Authors: Nichole Matthews
“
First,
I
must post
my
letters today
if they are to be received in time
.
I am inviting Chloe and Freya and
it is my express wish that they arrive within a fortnight, p
recisely when Pa
r
ker’s friends will be arriving
.” Poppy’s lips curved
and she crossed her arms over her chest in a smug manner with her left brow raised
.
“His exceedingly
handsome, unquestionably
eligible, i
m
mensely
wealthy
, and t
i
tled
friends.”
“How fortuitous.
” Adele beamed
.
The
lace
cap
,
covering her silver hair,
fluttered as she
slanted an assessing glance at Poppy.
Still very
attractive, she stood
head and shoulders above the twins
.
Most days she spent in the sitting room on the chaise with a book
or at the
school
she s
ponsored
,
entertaining the children
and playing with the babies
.
Her
generous
sponso
r
ship
was what
kept the
school
running so well. Her father had
left a
substantial
unentailed
property near the edge of A
shford that she had converted into
a
school
for girls
. Her
determ
i
nation to remain a confirmed spinster
left her without children of her own and sh
e was able to
still
indulge her nurturing nature by taking care of th
o
se lost little girls.
“Who has Parker
invi
t
ed?”
“He would not say.”
Poppy chewed on her thumbnail
, her eyes narrowed
. “In fact, he was being decidedly secretive.”
“Your little spies were of no help?” Piper’s lips twitched
, she sat
in
the
chintz
covered
spindly-legged
chair with tiny re
d roses and pink stripes. Parker swore that chair looked like it w
ould
topple over
the minute someone sat down
. He refused to sit in it, positive that he would end up in the floor.
This was the most feminine room on the lower level of the house. Their father had insisted that there be some indication that a woman lived in the house when guests a
r
rived.
Th
is room also housed the
final portrait of their mother
. It
hung above the pink
veined
marble fir
e
place.
“No
ne
at all,” she said with frustration clear in her voice. “It’s as if he has deliberately kept his plans to himself.”
She harrumphed
, circling the rose velvet settee.
Piper asked, “What has you
in such a lather
? You can have friends visit at
any time
. What is so sp
e
cial about now?”
“
Because Piper,
I’m at a loss.
” She threw her hands
up
in the air
.
“
We
have been out for three years
.
Three years!
Chloe and Freya have been out the same.
” Poppy glanced at her twin.
“Why shouldn’t we endeavor to
snare
one
of the rakes
Parker has invited
while they are
co
m
fortably ensconced
at Rosebriar
for a
fortnight?
I have yet to find another gentleman in the
ton
worth
y of my
co
n
sider
ation
.
”
“Perhaps you’ve set your standards to
o
high?” Adele interjected drolly.
“Impossible,” Poppy retorted. “Why must I settle for an inadequate husband? It is a
f
ter all for a lifetime.”
“Is
Parker
aware that your devious scheming involves his closest friends
?”
Piper i
n
quired
with a smirk.
“Of course
,
he knows
we
are inviting friends
.
”
Poppy
grinned like a cat with a canary. “
Must
he be burdened with
ev
ery tiny detail?
He has so much to dwell on a
l
ready.
”
Piper snorted,
“Are you planning on marrying one
of these men
?”
“
Perhaps.” Poppy shrugged. “It is
as good a plan as any.
”
They were
beaut
ies
, after
all and she knew i
t was
still
a wonder
to
even
the
P
atronesses
of Almack
’
s
that neither twin
had been
snatched up during their
very
first season.
About to
reach their
twentieth
birthday
they
were
both
determined to choo
se only their true love match.
“Anything is possible
.
”
Poppy ha
r
rumphed
.
“A houseful of
England’s finest
rakes
would be the
perfect environment to find a husband.”
S
he tapped her chin thoughtfully.
“And
our
competition would definitely be smal
l
er.”
“Hmm
—
that is tru
e.” Piper
cocked
her
brow. “They are
definitely
not the usual gentl
e
men we
would
run into at Almack’s.”
“Reformed rakes do make the best husbands
,” Adele
murmured
as she w
rapp
ed
her
I
n
dian
silk shawl
more closely
around her shoulder
s
.
Miss Harris agreed
with a nod
.
“Exactly so.”
“How
would either of you
know?”
Poppy covered a giggle. She found their observ
a
tions quite comical considering neither of them had
ever been married
.
Adele shot
Miss Harris a speaking glance
. “We’ve been around long enough to hear plenty of stories.”
“Well
,
I can tell you that I
have
met enough of the
usual
gentlemen at Almack’s to last me a lifetime.
”
Poppy grimaced.
“You’ve only had t
hree
seasons, darling,” their
aunt,
replied.
“Besides, you
are
the ones that
insist on turning down every eligible gentleman that asks for your hand.
”
She wagged her fi
n
ger reprimanding in Poppy’s direction.
“T
hree
Seasons
ha
ve
been more than enough.”
Poppy groaned.
Perhaps this
was not
a well
thought out plan
after all
, but Poppy felt that she had
to do something. Time was passing by. Granted it was pleasurable time, but without a
husband,
she would never be able to have chi
l
dren a
nd sh
e truly desired
to have a family of her own.
“Fiddle!
” Miss
Harris
exclaimed.
“
Poppy you do realize that j
ust because these
men
are
going to be
at Rosebriar
this sum
mer
, doesn’t mean they are
going to
jump at the chance to
marry one of us
.”
“
It doesn’t mean they won’t either
.
”
Poppy waved her hand
dismissively
.
“
Have you ever met a man who believes they are
ready for marriage?”
Adele
que
s
tioned
with a chuckle
. “It
’
s
a
woman’s job to make him ready.”
“And
how do you suggest we do that?” P
iper
questioned.
Adele’s shrewd gaze traveled over
the twins
. “First let me see thes
e gentlemen and then I will contribute to the
plan.
I want to be assured that you are not aligning yourself with a bracket-faced blunderbuss.
”
Piper glanced at Poppy with a grin.
“I can tell you this,
” Poppy
said with her arms
crossed determinedly over chest.
“Once I’ve found him, I’ll do whatever is necessary to get him to the altar.”
The absence of a husband definitely was not for a lack of trying on what Piper caustically called the fops and fribbles of the upper echelon of society.
Both were
determined to wait for a man that would appreciate
t
he
i
r intelligence as well as
thei
r beauty, a man full of passion.
“I know I refuse to lower my standards.” Piper glanced at her.
Poppy nod
d
ed
.
“Indeed.”
Her smile widened as she pondered the adventure that lay before her.
“Let me know when you have completed all your scheming.”
Miss Harris
smiled as she
sat at the escritoire
waiting patiently for her instructions. She pulled
out a
quill and a
sheet
of paper.
“What would you like me to write down?”
Poppy
began compiling
a
list on her dainty fingers
, counting each one off
until
a
soft scratch at
the door
interrupted
.
“Yes, my lady
?”
Dobbins inquired
.
Dobbins had been
the
Peregrine family
butler
for forty-five years ever since their father had been a little boy.
Tall, thin and gray, he epitomized the typical English butler. He took great pr
ide in the running of Rosebriar, n
ary a spot on
the silver or heads would roll.
There was little he did not know about the Peregrine’s and even les
s that he would not do for them.
“Dobbins, we are in need of sustenance
.
We are planning a party
.
”
Poppy’s
cheeks glow
ed
with anticipation
.