Walking with a Baron [EBOOK]

Chapter 1<br>

Clarissa
London, 1811
"What a bride you will make," Clarissa said to her sister as she finished fastening the buttons on the back of Claire's wedding gown. The empire-line dress that was gathered high on her sister's waist before flowing to the floor in pastel pink folds of silk was stunning, flattering Claire's figure perfectly, with tiny, ruched sleeves and a deep neckline.<br>
"Do you think he will like it?" Claire fussed, turning to the mirror and rearranging the silken sleeves roughly four times.<br>
"Like it? That man is devoted to you!" Clarissa said as she peered at her sister's reflection over her shoulder. "Quite frankly, you could turn up wearing nothing more than a rag, and I do believe that man would still be besotted." Her words brought laughter to her sister's cheeks.<br>
Where Claire was relatively short with pale fair hair, Clarissa was tall with strawberry blonde hair. Their most similar asset was their eyes; the hazel colour was very noticeable between them even at a distance, for they had such large and startling eyes.<br>
"I have never known a man like him," Claire said, giggling as she pressed a hand to her mouth.
"Why are you doing that?" Clarissa asked, pointing to the way that Claire touched her own lips.<br>
"Oh, I cannot tell you!" Claire said, laughing again.
"Do not be absurd. I am your sister. What possible secret could there be between us that you do not feel at liberty to share?" Clarissa asked, watching as her sister glanced across the room at the maid sent to help prepare Claire. Seeing the maid was far too busy in preparing the bouquet, Claire took the opportunity to lean towards Clarissa and whisper in her ear.<br>
"The Viscount kissed me last night," Claire said before leaning back and blushing greatly. "I was just thinking of it," she said as she touched her lips another time.
"Well, clearly I make a dreadful chaperone," Clarissa laughed at her own expense. "For I never even noticed it. When was this?"<br>
"You were looking out of the garden window at the foxes on the lawn," Claire explained as she turned back to the window. "Though why you should look for foxes in London, God only knows."<br>
Because the countryside is infinitely preferable to the town. I like any reminder of it.<br>
Clarissa kept the thought to herself. She did not wish to get into another debate with Claire about the virtues of the country on a day such as today. She took comfort in the fact that at least the Season was over, and soon she would be returning to the countryside, heading home at last. <br>
She would be away from the attention of suitors in London, away from the awfully busy events in assembly rooms, and home again, with her family and her closest friend in the world, Sarah. As a vicar's daughter, Sarah was hardly encouraged to join the London Season, so Clarissa couldn't wait to get back to her side.<br>
"You do realise this will be you soon," Claire said excitedly as she turned away from the mirror and hurried to pull on her shoes. Clarissa knelt on the floor to help her sister, taking the opportunity to hide her smile. "Father expects it, you know."<br>
"To be married? To one of those fops and dandies? Never! I'd rather be a spinster, and have my only company be cats or birds until I grow old and depart this life," Clarissa put on a dramatic voice, pulling more laughter from her sister.<br>
"Oh, Clarissa, you do make me laugh," Claire said, lifting her skirt to aid Clarissa in her work as she fastened her sister's shoes.<br>
"It is my one virtue," Clarissa admitted, secretly very thankful for it. She had been trained as a lady, just as her sisters Claire and Chloe had been, but in truth, she could not take to being proper so easily. <br>
She was sometimes called a wildling by her father, someone who infinitely preferred traipsing around the countryside to attending events in London. She knew her lack of propriety sometimes irked her father, but she was not so bothered. She would simply return his censure by making some kind of jest or witty statement, pulling laughter from others around her.<br>
"He still expects it, Clarissa," Claire's voice turned serious for a moment. "Soon, you will be here, in my place."<br>
"As I said, I do not wish to marry a dandy," Clarissa said, standing straight again.<br>
"Well, Stewart is hardly a dandy, is he?" Claire asked, turning to the mirror another time as she mentioned the Viscount by his first name.<br>
"Well..." Clarissa paused, leaving Claire to make her own conclusions. In the mirror, she could see Claire widen her eyes before turning back around and tapping Clarissa across the arm in mock reprimand. "Striking your sister on her wedding day? What a notion!" she pretended to be injured, eliciting even more laughter from her sister. "Out of fear of being struck again, I will confess my true opinion to you."<br>
"Pray, tell," Claire said, gesturing to her.<br>
"I think the Viscount is a fine man indeed," Clarissa said, turning her sister back to the mirror as she fussed with her hair, to ensure the last few pale curls were perfectly in place. "He may be far too fond of London for my liking, and he thought a larch was a kind of dish rather than a tree the other―"<br>
"Not everyone knows trees and plants as well as you do," Claire pointed out, rolling her eyes.<br>
"However, I like him wholeheartedly, because he has chosen to marry you," Clarissa said, watching as Claire smiled in the reflection. "What greater proof could there be of his good taste and opinion? Indeed, any man who professes he is in love with you must have a fine mind."
"You are too kind to me," Claire said, turning back and taking her sister's hand. The humour in the room dropped away as Claire leaned towards her sister and kissed her on the cheek. "I cannot tell you how happy I am," she murmured, holding their embrace.<br>
"Then I am delighted for you," Clarissa said as she held their embrace too. She worked hard to keep her smile in place, for though she was overjoyed for Claire, she was going to miss her greatly. Soon, their acquaintance would be reduced to letters and occasional visits. It felt so wrong when they had grown up, side by side, living in and out of each other's pockets, and now they were to be apart. "I cannot tell you how much I will miss you," Clarissa confessed.<br>
"As I will you," Claire said, stepping back. "But we shall see each other constantly, yes?" Clarissa nodded, though she could not agree audibly. The intent was there, but in practice, Claire would soon have a new family to think of. "You must simply get married yourself; then we will have much to talk about in our letters, and you will not feel lonely at home."<br>
"Oh, this insistence on marriage! You are growing as bad as Father," Clarissa said, stepping away and crossing the room toward the maid, who proffered her the bouquet. "Thank you," she said before bringing the bouquet back to her sister.<br>
"Were all of your suitors really so dreadful this Season?" Claire asked, taking the bouquet and fiddling with a few of the petals for a moment.<br>
"They were. Awful!"<br>
"You do them a great injustice," Claire said, looking up sharply from her bouquet. "I saw many men be kind to you and ask you to dance."<br>
"Yes, but they were only kind for their own purposes," Clarissa confessed as she took her sister's shoulder and began to steer her toward the door. "They wished to know more about the size of my dowry, rather than entertaining any conversation with me."<br>
"Oh dear, did none of them know what a larch tree was either?" Claire asked with a smile.<br>
"No, they did not," Clarissa said, continuing with a jesting tone, though she knew it to be the truth. "You should have seen the Earl of Sussex's face when I talked of sweet chestnuts. He thought I spoke of confectionery!" <br>
Her distraction had worked well, and she drew another laugh from her sister. "Now, no more talking about marriage for me. Today is all about your wedding. If we do not get you to the church soon, we will have the poor Viscount knocking at the door, begging to know what has happened to you."<br>
"He will wait for me," Claire said, with a kind of wistful tone in her voice.<br>
"I do not doubt he would."<br>
* * *
"Have you ever seen a couple smile more?" Eleanor Ramsey said, leaning towards Clarissa.<br>
"Mother, I am sure many such couples smile so on their wedding day," Clarissa whispered back to her, just as the ceremony was coming to a close.<br>
"Believe me, not all do," Mrs Ramsey sighed. "I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see your sister marry for love."<br>
"I know. Me too."<br>
"Clarissa smiled and watched her sister for a minute. Claire was standing at the front, with the bouquet in one hand and the Viscount's hand in the other.<br>
Viscount Stewart Enderby had walked into their lives at the very beginning of the Season. From the day he met Claire, he was besotted with her and had worked tirelessly since with the clear intent of making Claire his wife. Tall, with fair hair and blue eyes, he was traditionally handsome, and staring down at Claire beside him, with a smile big enough to make his cheeks ache.<br>
"If he continues to smile, he may damage his face for good," Clarissa whispered to her mother. Mrs Ramsey laughed softly before her husband, seated on her other side, looked at the two of them. One silent glare from Clarissa's father made her fall quiet.<br>
Mr Luke Ramsey was a wealthy businessman indeed, who split his time between the countryside and London. Where he was strict in business, he was strict in his personal life too, and he demanded good discipline from all three of his daughters. It was a rule Clarissa was always happy to test.<br>
Once her father turned his attention back to the front of the church, Clarissa felt a small tug on her arm. She turned to see her younger sister, just seventeen and two years her junior, looking up at her.<br>
"It will be your turn soon," she said excitedly, bobbing on her toes.<br>
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Clarissa moaned, looking away from her sister.<br>
"Do you not want to be married?" Chloe asked, her voice full of shock. Like a mini version of Claire, Chloe had the same pale hair and small stature.<br>
"Not to any of these gentlemen," Clarissa glanced around the room. Amongst the guests, she could see plenty of gentlemen on the Viscount's side of the church with whom she had danced over the Season. Including them, there was one particular gentleman; he had called many times at the house, until Clarissa had made it abundantly clear she was not interested.<br>
"What is so wrong with them?" Chloe asked. Her voice was a little louder than a whisper, prompting their father to crane his head around his wife and offer them another warning look.<br>
At once, Clarissa and Chloe snapped their heads to the front, pretending to be completely absorbed in the prayer the vicar was intoning. He was going on at some length, and though he'd uttered the word 'amen' more than once, he seemed to keep going, as was traditional in wedding ceremonies. Apparently, Claire and the Viscount hadn't noticed. They were too busy smiling ridiculously at one another.<br>
Once Mr Ramsey stood straight again, looking away from them, Clarissa felt at liberty to whisper to her sister.<br>
"Do you think this particular prayer will ever end?" she asked.<br>
"Apparently not," Chloe agreed. "I'm intrigued. Why aren't any of the suitors you have met in London good enough?"<br>
"It is not that they are not good enough. It is that we are too different," Clarissa rushed to explain in a harried whisper. "I do not want to be married for the sake of comfort, or for the sake of a suitor merely getting his hands on my dowry. I would like something else. I would like..." she faltered as her eyes rested on Claire and the Viscount together. Claire's hand was so tightly grasped in the Viscount's now that their fingers were entwined.
I want that.<br>
"Yes?" Chloe prompted her on.<br>
"I would like to marry for love, Chloe," she said, feeling a deep breath leave her in a sigh. "Is the idea so remarkable?"<br>
"You and I know very well how lucky Claire is," Chloe said with a soft shake of her head. "Not everyone is so fortunate."<br>
"True," Clarissa agreed, just as her father looked around his wife another time, his brown eyes narrowed on them. "If looks could kill..." Clarissa whispered one last thing, watching as Chloe tried her best to stifle her laughter behind her hand.<br>
"Ladies and gentlemen," the vicar called their attention to the front. "It is my pleasure to announce that we have joined this couple in holy matrimony. Please, help me welcome Viscount Stewart Enderby and Viscountess Claire Enderby."<br>
Clarissa was just as eager in her applause as anyone else. The soft kiss the Viscount placed on his new bride's lips made a blush erupt across her cheeks as he stepped back again. Clarissa thought of the moment in their chamber that morning where Claire had touched her own lips, clearly thinking of that kiss.<br>
What must that be like? To love someone so much that the barest touch from them sends you doolally?
As the newly married couple walked down the aisle, the congregation hurried to follow them. Mr and Mrs Ramsey were two of the first, with Clarissa and Chloe walking closely behind. The aisle was strewn with rose petals, and as they stepped beyond the church door, the path was lined with the same flowers.<br>
Claire paused at the end of the path.<br>
"Everyone, gather round!" she called happily, gesturing for people to bundle behind her.<br>
"What's going on?" Clarissa asked.<br>
"I think she intends to throw the bouquet," Chloe said excitedly. "It's a new thing based on an old tradition. Apparently, whoever catches it will be blessed with luck and be next to wed."<br>
Clarissa was abruptly bumped from side to side, swamped by ladies who were apparently mad with the idea of catching these few flowers.<br>
"If you will excuse me, Chloe, I think I'd rather be somewhere else," Clarissa hurried through the crowd. Well, she tried to. She didn't get very far, as the other ladies were packed so tightly.<br>
She heard the moment Claire threw the bouquet, though she didn't see it, as a yelp went up from the ladies and calls followed for the flowers to be caught. Clarissa felt herself pushed to the side, and the ladies swelled like the tide in one direction, trying to catch it.<br>
That's when Clarissa felt something against her face, soft and spiky, of rose petals and sharp leaves. She threw her hands up, trying to push the thing away from her face, only to realise that she had the bouquet in her hands.<br>
"It seems Miss Clarissa Ramsey is to be wed next," one of the Viscount's friends called.<br>
Clarissa stilled completely, looking up from the bouquet to the other guests around her. More than one of the suitors she had danced with that year were gazing her way, their expressions completely readable of their intent. If Clarissa could have gotten away with it, she would have dropped the bouquet; as it was, she turned and thrust it into Chloe's hands instead.<br>
"Do you not want it?" Chloe asked, still laughing as she took the bouquet.<br>
"No, I do not," Clarissa explained in a rush, watching as many of the other ladies gathered thrust their bottom lips out in frustration. They could have the bouquet for all she cared.<br>
I will not be marrying anytime soon.<br>