Ruin Me Please (42 page)

“Poppy, w
ait
,
” Piper called.

Turning, Poppy
groaned as she
watched
her sister r
u
n
ning
lightly towards her.

“I was just informed that Agnes has arrived.  She is a day early
.
”  Taking a deep
breath,
she continued with a wide
smile.  “I am g
oing
to
head back to
the house.
”
 
She grinned
,
wav
ing
her fingers.  “We will meet everyone back at the lake in a little while
,
”
s
he called, running
ha
p
pily back to the house.

Chloe
rushed
to Poppy’s side linking their arms. 
She
took a deep br
eath and closed
her eyes for a moment.  “Ahhh…this
is so
magnificent.
” 
Opening her
eyes,
she surveyed the oasis in front of her.  “I never get tired of this view.”  The water glittered with the bright rays of sun fi
l
tering through the tall trees that flanked the banks of the lake.

Georgie took off running
and barking after the ducks, t
he loud quacking provok
ing
him even further.
Poppy giggled affectionately.

Declan
gazed
down at her for a lo
ng moment, l
onging to kiss her lips again, but he would
have to
settle for
lift
ing her hand to his lips, pressing
a warm moist kiss to the inside of her wrist.  R
eluctantly r
eleasing her
hand,
he headed t
o
ward the men.

The tree lined path to the lake wound through the woods for about half a mile opening up to the carp filled water
a
favorite fishing spot for most of the male visitors
to Rosebriar.  Tackle
supplied for any of the men who wanted to try their
hand at fishing, which by the looks of it all of them did
.
  They
quickly gathered up the
equipment
and wandered to the far end of the lake for ‘quiet’
, s
tating that the excessively l
oud talking and giggling from the
women
would scare away all of the fish.
 

Georgie
, turning traitor,
fol
lowed
eagerly
after
the men barking and nipping at their heels
,
h
is tail wagg
ing
happily.

Like a rainbow that appears after a storm
t
he
women
in their brightly colored dresses situated themselves comfortably on the sun-kissed rocks
, t
wirl
ing their
parasols of yellow, blue, green and pin
k creating a soothing breeze to
ward off the
rising
heat of the day.  Each co
n
tent to
sit quietly, at least for a moment
and watch the row of handsome men before them catch their so-called supper
.

The lake was perfect
setting
for thei
r outing.  Benches
strategically
placed around
the lake for added comfort.  This morning, a
white canvas pavilion,
hamme
red into place near the lake to shield
the
food from the heat of the day, and finally b
ags with jugs of lemonade and beer floated i
n the water to keep cool.

Lowering her frivolous parasol and removing her ridiculously wide-brimmed hat, Poppy lifted her face to the sun and sighed happily.  Her curls now re
vealed,
artfully piled on her head
with the appearance that
the
y could topple at any moment with the
soft breeze teas
ing
the
m. 
Everything was going splendidly, she could
not
have asked for a more pe
r
fect day.

“Poppy, y
ou will freckle
,
”
Miss
Harris,
admonished
.  “First thing you must do
when we return to the house
is immediate
ly apply your Denmark Lotion.”

“I abso
lutely do not care, Miss Harris,” Poppy responded in a singsong tone.
 
“
And
I a
b
solutely refuse to put that vile cream
upon
my face
,
”
s
he languorously replied
.
“
Besides, I am in heaven
.
  The sun feels magnificent
on my face
.  Too bad Auntie didn’t feel up to coming.  She would love
lounging in
this
bri
l
liant
sun.
”

“I believe she stayed back to take advantage of the quiet,”
Freya
replied.

“You will never find a husband Poppy if you do not follow societies dictates.  You know how men
absolutely
abhor
women with freckles
,
”
Miss Harris firmly announced.  “The truth is the truth.”  She made a harrumphing sound.

“Miss Harris,” Freya smiled
.
“I do
n’t
believe
you need
worry ab
out whether a man will be enamored
with
Poppy’s freckles.” 

“I do believe that Poppy has already made a conquest
,
” Chloe interjected,
glanc
ing t
o
wards
the men fishing.

“Why did you not say anything to me
,
Poppy?”  Miss Harris cried excitedly.  “Who is it?  I was not e
ven aware you had met anyone?”

“Miss
Harris, quit being such a goose.
”  Poppy giggled.

“It
i
s Hawksley
,
”
Chloe whispered loudly.

“No
,”
Miss Harris exclaimed.  “You have not said a single word to me.”
Her hand pressed to her heart. 
“He is a truly handsome man
,
is
he not?  Well worth catching.”

She looked
across the lake.  Smiling, she studied him.  “I would have to agree that he is quite attractive.  I suddenly find myself at
tracted to big
,
strapping men.”

“I completely agree
.
”
Chloe sighed dramatically.  “She could not do any better and he is a
d
uke as well.
”  She grinned.  “He is quite a catch and Poppy was able to snap hi
m up before the season
even began
.
”

“He’s definitely not a fop or a fribble,” Freya added.

“You ladies
are being ridiculous
. 
Hawksley and I
have no understanding.
”  She snorted
, looking up at Georgie’s persistent barking, “Oh look, here comes Piper and Agnes
.
” 
S
he rose to greet them.

Agnes
had the appearance of
a little gray mouse. 
Her
face consisted of a little pointy nose and chin. 
She was thin and pale which she
emphasized by the copious amounts of plain gray cloth that seemed to cover her from head to toe.  She
did have
such a lovely dispos
i
tion
, though
and she had potential to b
e such a beautiful creature
, if she would only add a little co
l
or.

“Agnes
,
” Poppy
greeted her as she
took her hand.  “We have all been awaiting your arr
i
val.  How happy we
are that you
are finally here.”
 
Poppy
smiled
.
“
Did you have a pleasant trip?”

“Oh, to be sure
,
Poppy
, y
ou are always such a dear.”  Agnes smiled serenely
.
“We were blessed with lovely weather the whole way.”  Looking up, her face puckered worriedly.  “
But I fear I may have br
ought rain with me
,
though.”

“D
on’t
fret, my dear.  We have plenty to do indoors
if it should choose to rain
.”  Poppy took her arm.  “You must come
and
join the rest of us.  Chloe and Freya are here as well.” 
She patted
her hand affectionately.
  “Besides, you’re just in time for the festival
at the school and I know how much you like charities.
”
Poppy looked at her with a
tranquil
smile.

“Oh
, yes please.
”  Agnes smiled brightly.  Interestingly enough there was not a timid bone in her body.
   “I’ll do anything you ask of me
, such sweet little girls
.”

“Ladies
, l
ook who has arrived
,
”
Poppy proclaimed.

All the
women
greeted Agnes with friendly enthusiasm as Agnes situated herself on one of the rocks.

***

Declan spent more time playing fetch with Georgie and sneaking glances at Poppy from
across the lake
than he did fishing
.  He was
unable to keep his eyes from her longer than a few moments
. 
“Who is the new
arrival
?”

Peyton turned quickly and almost stumbled as his gaze met t
he familiar gray figure of
Agnes
Aldebourne
.  “Oh
,
t
-t-
hat is Agn
es Aldebourne
,
” he
st
ammered.  “Martin Aldebourne’s
daughter
,
s
he is Pi
p
er’s dearest
friend.”

“I suppose the more
the merrier.”  Declan smiled,
look
ing
back across the lake.

“Definitely
,” Seymour
agreed
.
“As long as it is of the female persuasion
, I don’t care
.”
He winked to no one in particular.

“Seymour, I swear
.
”  Parker chuckled softly.  “You would think that you were an untried schoolboy just waiting for a glimpse of a
ladies
ankle.
  Not one of the most notorious rake
s
in all of England
.
”

Seymour raised his brows and stated drolly, “Me?  Untried?  Please!”  He snorted
.
“I just love women.  All women
.  You are just jealous of my wicked reputation.”

“Oh yes
,
Seymour
,
”
Parker replied
in a conciliatory manner.  “I am completely green with envy.” 
He rolled
his eyes,
cast
ing
his line once again.  “Why do
you
not apply your efforts to catching a fish instead of trying to reel in every woman you se
t your eyes
upon?
”