what if we were to speak to the new Viscount of Hester? Perhaps he is not so excited about this marriage either. It was all arranged by his parents while he was traveling abroad. If he does not want this union then we can break it off quietly and no one will know about it. More importantly, this arrangement might get Felicity out of her room so we can set off. If we leave within the next fifteen minutes we could still make it to London by nightfall."
Papa and Mamma exchanged glances.
"You do have a point," Papa gave in. "I had a letter from the Viscount yesterday saying he is in London for the season and he would like to discuss the marriage with me. Perhaps he wants to break it off as well."
"And just like Francesca said, it will buy us time."Mamma agreed. "Perhaps when Felicity has calmed down she will be a little more reasonable. Go and tell her, Francesca, the plan you have come up with."
At least someone in this family could be made to see reason. Truly, I had been blessed with such kind and attentive parents. Another father might have just broken down the door and dragged his daughter to the altar. Family prestige and family honor means everything, especially when you are so high in the peerage. Being the daughter of a duke can be both a blessing and a curse.
"Felicity, Papa said that if you come out of your room and come to London with us, he will speak to the Viscount about breaking off the engagement."
There was a silent spell and then I heard the sweetest sound in the world – the sound of the door being unbolted. It creaked open just a bit and Felicity's pretty face peeked out. "Did he say that truly?"
"He did."
"Wonderful! Splendid really. Who would have thought that a simple threat like that would be taken so seriously. If I had known a hunger strike would..."
"Felicity Davenport, you have delayed us long enough. We need to set out now or else we'll never make it to London by nightfall. I will remind you that it is winter and the days are short. Not to mention that we still have to decide who is going to sit with whom. Those carriages only fit four people each, which means there will be arguments and disagreements about the seating arrangements. It always takes forever for us to ready ourselves for even the smallest of trips. It's one of the reasons Papa never took us anywhere. So hurry up and let's be off."
My words hurt Felicity, I could tell by the hurt in her eyesm but I didn't care if she was offended at me. I turned and stormed out, my eleven siblings trailing behind. Just as I had predicted they were already squabbling about who would sit in which carriage. I was too tired to care about who my travel partners would be. My only condition was that I would not be in the same carriage with Felicity. I couldn't stand the sight of my twin sister at the moment.
