In the Land of the Long White Cloud

Sideblossom, ignored him, and Gerald had gruffly turned down his request to be allowed to partake in the expedition. Since he had nothing better to do and was prowling around the stables, he was naturally very interested when he saw Fleur hide herself in the barn. Paul could piece together for himself what she had in mind. But he would make sure that Gerald caught her red-handed later.

    Gwyneira needed all her patience and forbearance to get through the banquet that evening. She was the only woman present, and without exception they were all drunk by the time they sat down to dinner. Before starting to eat, they downed another couple of glasses; then wine was poured. The first one soon began to prattle. They all laughed at one another’s dumb jokes, yelled dirty jibes at each other, and behaved toward Gwyneira in anything but a gentlemanlike manner.
    She only began to feel truly uncomfortable when John Sideblossom suddenly approached her after the final course.
    “We need to speak, Mrs. Warden,” he said in his typically direct fashion, once again appearing sober among all the drunkards. However, Gwyneira had gotten to know him a bit better and knew how to recognize the signs of intoxication in him. His eyelids hung a bit lower, and his gaze was suspicious and shifty instead of cool and distant. Although Sideblossom still kept his feelings reined in, they simmered just beneath the surface.
    “I think you know I asked for your daughter’s hand yesterday. Fleurette turned me down.”
    Gwyneira shrugged. “She has the right. In the civilized world, women are asked before they’re married off. And if Fleur did not like you, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
    “You could put in a good word for me, madam,” Sideblossom said.
    “I’m afraid that wouldn’t do any good,” Gwyneira remarked, her own feelings slowly bubbling to the surface. “And I wouldn’t do it of my own accord anyway. I do not know you well, Mr. Sideblossom, but I don’t like what I’ve seen.”
    John Sideblossom grimaced. “Well, look-y here! The lady doesn’t like me! And what do you have against me, Lady Warden?” he asked coldly.
    Gwyneira sighed. She had not wanted to get into a discussion…but fine, if that’s what he wanted.
    “Going on the warpath against a single man,” she began, “does not seem appropriate to me. And you exert a bad influence on the other farmers. Without your whispering to him, Lord Barrington would never have sunk so low as to join such a band of ruffians as the one now camped outside. Your behavior toward me is insulting, even leaving Fleurette entirely out of this. A gentleman, Mr. Sideblossom, in your position would strive to change the girl’s mind. You, on the other hand, give affront to Fleurette by initiating this business with the horses. That was your idea, was it not? Gerald has been too drunk for such schemes for a long time.”
    Gwyneira spoke quickly and full of wrath. Everything was fraying her nerves at that moment. And there was Paul, who had joined them and avidly followed her outburst.
    John Sideblossom laughed. “Touché, my dear! A little tongue-lashing. I don’t like it when people don’t listen to me. But just you wait. I’ll get your little girl yet. I’ll push my proposal when we return. Against your will if I must.”
    Gwyneira wanted to bring the conversation to an end. “Then I wish you luck,” she said stiffly. “And you, Paul, come with me upstairs, please. I hate it when you slink behind me and eavesdrop.”
    The boy cringed. But what he had heard here was worth the dressing down. Perhaps Gerald was not the right audience for his information on Fleurette. It would cause her much more pain if this was the man who thwarted her “horse theft.”
    When Gwyneira retired to her room, Paul turned on his heels and went looking for John Sideblossom. The farmers looked increasingly bored in one another’s company. No wonder—aside from him, everyone else was fall-down drunk.
    “You…you want to marry my sister?” Paul spoke to him.
    Sideblossom looked down at him, caught off guard.
    “Well, that’s my intention. You got an objection too?” he asked, sounding amused.
    Paul shook his head. “As far as I’m concerned, you can have her. But you should know something about her. Fleurette acts all innocent. But she’s already had a beau. Ruben O’Keefe.”
    Sideblossom nodded. “I know,” he said, disinterested.
    “But she didn’t tell you everything!”