As Oscar swirled the brandy around the bottom of his glass, he reflected on the events of that day.

How pleasant it had been to glimpse the old Emily—only for their time to be ruined by her careless actions.

No, that was a lie. Something had spooked her earlier in the clearing. She had closed up like an oyster protecting its pearl from the perils of the wild sea—and that was how she had stayed for the rest of the day, avoiding him as if he were trying to steal her precious pearl.

Oscar drained the last of the amber liquid, then as he rose from the high-backed leather chair, the library door opened. He ignored the intruder and poured himself another drink. Except this time adding an extra glass.

"Dare I ask what we are celebrating?" Henry asked as Oscar handed him the other glass.

"Not celebrating my good man. Drowning one's sorrows."

"How very dramatic of you Oscar," Henry said with a roll of his eyes. "What happened?"

Henry had been out on estate business with his father for most of the day, leaving Oscar to wallow in self pity as Emily ignored him and Cecily bored him.

"I had a very interesting exchange with Miss Hollyford this morning—"

"Emily." Henry unhelpfully interjected.

"Oh no, she insists I call her Miss Hollyford," Oscar said as he sat back down in the oversized chair, next to the roaring fire.

"What did you do?" Henry rolled his eyes once more and joined him in the chair opposite.

"Stop doing that, Henry, and I do not know. One minute we were laughing, I innocently complimented her beauty and then the next, she was running away."

"Ah."

"What do you mean, 'ah'?" Oscar asked with a raised brow.

"Well, any man and his dog can see Mrs Andrews has intentions for you and her daughter, and I dare say, Emily knows not to bite the hand that feeds her."

Oscar pondered this for a moment. It was not as if he were proposing marriage. He had simply complimented an old friend. Honestly, the ladies in his life sometimes felt more trouble than they were worth. He set his glass down and rubbed small circles on his temple.

"I should have listened to my mother and never come. She warned me something like this could happen."

"Don't be so hysterical, cousin. If you had not come, then who would have provided me with such splendid entertainment," Henry said as he tried not to laugh.

"Don't be so facetious, Henry. I feel like the prized pig at a country fair."

At that, Henry burst out laughing. Despite his annoyance, Oscar joined in. It really was all too ridiculous.

"You must understand dear cousin how refreshing it is not to be the pig being fawned over for once. I never knew being ignored could be so wonderful," Henry said through shakes of laughter.

Oscar stopped laughing and narrowed his gaze at Henry. "Enjoy it while you can, dear cousin, enjoy it while you can."

Oscar retrieved his glass and sipped away while he waited for Henry to cease his infernal caterwauling.

"Their behaviour does not surprise me, I am very much used to silly little girls and their scheming Mama's. But with only a handful of us in residence, where on earth am I to hide? I am certain they have spies all over the estate, I cannot get one moment's piece from the dreadful Andrews'."

Henry sobered up as he watched Oscar gaze into the fire. A look of defeat etched over his face.

"I apologise. I should not be laughing at your misfortune. But I would tread carefully with Mrs Andrews, I would not put it past her to orchestrate a compromising situation between Cecily and yourself."

Oscar frowned into the fire. "The thought had crossed my mind, I assure you. But I have no intention of taking a bride until l am competent in the running of my estates, and have earned the respect of my peers as the new viscount. Father was a great man and I have large boots to fill."

"You should not be so hard on yourself Oscar, and your mother—as much as I respect her—is wrong about your abilities to take over from your father. And I hope you are not entertaining the idea of marrying her choice for you?"

"Good God, no. Lady Smithers is a pudgy bore who has more money than sense. Could you imagine?"

"To be sure, she is very rich and from an excellent family, but I dare say, that's where it ends. Did I tell you about the time I saw her taking a stroll through Hyde Park and a pastry fell from her head as she removed her bonnet? I am convinced she put it there in case she found herself starved, only to forget it was there. Crumbs were all over her dark hair. Honestly, it gave the appearance of an infestation of lice."

Oscar slapped his knee as laughter erupted from him. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he struggled to rein it in.

"I do not know what my mother is about trying to initiate a match between the two of us. Of all the ridiculous notions." Oscar finally calmed down and took another sip of brandy.

"If you were looking, is there anyone who has caught your eye?" Henry asked after a few moments of quiet.

Oscar looked into his glass and swirled the last of its contents before finishing it in one gulp. "No."

Henry raised a brow. "Not even Emily?"

"Especially not Emily!" Oscar snapped and slammed his glass down, making the side-table shudder.

Henry put his hands up in surrender. "I only ask because I cannot remember the last time a woman affected you so."

"I won't lie, her beauty captivates me, but her personality repels me. The quiet, timid act grows tiresome, I confess. And one cannot marry for beauty alone."

"Don't you think you are being overly harsh. Emily is a sweet girl who is disrespected and mistreated by her own family. She lost her parents very young and has had far too many struggles for someone so young. I feel sorry for her."

Oscar observed Henry’s cheeks turning red in annoyance.

"Ignore me, I am—"

The creaking library door drew their attention away from their heated conversation. A lone candle entered first, which was attached to a small delicate hand, which was then followed by a barely dressed Cecily.

What on earth was she doing wandering the halls in just her nightgown, one side drooped exposing her left shoulder. She saw Oscar first and then looked surprised as Henry stood.

"Oh, I b-beg your pardon. I couldn't sleep and thought perhaps a book would help," she said innocently.

"Perhaps in the future, if you are to roam the halls you should dress more appropriately. We would not want to cause the servants distress should they happen upon you in the dark Miss Andrews," Henry said, his annoyance fueled by their unexpected visitor.

Cecily looked down at her exposed flesh and blushed. "Forgive me, I thought everyone would be retired for the evening."

"Miss Andrews my dear, in a house like this, there is always someone about, day or night," Henry replied, his tone making it very clear to everyone in the room, he was growing more vexed by each passing second.

Cecily curtseyed in haste and turned towards the exit. "I shall return to my room directly. Apologies, my lords, for my unseemly behaviour and I assure you it will not happen again."

And then she was gone.

Oscar stood and looked at Henry. "I fear you may have to chaperone me for the duration of my visit, cousin," Oscar joked trying to relieve the tension still lingering in the room.

"Why am I the angry one while you make jokes? It is not me they are trying to ensnare through dubious means," said Henry. "But I dare say, you are right. You are going to have to be very careful when you are alone. Unless you want to be leg-shackled to that bird-witted toad eater and her vulgar mother."

A smile crept over Oscar's face. He had never heard so many unflattering words from his cousin. Henry must find them most insufferable.

"I assure you cousin, I am not fond of birds nor toads and shall be on guard at all times—"

The library door creaked again as another candle peeked through the opening, only this time it was attached to a more weathered hand of the female kind. The men both looked at each other and rolled their eyes as Mrs Andrews came into view.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, my lords. I was unaware of your being here." Prudence looked about the room and then set her gaze on Oscar. "I was just after a book. Couldn't sleep, you know."

"Oh dear, there seems to be a sudden bout of insomnia spreading through the house as we speak. We best be off Oscar before we too fall prey. Good night, Mrs Andrews and best of luck finding what you were looking for," Henry said as Oscar stood by his side with quivering lips. The amount of effort it took not to burst out laughing made his eyes water.

They walked out of the library leaving Mrs Andrews in a rather perplexed state. Once they stood in front of Oscar's bedchamber, the dam broke and they both let their laughter free.

"In all seriousness though, you had best watch your back cousin," Henry said through crying eyes.

As they regained their composure and dried their tears, Oscar looked Henry in the eye. "You are a good friend and rest assured Henry, I shall be very careful indeed. I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I am looking forward to a house full of people next week. Hopefully, I shall be able to avoid the Andrews' and perhaps with any luck Miss Cecily will find herself a new marriage prospect to torture."

Henry patted Oscar on the shoulder. "One can dream, dear cousin, one can dream."