“I don’t think you understand, dear,” Lucy replied. “We’re talking about the type of to-dos that include giving prompts while hiding behind a hedge, pretending to be a fictitious person, and hiring a nonexistent chaperone.”
Alex blinked. “Pardon?”
Jane nodded again. “It’s all true. A stubborn father doesn’t so much as give us pause.”
Alex had the distinct feeling that not much gave them pause. “Lavinia’s convinced Owen is a scoundrel, but I think he’s much more than that.”
“Oh, he is, dear. He is,” Cass agreed. “Our father has never given him his approval, you see, and it’s greatly affected him.”
“He doesn’t seem as if he gives a toss about anyone’s approval to me,” Alex replied.
“He doesn’t.” Cass glanced away with tears in her eyes. “Not anymore.”
“You must tell her the Eton story,” Lucy prompted.
“Don’t tell her the Eton story,” Jane said in between bites of tea cake.
“What’s the Eton story?” Alex asked, blinking.
“Well, now you must tell her,” Lucy said to Cass.
“I shall, but only because it’s clear how much regard she has for Owen,” Cass replied.
Alex leaned forward to hear better.
“Well,” Cass began, smoothing her skirts. “Owen attended Eton, of course, but not many people know that while there, he was close with Julian and Garrett. Among others in their group.”
Alex nodded.
“One day when they were around twelve, they all decided it would be a good prank to take the headmaster’s horse out for a ride.”
“Oh no,” Alex whispered.
“Yes,” Cass replied. “They spent the afternoon riding about and causing havoc in the town before the headmaster came looking for them. By that time, they’d brought the horse back to the stables.”
Alex gasped. “Did he find them?”
“He found only one of them,” Cass replied. “Owen.”
“Where were the others?” Alex asked.
“Owen told them to hide. Apparently, he insisted. The others had recently been disciplined for their part in another prank. Owen had been visiting home at the time, probably the only reason he wasn’t in on that one, too. He thought it would be better for them if he took the entire blame himself.”
“What happened?” Alex breathed. But she almost didn’t want to know.
“In their haste to retreat, one of the other boys knocked over a lantern. The entire stable went up in flames.”
“No,” Alex whispered.
“None of the people or horses were hurt, but the building was an entire loss.”
“Who knocked over the lantern?” Alex asked.
“No one knows for sure. Till this day, they’ve all maintained their silence. It’s the honor code at such schools.”
“In the end, it doesn’t matter,” Lucy replied. “Owen took the entire blame. He refused to admit anyone else was with him, even when the headmaster pressed him.”
“What happened to him?” Alex asked, this time truly dreading the answer.
“Owen was expelled. The headmaster was not in a forgiving mood. Father had to travel to the school and plead Owen’s case. He agreed to pay for the cost of a new stable.”
“And they still didn’t allow him to stay?”
“No. He ended up at Harrow and fell in with an unruly set of boys who were interested only in drinking and causing trouble.”
“And your father?” Alex asked.
“Afterwards, apparently Owen tried to tell Father what really happened, but Father wouldn’t listen. He never forgave Owen. Every Earl of Moreland in the history of the title was an Eton graduate. Father told Owen he’d brought shame upon the family. He told him he was no good and would never amount to anything.”
“And Owen set about proving him right?” Alex finished.
“Precisely,” Cass said. “And he has far too much honor and pride to tell Father the truth now.”
“It’s so sad. All that lost time over something so insignificant,” Alex said.
“It wasn’t insignificant to Father or Owen,” Cass replied.
“No, of course not,” Alex agreed. “But in the end, it was just a stable. And it’s not as if Harrow is a bad school.”
Lucy shook her head. “Of course not. But now you perhaps might understand a bit more about him. We adore Owen, you see, and we think you are perfectly suited to him.”
Alex glanced among all three ladies, not at all certain how the story she’d just heard had anything to do with her suitability for Owen. “What are you saying?”