So I've decided to try and get this book finished in time for the Wattys2016 and the deadline is actually in ten days! so plenty of updates to come soon...

Enjoy and please vote and comment.

-----

The doctor arrived the next day and declared Lavinia fit to attend Mrs Jones' ball much to Charles' annoyance. He had insisted on being present during Lavinia's examination and had questioned the doctor tirelessly on his opinion but somehow Lavinia had convinced him that she was well enough. She was to rest during the day and be wrapped up warm for the ball that night.

"She can't possibly be ready Caleb," Charles complained as they sat in Caleb's study after breakfast. Lavinia was in the library reading and resting. "She is so young and delicate, she shouldn't even be out of bed yet."

"She is seventeen now Charles," Caleb reminded him. "She can make her own decisions and she isn't as helpless as you seem to think. She managed to break one of the men's noses. You know as well as I do that when she puts her mind to something she can do it."

Charles simply sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He knew Lavinia was growing up and that one day she would be married, but he was her brother and she was his responsibility until then. He knew that the ball would be safe enough and that he could escort her there and home again but he still feared for her safety.

"We will both look after her," Caleb spoke again. "Between the two of us we will make sure that she comes to no harm."

"Thank you Caleb," Charles said. "I must write to Edward, he won't be happy, but now that she's on the mend hopefully he will be able to refrain from coming here and strangling me."

Caleb chuckled. "He wouldn't tear himself away from his ledgers."

Charles laughed along with him.

"But what about Judith tonight?" Caleb began again, becoming serious. "It was her fault that Lavinia was out alone at night in the first place."

Charles had been thinking about that. Judith had always had her eyes set on Caleb, that much was sure, however her inconsideration towards Lavinia had caused his sister to receive a head injury and almost be abducted. It was not something he could forgive easily.

"We have kept it quiet up until now," Charles said. "I do not want to make a scene or cause anyone to panic, however she must know of the consequences of her actions before she does it again."

"I can let her know then," Caleb offered. "She has always had a soft spot for me, I can let her know what happened without making her feel too much guilt and ensure that she does not do it again."

Charles nodded. He did not want to punish Judith, she was not to know, but she had to know and Caleb was the best person to tell her. Charles thought that Judith and Caleb would be a good match. His charm and cockiness would simply compliment her assertiveness and passion. They had been on several outings the season before and Judith had been ready for marriage but something had kept Caleb back. What, Charles didn't know, but something had stopped him from proposing to Judith. He was glad of it now though, otherwise he would have been alone this season and looking out for Lavinia was much easier with two of them.

Caleb was thinking of last year too. Judith had been the perfect choice of wife: pretty, kind and polite, but something had stopped him. It didn't feel like the perfect match for him and so he had delayed for a year, but now he was glad he had. Lavinia had caught his attention once more, but this time he was determined to catch her's too.

***

Caleb's library was one of the finest that Lavinia had ever seen - especially for a town house. She had found several of her favourite novels and more that she had not expected to find in a man's collection. There were the usual encyclopedias and atlases and poetry books but real novels full of the fantasy of love and the adventures of a heroin. Caleb's taste in books astounded her as his cocky and teasing personality did not seem one that would go well with such a peaceful pastime.

Lavinia had chosen the book he had been reading the night before, Sense and Sensibility, and began from the beginning. She was laughing at the argument between the stepbrother and his wife when a maid entered with a silver plate. A caller's card was placed on it with the name Mr Colin Black.

"Is this not to be given to Lord Alder?" Lavinia inquired.

"No, m'lady. Mr Black has asked to specifically see you," the maid explained.

"Of course," Lavinia said. "Send him in, thank you."

The maid curtsied and left. What was Colin doing here? Wanting to see her? Charles and Caleb had kept the incident rather quiet as they did not want to cause unnecessary alarm in the other debutantes. How did Colin know that she was here?

The door opened and a worried looking Colin hurried in as she stood up.

"Are you alright my dear Lavinia?" he asked, coming towards her and leading her to sit down again next to him. "I found out what happened and came at once." He put a hand to her head and she waved him off.

"I'm fine Colin, honestly," she assured him. "It is just a scratch and I am perfectly well. The doctor deemed me fit enough to attend tonight's ball so you shall see me there."

"You cannot possib-" he began before she stood up abruptly and walked away from him towards the fireplace.

"I am perfectly well," she repeated irritated. "I am touched by your concern Colin, but there is no need for it. I shall be at the ball and as willing a dancer as any of the other debutantes."

Colin felt a surge of happiness and comfort. She wanted to dance with him too. She had been so agreeable on their outing the day before and had spoken to him almost exclusively at the Harrowoods' dinner. She was so lovely, standing there against the fireplace, her delicate pink day dress flattering her figure greatly.

"You look splendid," he said, as he stood and came towards her. She blushed and looked down bashfully, how adorable. They would make a great match, he would not let her go all night.

"Thank you sir," she whispered.

He had spotted a loose curl and came up behind her, resting one hand on her shoulder as he took the curl in his other hand and twisted it up to join the rest of her hair. She shuddered, in pleasure he thought.

"Thank you sir," she repeated quietly as she quickly went back and sat down on the sofa. "I am curious sir, how did you come to learn of my incident?"

"It is not becoming to be so curious, Lavinia," he snapped, startling her. "I heard of it, that is all."

Lavinia found it strange that he had heard of it for no one knew except her family, Caleb and the Doctor and they knew the need for discretion. Colin's defensiveness put her on edge. What had he been doing when he had fixed her hair? Feeling rather uncomfortable, Lavinia knew that she needed to get him to leave. "I must rest if I am to be well enough to attend tonight." She made her excuses.

"Of course Lavinia, I shall depart, but I look forward to our dance together tonight." He took her hand and kissed it, lingering slightly longer than necessary.

What had she said or done to prompt such direct and familiar actions between them? She had been as pleasant as she had been taught at finishing school and she had tried to become friends with him, but did he expect it to be more? Confused, she decided to leave it be for now and she sat her legs up on the sofa again as she dived back into the Dashwoods' problems rather than her own.

***

"Lavinia?" Charles knocked on the door of the guest room Lavinia was using during her stay at Caleb's townhouse. "Are you ready?"

"Almost, just one moment Charles," she replied. She had fallen asleep in the library and had only been woken up by Anne half an hour earlier, so it had been a rush to get ready. She had chosen to wear the ballgown that Caleb had got her to replace the one he had ruined. It showed her tiny waist and made her dirty blonde hair look just a little darker, almost brown. Anne had also brought some make-up to cover the yellowing bruise on her cheek and she had expertly curved her hair over the stitches on her forehead.

"You look gorgeous m'lady, if it is not too bold to say," Anne complimented her.

"Thank you, Anne," Lavinia said, blushing slightly. "You are one of my truest friends, you may say what you like to me."

"Of course, m'lady," Anne curtsied after handing Lavinia her gloves.

Lavinia left the room and held onto Charles' arm as he escorted her down the stairs towards the carriage. Caleb was standing in the foyer, pulling on a coat and placing his hat on his head when he turned and watched their descent.

Was it possible that she looked better than any other time he had seen her? Her caramel hair was expertly piled on her head with a single curl resting on her shoulder. He spied the white silk under her coat and felt a surge of happiness and pride. She was wearing his dress, the one he had bought to say sorry and she looked resplendent in it.

The carriage ride hurt Lavinia's head with all the jostling and bumps in the road but she sat next to the window, looking out and hoping that neither Charles or Caleb were looking at her too closely as she winced several times from the pain. Mrs Jones' home was a large and well decorated building. Her husband was in the shipping business and her large dowry had made their living very comfortable in the middle of London. They had invited all members of the ton and several officers of the navy who were in town. The Alder carriage was one of the last to pull up and Caleb and Charles left first before Charles helped Lavinia out.

"Now, you are to stay with Caleb or I the whole night Lavinia," Charles warned her in her ear. "And if you feel ill at any moment you are to tell us at once."

Lavinia nodded and smiled, hiding any discomfort she felt as the ascended the stairs.

"Lady Lavinia," Mrs Jones greeted. "It is a pleasure to have you here."

"Thank you for the invite," Lavinia curtsied. "Has my Aunt arrived yet?"

"Yes, indeed she was one of the first. Her help was greatly appreciated in the organising of this ball, I believe she is near the refreshment tables," Mrs Jones said,

"Thank you," Lavinia curtsied once more and her and Charles left to find their Aunt.

Aunt Julie could indeed be found at the refreshment tables ordering the footmen to pour more glasses for all the guests and checking over all the decorations. Party planning had always been a great love of hers and her ball gowns were her favourite attire.

"Put that over there Forbes...that's perfect...no, just a little more...excellent...and we need more wine...yes, three bottles of that...ah! Lavinia my dear!" she turned and saw them both approaching. "Do not ever scare me like that again, my nerves could not take it," she whispered in her ear as she threw her arms around her niece. Caleb's letter had certainly been abrupt and had worried her aunt almost as much as it had Charles.

"I am fine Aunt," Lavinia assured her. "I am lucky that Lord Alder was there to assist me." She turned to find him, but to her dismay he was not there. He had left them almost the moment they had arrived. Why was she so deflated as she thought of that? She hadn't liked him only mere days ago, she should have been glad to be rid of him. But she knew that they had reconciled and his rescue had certainly triggered something in her that made her unwilling to be angry with him. She was grateful, that was all. He loved Judith and they would marry soon. It was at this moment that she noticed Judith with her hand gripping Caleb's arm as they left the ballroom and headed out towards the gardens.

***

Caleb had been loath to leave Lavinia, but he had promised himself that he would speak to Judith directly so that he could enjoy the rest of his evening with the Bradley siblings. He spotted Judith in a sparkling pink dress almost the moment they arrived as she whispered behind her fan to another giggling debutante.

She noticed him as he approached and her heart soared. He had finally realised that Lavinia was nothing more than just a young, inexperienced and immature girl. He had clearly just arrived and the first person he was approaching was her, she finally felt like he had remembered the many outings they had shared the previous years.

"Lady Judith," he bowed before her, bringing her hand to his lips. "May I speak to you for a few moments?"

"Of course you may," she replied, fluttering her eyelashes and shooing Miss Kelly away. She was bored of her giggles and lack of gossip anyway. She gripped Caleb's proffered arm and finally felt a sense of accomplishment. This was it. This is what it felt like. He was leading her away towards the gardens so that they could talk alone. He had a nervous expression on his face, however he seemed determined to talk to her, or rather to ask her something specific, she thought. How would she reply? She had imagined the question coming from his lips several times, but would she simply say yes? Or tell him that she reciprocated his feelings? Or would she tease him and refuse at first? No, she couldn't do that to him. He was clearly rather nervous.

He led her towards a bench and waited for her to sit down. She did so, fanning her dress out around her. 'Perfect choice,' she told herself. 'The pink looks almost white and innocent in the twilight and the sparkles make me look almost angelic.'

She patted the space next to her. "Won't you sit with me?" she arched her neck to look at him.

His face was still hard. "No," he said, strained. Why had he agreed to this? He could be dancing with Lavinia now if he had not. He had to tell her outright but he did not want to hurt her. "I have something I need to tell you Judith and it brings me no pleasure to be the messenger."

Her face fell. She was still curious, however she did not look happy anymore.

"Yesterday you went shopping with Lavinia, I believe?" he asked hesitantly, still not sure how to start and praying that he could deliver the warning in a gentlemanly manner but harsh enough that she would understand the sincerity.

"Yes, she needed new evening gowns. Her's were rather too old looking an-" she began a little rant.

"And you walked home together until you arrived at your house?"

"Yes, Caleb, we did," she sighed irritated at being interrupted and that she couldn't see any way this questioning could end in a proposal.

"And when you went inside, you left her alone to walk home at night as it was getting dark," it was a statement now, not a question.

"It wasn't getting too dark and she was absolutely fine Caleb," she tried to laugh off his concern. "It isn't far between our houses and she wasn't in any danger of catching a cold."

Caleb was pacing now, his face contorted in anger. How could she not see the danger in a young woman of seventeen walking home through London alone in the dark?

"She was not safe Judith," he finally snapped, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. "Lavinia was walking home when she got lost and ended up in a dangerous part of town. She was almost abducted by three drunken men and ended up unconscious."

"Really Caleb," Judith stood up, placing a hand on his arm to make him stop. "Don't be so dramatic. Lavinia probably just made it all up and over dramatised it all. She was honestly in no danger. I don't see why she had to involve you anyway."

Caleb was shaking with anger at this point. Judith, who had been so kind last year, had clearly changed.

"I was there Judith," he whispered. "I watched as the man knocked her out and she would have been dragged away had I not been fortunate enough to be nearby."

Judith sat down abruptly.

"I must go," Caleb said softly, satisfied that his job was done. Judith knew now, all he needed to do was calm down before rejoining the Bradley siblings and enjoying the rest of the evening. He headed out into the trees to clear his head.

How could he believe that little immature girl's lies? Judith was the one that had always been there for him and they had shared so many special moments last season. As Judith continued to sit on the bench she noticed Lavinia with Colin Black walking towards the gardens. Anger fueled up inside her. Lavinia Bradley, the dirty blonde spoilt brat, would get a proposal before her at this rate. And as she sat there, a plan began to form in her head.

-----

I wonder what her plan is, how is she going to get rid of Lavinia?

Please vote and comment.

Thank you!