Beautiful Deceit

The group sat down to dinner later that night, and Audrey and Victoria mentally plotted how they could get Andrew’s help without letting the dominating husbands know what they were doing. “Corey,” Victoria started, “I think Little Corey is crying. Could you please go check on him?”
Corey looked at her oddly and stated, “I don’t hear him.”
“I’m sure he is, Corey, could you please go check for me?” Victoria smiled sweetly.
Audrey then joined in. “And if it’s not too much trouble, Percieval, could you please go into the kitchen and get me some milk? I have a terrible craving for it.” She also smiled sweetly at her husband.
The two men looked at each other, shrugged, and got up to do their wives bidding. The minute they were gone the two women turned on Andrew. “Where are you from?” Victoria asked.
“What do you do for a living?” Audrey chimed in before he got a chance to answer the first question.
“Have you ever been to London? You don’t have an English accent, but you certainly do have an accent from somewhere, where did you say you were from?” Victoria asked.
As Audrey opened her mouth to throw in another question, Andrew stopped her by beginning to answer the previous questions. “I’m from Scotland. No, I’ve never been to London. And the accent, as you refer to it, is a Scottish burr. Why, might I ask, are you two so full of questions? And why did you have to send your husbands out of the room, don’t think I didn’t notice, to ask them?”
The two girls looked at each other, feeling very much like their plan had already failed. “Well,” Victoria began, “you see. My sister--” “Is none of his concern.” Both girls looked up as Corey entered the room, with Percieval close at his heels. “Little Corey is sound asleep, as I thought. What are you up to, Torie?”
Victoria was the picture of innocence. “Me? Up to something?” She looked at Audrey, “Are we up to something?”
“No, we’re not up to anything,” Audrey confirmed.
“Oh Lord,” Percieval groaned, “They’re both plotting something. This is never good.”
“Oh stop it,” Audrey said as she tapped him on the arm. “You know you are overreacting. Victoria and I are not up to anything. We are as innocent, --”
“As innocent as Joshua after Mama has just found an entire batch of her cookies gone missing.” The girls both looked insulted by Corey’s comment. “Don’t act all innocent, I know you both, and you are certainly up to something.”
"Let’s change the topic, I’m sure Andrew doesn’t want to hear us bickering,” Audrey easily slipped in.
“Yes,” Victoria added, “let’s. Corey, did I mention that Katherine has jilted her third groom this year?”
Corey sighed, “Yes, Torie, it’s all you’ve talked about since Audrey has told you.”
“Well, it’s terrible,” Audrey threw in. “Someone should teach her a lesson.”
“Audrey,” it was a warning coming from Percieval. He knew when his wife was plotting something, and this was one of those times. And when she went in league with Victoria, it could only go downhill.
“Don’t you agree that it’s terrible?” Audrey persisted. “I would bet that Andrew agrees, don’t you, Andrew?”
Andrew looked around the table. He knew the women were playing him against their husbands, but he couldn’t help but agree with them. In the back of his head he knew that there would be retribution for what he was about to do. “Yes,” Andrew agreed. “It is terrible. Someone should teach that girl a lesson.”
“And I’m sure that if Andrew was given the chance, he would love to be the one to teach her a lesson.”
“Victoria,” Corey warned. Whenever he used her full name he meant business with her.
Andrew was unknowingly stepping right into the trap that the women had set. “Yes, I would like to teach this girl a lesson. It would be rather fun, actually.” There was an unholy look of glee on the women’s faces. “But I suppose that this woman lives in London.”
Their faces fell. “Yes,” Victoria said, “she does live in London, why?”
“Well, I’m from Scotland,” he reminded them. “The Scottish and English don’t exactly get along as I’m sure you know.”
Audrey, who was always thinking, saw this excuse as more of a reason and explained it as such. “That makes it even more perfect,” she exclaimed. “You see, not only will you be teaching Katherine a lesson, but you’ll be dealing a blow to London too! It’ll be wonderful.”
Andrew, who no longer had any reason to protest, looked at the women. He reasoned with himself for a few minutes. He had nothing to do in his immediate future, and the trip actually sounded like fun. “All right,” he conceded, “I’ll do it.”
Corey and Percieval looked at each other and shook their heads. Andrew didn’t know what he was getting into.

Andrew glanced around him at all of the elegantly-dressed men, and their equally well-dressed women, gliding around on the dance floor. He knew that one of those women was the one he was after, he just didn’t know which one. He mentally discounted three of four candidates before setting eyes on her. He knew it was she in an instant. She was the spitting image of Victoria except for her hair. She had blond hair, where Victoria’s was dark, and the curls were much looser than Victoria’s also. She had the same blue eyes, however, he could tell that much from where he was standing. Katherine’s were lacking something; he wasn’t quite sure what it was, but they were definitely lacking something. He moved his eyes to her figure. She seemed almost doll like; her figure too perfect to be real. Her features were the same, doll like, but with a hint of evil in them; as if she were hiding some naughty secret.
Andrew watched her dance with gentleman after gentlemen, always with the same expression on her face. A cold disinterest that seemed to be somewhat of a challenge to the men, for they kept coming despite her unwelcoming smiles. After he had watched her dance with her fifth dance partner he decided it was time to make his move.
He began to weave his way through the mass of couples twirling on the floor until he came to his destination. She had just begun dancing with a lanky boy with sandy hair and a freckled complexion. Andrew tapped the boy on the shoulder and the boy turned to him. “Excuse me,” Andrew said, and pushed him out of the way. He positioned his hand on Katherine’s waist, and took hold of her other hand and began to dance with her. He purposely held her just a little too close for propriety. “Hello, Katherine,” he said easily.
She looked up at him in shock, “Who are you and how do you know my name?”
He smiled down at her, “I know a lot of things about you. As for who I am, my name is Andrew, and that’s all you need to know for right now. I was wondering, however, if you knew how terribly lovely you looked in that dress.”
Katherine was clearly taken off guard. No man had ever openly complimented her like that before. It was dreadfully forward of him to say, and she planned to berate him for it…after he had complimented her a little more of course. “So I’ve been told,” she said in reply to his earlier question.
“But there is something wrong with it,” he said frowning down at her. “Ah, I know. The bodice is much too low cut. I can easily see straight down that dress. It really leaves little to the imagination.” When Andrew noted Katherine’s horrified expression, he was satisfied and decided he had done his job for this night. He bowed to her and walked away. He made sure they didn’t meet again for the rest of the night.

Katherine went home that night still feeling more than a little off balance. She had never seen that man before, although he certainly deserved another look. She wished she hadn’t been so surprised, she could have truly charmed that man, she knew she could have. She hadn’t seen him for the rest of the night, and that had been more than disappointing. She went home feeling very unsatisfied; a feeling she wasn’t accustomed to.
She got into the carriage of the man who had brought her and silently made the trip home sitting opposite him. She glared at him, wondering what she had seen in him in the first place. He was very thin, too thin for a man of his age. His face was also freckled far too much. He looked about ten years younger than he truly was, and that certainly wouldn’t do. Katherine decided right then not to see this man again.
She also decided that she needed to find out who this mystery man was. He clearly wasn’t from around this area. His voice was heavily accented; at times she wasn’t exactly sure of what he was saying. Although, she had found it an endearing quality, as opposed to one that was distasteful. The man sitting opposite her knew that he was being rejected, and therefore didn’t say a word to her the entire ride home.
When the carriage pulled to a stop in front of Katherine’s home, she stepped down without waiting for assistance, and flew into her house. Her mother was waiting for her in the foyer. “Why didn’t you bring him in?” Her mother demanded.
“Oh please, Mother. I don’t like him anymore,” Katherine whined. “I like a new man.”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “And who might this new man be?” She asked, not really wanting to know.
Katherine thought for a minute. “I don’t know,” she stated. “But his eyes, and…” She sighed heavily as she flopped into a chair to make her point.
“Really, Katherine,” her mother chastised. “A girl your age should be married. You’re much too old to be leading men around by the noses. If it weren’t for the way you act you would be a spinster at this moment. Before you know it, that’s the title you’ll have, and you won’t find a man who will look at you twice.”
Katherine now looked horrified. “Don’t speak that way, Mother,” she pleaded. “I’m never going to be a spinster.”
“If you don’t stop with these games you will be,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Do you think men want a girl who is going to lead them in circles only to not show up at their wedding? Katherine, there are plenty of men already keeping their distance from you. Many more are going to follow until no one will go near you. Please, think of your own future. Find a nice man and settle down.”
Katherine grinned wickedly. “I’ll never settle down. And I don’t care if I never marry, as long as I’m not called a ‘spinster’ to my face. All I want is the constant string of men flocking to me to pay a visit.”
Her mother glared at her. “You are your father’s daughter all right. Victoria was right about that much.” Her mother then angrily stormed from the room.
Katherine smiled at her mother’s retreating back. She didn’t know what she was missing. The attention from dozens of men, without the obligation to any one of them. It was heaven. She was free to do whatever she wanted, with whomever she wanted. Yes, she could live out the remainder of her life this way, quite happily in fact. After her mother passed on, she could even become a mistress. She would constantly be well provided for, and she would also get her own satisfaction. No, she didn’t need to marry. Marriage was for fools.

Andrew sat in his newly rented townhouse that night sipping his claret. There was something very odd about Katherine, although he wasn’t quite sure what it was. It was almost as if she were begging for a reason to give up the life she was leading, because she was afraid to do it on her own. Perhaps that was why there were always so many men flocking around her. They all wanted to be that reason.
He pondered what his next move should be. He knew where she lived, and where she went, so there would be no problems finding her. He also wondered if he should keep up his façade of being incredibly forward. He brushed that thought aside almost immediately. Things would be much more fun if her were to keep being forward with her. He had probably been the first man to ever compliment her in that way. He found that thought rather amusing.
He put down his glass, still half full, and went up to his room. He couldn’t get her out of his head. They way her eyebrows shot up simultaneously after he had outrageously commented about her bodice. They way her fingers had clenched when she became angry. Andrew shook his head, hoping to dislodge all thoughts of her, to no avail.
Some hours later he was lying in his bed still pondering what his next move should be. He finally decided on calling on her.
He would show up at her house the next morning and ask for her. She would sweep down the stairway in some lightly clinging gown that left just enough to the imagination. He would bow to her and formally introduce himself, after which he would ask her to join him on a carriage ride in the park. She, of course, would agree eagerly. They would spend the entire day together, without a care in the world.
Satisfied with his plan, Andrew was able to fall into a peaceful slumber.

“Damn,” Andrew cursed as he looked out the window at the rain soaked streets below. There would be no ride through the park today, of that he was sure. He cursed the gods that controlled the weather; he was positive they were laughing at him now.
He was determined not to let them win. He was going to call on her today, no matter what the weather. He glanced at the clock. It was 10 A.M.; early enough for her to be dressed, but not yet late enough for her to have gone out for the day. He grabbed his coat and hat and left the house to walk down the cold streets of London.
Katherine woke early the next morning. She had never felt more alive. She got up and dressed in a light blue gown she had purchased just the other week. She was humming to herself as she brushed her hair, that’s how her mother found her.
“Katherine, there is a man downstairs to see you. I have never seen him before, he has a strange brogue, however, I can’t quite tell where he’s from,” she looked thoughtful, as if the information she wanted was just barely out of reach.
Katherine brightened even more. “That’s him, Mother. That’s the man I told you about last night. Isn’t he wonderful? He is Scottish of course, but I can overlook that. It’s not his fault, and since he’s here in London, he must want to better himself. Oh, I do hope you like him, Mother.” Katherine spun out of the room, leaving her mother to wonder what had happened to her daughter.
Andrew wasn’t disappointed when Katherine came down the stairs. Her dress lightly clung to her, as most morning dresses did, and she was smiling radiantly at him. “Oh I just knew you would come,” Katherine said to him.
He smiled back at her. “After last night, how could I not call on you? You are more charming than anyone I have ever met.” He took her hand in his, and kissed it, never taking his eyes off of hers.
Her smile faltered for a moment, but was quickly recovered. She led him into the sitting room and ordered for some tea to be made. “I simply love this house,” Katherine said. “It hasn’t always been ours. We originally lived in a mansion just outside of London, but our father died and left us in terrible debt, and we had to give that house up. We then moved into a smaller house, a much small house in comparison, and we also had to live without our servants, that was dreadful. After Victoria married, however, she sent mother and I enough money to live comfortably in a home this size with a small staff of about twenty or so.”
Andrew looked at her in amazement and wondered if she realized how incessantly she talked when she was nervous. Instead of commenting, he decided to revert back to his original behavior. “I’m glad to see you’re at least a little more modestly displayed today, although at the same rate it is a little disappointing,” Andrew said easily as he sipped his tea.
“I could go up and change for you,” Katherine offered with a demure smile on her lips.
Andrew didn’t doubt for a second that she would go and do just that. “No, that’s perfectly all right. In fact, I’m sorry to say this, but I really must be going. I have a previous engagement that I simply cannot forget. I shall see you again, Katherine,” he said as he got up to move from the room.
“Wait,” Katherine cried after him. He turned looking at her expectantly. “I don’t even know your name,” she stated.
“Andrew Cook, at your service,” he said as he bowed to her. He then straightened and left the room.
Katherine sat in her seat for a few moments thinking about his very brief visit. He had only stayed a half-hour. She smiled smugly to herself at the realization that he had spent his free half-hour to call on her.

Katherine stormily paced the drawing room floor as her mother sat calmly mending the hem of a dress on the couch a mere three feet away. “Two weeks,” Katherine screeched. “He hasn’t come here in two weeks! I was a fool for ever letting him in here that day. He is scum, he’s worse than scum. He’s the kind of scum that regular scum won’t go near.”
Her mother laughed, “O Kate, surely he’s not that bad.”
“Two weeks, Mother,” was all Katherine had to say.
Katherine then continued her stormy pacing while her mother continued sewing her hem.
On the other side of London, Andrew sat, brooding, in his quarters. His plan of seeming impulsive had taken a turn for the worse. He had planned to stay away from Katherine for a few days to keep her on her toes with him. In order to keep himself away from her house, he had gone on a small excursion to the countryside to do some hunting. Unfortunately the trip had taken longer than he had expected, he had stayed a few days longer than anticipated, and on the way home unforeseen trouble delayed them even further. The result of this was a weeklong holiday turned into a two-week migraine.
Andrew knew that he had to see Katherine again, and he wondered what sort of excuse, if any, to offer for his absence. He considered the truth, but quickly dismissed that. It would hint to his ulterior motive, and even a self-absorbed girl would see that much. He also considered not offering any excuse. He laughed himself out of that one. Katherine would be so angry with him that even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from demanding answers from him.
He sighed as he stood up from his chair and stretched his aching body. He needed to think of a lie and think of one quickly. He couldn’t delay seeing Katherine any longer than he already had. He had to see her that afternoon. He looked at his clock, and decided he could do with a bath before showing up at her house. He called for the water and ran up to his room to set out what he planned on wearing.
Back in Katherine's home, she had given up pacing, and took to cursing him instead. “That no good son-of-a--”
“Katherine!” her mother scolded before she could get the rest of the words out of her mouth.
“Well, he is,” she protested. “Leading me on like that. How cruel can a man be? Calling on me, and waltzing with me, and making comments about my bodice being too low! Mother, he led me on, and I won’t stand for it. I’m going to find out where he is, and--”
“A Mr. Cook here to see our Miss Katherine,” the butler announced.
Katherine turned in shock to their white-haired butler. “Did you say ‘Mr. Cook’?”
“Yes, he did,” Andrew announced as he glided into the room. He took off his hat and coat and handed them to the butler without taking his eyes off of Katherine. “Miss me, my Darling?” He asked sweetly.
Katherine backed up from him angrily, pulling her hand out of his before he had a chance to place a kiss there. “I am not your ‘Darling.’ And no, I didn’t miss you. In fact, I was just telling Mother how wonderful it was that you had left, wasn’t I, Mother?”
“I’m not involved,” her mother proclaimed as she got up to leave the two alone. Katherine glared at her mother, but only received a smile in response.
Andrew smiled. “Such harsh words from such a pretty lady. What say you we take a ride out in the Gardens? I meant to take you there last time I visited, but as you could tell, the weather didn’t permit it.”
Katherine thought for a moment, mentally recalling their last meeting. “Didn’t you have an appointment to keep? You only had a half an hour, it takes at least that much time to get there. How were you planning on taking me there and making your appointment?”
Andrew cursed himself a million times over. He hadn’t seen her twice and he was already making mistakes. “Well,” he began as he mentally formulated a story, “ you see, the appointment was originally for another date, but it got bumped up because of the weather. One of his other clients had sent word to cancel their appointment and the man sent word to me that if I wanted, mine would be moved up. Since the plans I had made for the day had already been cancelled, I saw no reason not to take him up on the offer.” He took a deep breath and congratulated himself for something so believable on his first try.
“Oh,” Katherine said simply. “I suppose a ride through the park will do me some good. I haven’t been getting out much, and I need the fresh air.”
“You haven’t truly experienced fresh air until you’ve been to Barbados,” he said as he led her to his carriage.
“You’ve been to Barbados?” Katherine asked. “My sister lives in Barbados with her husband, I wonder if you’ve ever met them.”

Andrew tensed imperceptibly. If he didn’t watch what he was saying, he was going to give himself away. “No,” he said too quickly, “I’m sure I’ve never seen your sister.”
“But Barbados is such a small place--”
“I’ve never met her,” he nearly yelled.
Katherine looked at him wide eyed, and got into the carriage without saying another word. She decided to stay away from the topic of Barbados with him.

The three women laid back, almost simultaneously, into their waiting husbands’ arms. Those same arms immediately encircled them. Those same women, again simultaneously, sighed their pleasure.
The three men looked at each other, and spoke, without words, their plan. They nodded their agreement, and began tickling their unsuspecting wives in earnest.
“Leave me alone, you brute!” Victoria cried as she punched Corey’s shoulder.
“You’ll sleep on the beach for a year,” Vowed Audrey.
“I’ll leave you and go back to London,” Katherine promised Andrew.
After the women were sufficiently out of breath, and the men bruised and battered until they couldn’t take it anymore, they stopped their attack. “Where did we find such lowlifes to marry?” Audrey asked the other two girls.
“Such uncivilized lowlifes,” corrected Victoria.
“Such scheming uncivilized lowlifes,” amended Katherine.
“Scheming?” Corey yelled. “Did you hear that, men? We are the scheming ones.”
“That’s not the impression I’m getting,” Percy defended. “I believe it’s the women who can’t mind their own business.”
As the six adults argued over who was and wasn’t in the group of schemers the six children looked on from the water.
Joshua rolled his eyes. “I hope I never marry someone I’m constantly fighting with.”
Jessica looked at him, and rolled her eyes also. “They’re in love, obviously. Only people in love fight like that.”
Little Corey then looked at his two older siblings. “I’m with Josh. I don’t want to marry someone I fight with constantly.”
Cecilia looked at her three closest friends. “I think Jess is right. They’re in love. My Mother and Daddy, and your Mother and Daddy, and even James’s Mother and Daddy. They love each other.”
“That’s just because you’re a girl, and everyone seems in love to girls,” Stephen said to his sister.
“That’s not true,” Cecilia protested.
“What’s not true, Honey?” Audrey asked her daughter as the adults came to join their children.
“Stephen said that you and Daddy aren’t in love,” Cecilia pouted.
Percy laughed. “Stephen, I love your mother more than life itself.”
James then looked up at his parents. “You don’t love Mommy, do you Daddy?”
Andrew laughed at his son. “Sorry to disappoint, but yes, I do love your mother.”
“And in case anyone is wondering,” Corey added, “I love my wife too.”
The two girls smiled triumphantly at each other.
The four boys made faces to show their disgust.
The mothers threw wary glances at each other, wondering just what type of brides their lovesick daughters would make.
The fathers threw amused glances at each other in anticipation of the chases their sons were going to lead. Back To The Barbados Bunch