Ruin Me Please (3 page)

“
You know
Auntie Adele is always agreeable to
house
guests
.” 
Poppy
leaned on the edge of his desk
rather smugly
.
  “Would you like me to fetch her to verify?” 

“That won’t be necessary
, minx
.”  Parker frowned, looking
down at Georgie
who
begg
ed
for attention at his feet.  He looked back up
and rolled his eyes heavenward.
 

Poppy was all
practiced
innocence when she
went in for the kill.  “Surely
you would not begrudge your dearest
sister a few friends to help ease the dreariness of the country over the summer?” 
Poppy playfully
b
att
ed
her
eyelashes,
her hands
clasped demurely in front of her
.

“A couple of your friends, a couple of Piper’s friends, a couple of Peyton’s friends and I
can only
assume
that you’ve made allowances for me
to in
vite a couple of my own
acquain
t
ances
?
”
  He paused for effect
.

Poppy nodded her head in agreement.

“
Will there be no peace at Rosebriar this summer?
”  He asked with a hint
of
mock
sa
r
casm
.

With a wrinkled brow
, Poppy snorted
a decidedly unladylike sound
.
“
When has there ever been peace
at Rosebriar?” 

“Touch
é
.” 
Parker
saluted, sighing
melodramatically.

“Parker?”
  Poppy sidled closer.

“
Poppy you have
already
concocted some devious scheme and
assuredly
made
some
sly
arrangements during the season
without bothe
r
ing to consult with me
,” h
e said w
ith his dark winged brow raised.
“
A
nd now you expect me to fall in line obediently
like one of your faithful minions
.
”

She dimpled at his speech.
 
“Oh Parker,
how can you say that. 
I would never do an
y
thing without your express permission.”

He
tapped the delightful imperfection in her cheek, then
shrugg
ed his shoulders as if r
e
signed.
“For
all I know your acquaintances
are
in their traveling coaches
as we speak.
  Or have they
a
l
ready
been
secreted
away
in the attics?
”

“
Nonetheless
,
”
s
he prevaricated, c
harmingly
wrinkl
ing
her freckled nose
.
“
I have been made aware that you have recently posted invitations to
a
few
of your
own bosom
friends
who I b
e
lieve are set to arrive
in a fortnight.”

“I should have known.
”
  H
e rolled his eyes once again.

She circled P
arker like a hawk after a mouse. 
“Mrs. Hastings advised me of her shopping expedition to fill the larder for all of your big, st
rong and obviously hungry guests
.”

“
Am I to have no privacy in my own home?  Am I not allowed any secrets from my meddlesome siblings?
And you.  Especially you
,
m’
dear.  W
hen
the
entire household
is
wrapped around your little finger
groveling at your feet in enchanted anticipation of doing your bi
d
ding
?” 
He
wiggled his li
t
tle finger in the air, ending
his speech with a harumph sound.

“Nonsense
,” Poppy said with a serious look
on her face. 

Parker blew out his
pent up breath
and conceded
,
“
F
ine
, f
ine
.
”
He crossed
his arms
ligh
t
l
y over
his chest
. 
Smiling secretly, after all he always gave in
when it came to his siblings
. 
An
y
way, their creative groveling amused him i
m
mensely. 

Poppy
bit back a grin
but her eyes spoke of mischief
.

“I suppose,” he said with a slight shrug
as if he had no choice
, “
a couple of
your
friends
would not overly inconvenience me
,
”
h
e
drawled
with an
indulgent
smile
. 

“Of course
you were only teasing
.
” 
Laughter lit her voice as she
went around the desk and threw her arms around his broad shoulders
.
“
You are
the most darling
, wonderful
brother in all of En
g
land!
”

“Only England?” 
Parker leaned over and p
laced a
kiss
on her
forehead.
“Don’t do it too brown
or I might change my mind.”

Poppy pulled and
looked up at him.
“
I give you my
word;
you
will hardly
notice
my dearest friends at all. 
Besides, y
ou wil
l
either
be
closeted away
in the
Billiards
room or hors
e
back riding
or imbibing
excessive amounts of brandy
.
”
  S
he laughed
skipp
ing
lightly
away as
he swatted at her
.
“
I knew you would not want
my dearest friends
to be disappointed.” 
She fi
n
ished
with a
playful light spa
r
kl
ing
in her eyes.

Poppy
called out as she dashed from Parker’s study
, “Miss Harris, come q
uickly.
I
am unable to
move forward
with my plans
without you
r
much-needed
assistance.”

Poppy’s canine
,
Georgie
,
followed obediently behind
. 

Miss Harris
walked
rapidly
down the stairs.
“Whatever is the matter
,
Poppy?”

Miss Aurora Harris
started as the twin’s governess and then
continued
as their Aunt A
d
ele’s companion. 
Moreover,
s
he was
the perfect
companion
,
lively
, knowledgeable, and agre
e
able in most things. 

With all the ruckus in the hallway,
P
iper poked her head ou
t of the library, push
ing
up her gold-rimmed spectacles
as
she inquired of her twin
, “What
ever is the matter
, Poppy
?
  It sounds as if an entire regiment has bombarded Rosebriar.”

Piper was more bookish
.
I
n fact
,
she was currently working on plans to start her own women’s literary clu
b in London for the next season, v
ery enterprising to be sure.  She
believed that young wome
n
desired intellectual pursuits and not just the
endless rounds of frivolous e
n
tertainments.  Women should be able to expand their minds as well
as their social graces
.

Poppy reached down and scooped
Georgie
into her arms
feather
ing
kisses on the top of his head. 

“Oh
,
make haste
,
”
Poppy
cried ushering
Miss Harri
s
unceremoniously
into the sitting room.
  “I be
lieve we sho
uld partake of tea and cakes while
we
make
plan
s
, don’t you?” 

“Of course, dear,” Miss Harris complied
.  She sat
primly;
hands folded in her lap and waited
.  “What
has you in such a ti
z
zy
?”

Poppy st
opped in the center of the
Rose Room
and announced
,
“A
untie,
Miss Harris,
we are going to have a house party.”

Adele Peregrine
,
their father’s only
sister
, was reclining on a
chaise
.  She had lived at Rosebriar
ever since her betrothed
died
during a botched wager. 
It was a
ll quite
tragic, t
hrown from his horse
breaking his neck. 
After that, she swore
she would never marry
and she never did
.  Now in her early fifties
,
she considered herself a
happily
confirmed spinster
.   I
t was her belief that
one was
afforded
true love
only
on
ce in their
life
and s
o
far,
in the Peregrine
hist
o
ry
that philosophy rang true.  The third Marquis of Ashford designed Rosebriar for his bride-to-be Lady Rosamond Sutton.   
Unfortunately,
soon after, she died while giving birth to their only son.  He chose to remain unmarried for the rest of his life.  Poppy’s father never remarried after the
sudden
death of their mother and Aunt Adele swore that there would never be a
n
other for her.  Poppy hoped that the same would ring true for her
, except for the dying part
.
  She longed for a grand love match, one that poets would write about for generations.
Poppy was aware that it was a
silly
notion, but could find no fault in
drea
m
ing.

Poppy
tugged the rose corded bell pull
and continued talking
. 
“
I will be unable to
a
c
complish all of this planning on an empty stomach
.
”