Daughter of the Rebellion

Chapter 39

"Did you have something on your mind, Cecily, or did you just have a sudden urge to drink tea?" Jeremy teased.

The idea of a regular tea time was a completely foreign concept to Jeremy. To his mind, you only drank tea if you weren't feeling well or as a possible way to wind down before bed. Sitting around in the middle of the day with fancy little porcelain cups of lemon tea for no good reason, was downright silly to my brother.

Actually, I noticed that my siblings weren't very comfortable staying indoors for long periods at all. It was probably the result of living in the woods for the last several years. I couldn't blame them, but they needed to get used to the idea of living inside like human beings again.

"Civilized people generally enjoy each others company over food and beverages, Jeremy," I said. "I suggest that you practice the tradition if you ever intend to find a wife."

Stephen chuckled and Jeremy shot him an irritated glance.

I'd been primarily focusing on Keira's love life, but I had been making plans for the boys as well. Of course there was the usual nonsense with the upper class to get around, but my brothers wouldn't care about the classes one little bit. They were both tall and good looking, with wonderful personalities and they worked hard. They would have their pick of any number of women from what I could tell. Martha informed me that Stephen and Jeremy had been the prime topic of conversation among our female servants as well as others who had come in contact with them, and I know that there were any number of girls in the middle class who had been eyeing them.

Most of the upper class would be off limits to them, thanks to the ridiculous rules of Society, but that was probably for the best considering the types of girls typically found in the upper class. Although Richard had informed me of a loophole for Jeremy. Since he was now a colonel in the army, he was respectable enough by Society's standards for a girl of the upper class to marry. It would likely have to be a girl who had several siblings, and whose father was more like Richard than the typical men of that class, but it could be done.

Of course, I already had a few girls in mind.

Stephen probably wouldn't be allowed to marry a girl from the upper class, but I knew he'd appreciate a middle or lower class girl much more anyway. He would want someone who wasn't afraid of work and who wouldn't mind living far away from Society.

I had a few girls picked out for him as well. The party tomorrow evening couldn't come quickly enough.

Stephen wasn't complaining about being confined to the sitting room with Richard, Charlotte, and myself on a beautiful day, but I had a feeling that he had an idea of why I might have requested his and Jeremy's presence while Keira was occupied with the children outside. We were going to have a talk, and this time, I was getting some real answers.

I waited a few more moments until Martha appeared at the door with a nod, assuring me that Keira was nowhere near the sitting room.

Somehow the children discovered that she was an excellent archer. It was a completely novel and exciting idea to them and they relentlessly begged her for a demonstration. Normally, I might have discouraged my daughter's interest in that sort of thing, but at the moment, it provided the perfect opportunity for a private discussion.

"I'd like to discuss our sister." I met Jeremy's eyes and then Stephen's. "Specifically, the man you've both been incessantly teasing her about."

They looked at each other uneasily, clearly not ready to divulge the man's name.

"Don't even think about keeping me in the dark," I warned. "The way you two have been behaving, you'd think they were practically on their honeymoon."