A/N: This song is essentially the mood for this chapter ;)

Dread crawled like a snake through Blake's mind. Although he knew a firm chiding and possibly screaming was going to follow, it didn't help ease his nerves. In fact, that knowledge made his stomach feel all the more hollow.

Some path of reformation he was on. Instead of improving the Brighton's situation, he might have just made it all the worse. If Colette was angered enough, as she should rightly be, she may even break off the courtship. Sophia could try to stop her but if he learned anything about the Brighton women, they were all as stubborn as mules. The Sophia would be reliving her nightmare through Colette.

Holy hell, what had he done?

As soon as Sophia had stepped inside the Brighton manor and out of their sight, Colette whipped around to face him. In as the sun slowly disappeared in the horizon and dusk painted with the sky with fire, the light made Colette's icy eyes glow. It would have been an ethereal sight if not for the disapproving glance that adorned her face.

Blake straightened his shoulders and clasped his hands behind his back, adopting a proper posture. He gulped and his throat bobbed. It was best that he spoke before she could claw him with her verbal nails. "My lady, I sincerely apologize. I never intended to do anything untoward with Lady Sophia. You are, of course, in the right to chide me but I beg you, don't do anything hasty."

She smoothed down her hair and narrowed her eyes at him. "Whatever do you mean, my lord?"

"Such as calling off our courtship." Blake tilted his head at her. Had that thought not crossed her mind?

"Over this?" Colette laughed and Blake frowned.

"My lord, if I break off this courtship, I will go to bed with my head on my shoulders and never wake again because Sophia would have cut off my head and place it at the foot of the bed. Do you think I have a death wish, my lord?" Colette smirked at him.

Blake shook his head. "I assume not, Miss Colette."

"You are right with that assumption." She turned away from him and in the light of dusk, her pale green dress glimmered. "Besides, it would be cruel to my sister if I did break the engagement. She has spent every breath the last few years preparing me for my season and I cannot shatter her heart. Furthermore, this situation confirmed and exhibited that I was right in my presumptions about the both of you and strengthened my resolve."

Blake was lost. What on earth was Colette going on about? He scrunched his nose slightly and widened his eyes. "My lady, I don't understand what you are saying. What presumptions?"

Why was she not screaming at him? Why was she so calm?

"That both of you are hopelessly in love and infatuated with one another." Colette spun towards him and grinned. Her teeth gleamed.

Before Blake could deny it, she held her hand up. "My lord, I know what you are going to say and I must stop you there. You are in love with Sophia and she in love with you, how much ever you both deny it. Now, to you, I may be a naïve child but I am quite perceptive and I know I am not wrong here."

Blake tried to speak again, but Colette shushed him with a wave of her hand. "My God, you are as impatient as Sophia. No wonder you are besotted with each other. You must let me finish my dramatic monologue, my lord. I don't get many opportunities to do so."

Blake just stared at her.

"I, for one, do not intend to spend the rest of my life married to a man who is pining after my sister and who my sister will never truly be able to let go. Whatever life I have with you, I am sure, will be full of joy. You are the ideal gentleman one could hope to marry. You even are willing to marry below your station. But my happiness will come at the cost of Sophia's," Colette delicately shrugged, "I don't want that. And I know I will slowly become miserable too. I don't want to be in a passionless marriage. You and I deserve more than that and you can find one of love and admiration with Sophia."

He blinked at her, slowly wondering if she was drunk. But even an alcoholic would make more sense than her now. He scowled. What on earth was this woman saying? "So, what are you saying, my lady, for it certainly does seem like you are breaking the engagement but you assured me moments before that you didn't want that."

Colette rolled her eyes dramatically and Blake never felt more affronted and belittled than he had in that moment.

"I want to break our marriage, not the courtship. I want you to marry Sophia but she will not know that it her getting married instead of me.

"Sophia would never stand for that. And that idea is preposterous and mad."

Colette's eyes narrowed. "I am not enraged about this situation you and Sophia have gotten into today, but I will admit I do not take lightly to being called mad. I know the plan seems like one of a lunatic but I have carefully pondered it. Whatever wedding preparations we make for me, I will handle in switching them to what Sophia likes. So if we decide on roses for my wedding, I will switch it to lilies because that's what Sophia likes."

"Surely Sophia will realize that someone is meddling in the wedding affairs?"

"That, my lord, is where you come in. You must ensure that Sophia makes the original wedding arrangements, but you make it clear that you will handle it going smoothly and take it on."

"But there is still the facet of getting Sophia to marry me. Not to mention that if on the chance she agreed, it would lead to all the problems that we discussed before. Exile and not to mention, the scandal years ago will be brought to light." Blake pushed his damp hair back.

"Yes. But the more I thought about it, what if Aunt Dahlia could not exile you? She may be controlling the London ton but she can't deny me my second season. As Sophia, now a married woman would be my chaperone. She can't exile Sophia then or me without any basis. In the second season, I will definitely attract a suitor."

Blake couldn't help it. His heart jumped at the prospect. Could it really be done? Could he really marry Sophia?
"But how can you be sure you will? And how about after the season is over? Couldn't she force Sophia and I to reside in the countryside then? And how about the scandal aspect? Surely this change of engagements will just add more to the existing whispers."

Colette sighed. "One question at a time, my lord. Aunt Dahlia cannot exile you after the season is over because we will tell my aunt that in exchange for allowing both of you to reside in London, you will sponsor and chaperone one of her children in the season following my own. Her name is Anne and before you ask, she agreed. That was what my visit was actually about today. The duchess will be so aghast about having us chaperone her that she will accept our exchange."

Blake scoffed. "The plan is to threaten your aunt?"

Colette laughed. "Yes, but that sounds so ominous." She pursed her lips in amusement. "It's more of like an agreement out of which both parties emerge victorious."

Although his cold clothes were starting to make Blake shiver, this plan caused a gentle warmth to spear through him.

Colette continued, "As for how I will gain a suitor, I need your help. As I recall, the Duke of Buckhaven is your good friend. From Anne, I heard that recently, whatever woman he set his cap on, other men were quick to step in and try to marry them. It seems as if your friend keeps precedent for the best women to marry or something of that sort."

Blake stared at her and started howling with laughter. "My lady, all that James sets a precedent for is trying to trick young maids into...other relations with him. Marriage? No." He shook his head.

Colette's eyes gleamed wickedly. "But that's what people perceive it to be. So, if we set his attentions on me, I am sure others will follow. It will also greatly increase the respectability I may lose as a result of this scandal."

"You want me to ask him to pretend to want your hand in marriage?"

Colette gave a sharp nod of her head, glaring at him with large owlish eyes.

"I sincerely doubt he'd agree." Blake rubbed his beard.

"Well, I suppose that's your responsibility to convince him." Colette gave him a sugary grin.

"All right. How about the scandal aspect?"

Colette rolled her tongue inside her mouth and then bit her teeth. "That is one aspect we cannot control-"

"All aspects of this are based on chance, on the hopes that people agree to a certain condition!" Blake cried exasperatedly and Colette gave him an annoyed look.

"Yes, I am aware, but this is one aspect I could not find a way to thwart. The scandal of us breaking out courtship, you marrying Sophia. But what is life without a little excitement, hmm? Eventually, the scandal will die down."

Blake bit the inside of his cheek. It was, in no way a plan without risks, but could it be done?

"But how about Sophia, Lady Colette? She would not want more scandal. She would not place your future on so many ifs and chances."

Blake pressed his lips together, suddenly remembering Sophia's own plan of deceiving her father. Her plan too had the risk of scandal and chance, although it was certainly less risky than this. This rested on the cooperation of multiple people. But if Sophia wasn't too worried about that scandal, perhaps this wouldn't be as hard to convince her to accept?

"We'll just have to persuade it's in her and my best interests. More than anything, she wants me to be happy and married. If I refuse to marry you and she refuses, I will not be able to get married at all because of the scandal. Aunt Dahlia will not let us re-enter society. Sophia is the way I can get married to another person. She will not risk that."

"You want to twist the will of your sister and make her guilty enough to marry me? That seems..."

"Cold? Ruthless? May even end up in resentment between you? Perhaps, yes. But the truth is, it wouldn't really be a forced marriage. I had asked her a few days ago that if she had the chance now to marry you if she could without any complications or dire consequences, would she? At first, she was hesitant to answer but then she said 'if I am being honest, I could imagine myself doing so. He feels right for me and I think the life we would have together would be wonderous.' We're not twisting anything, for she will consider all these consequences herself and come to the right conclusion. Yet, we must make sure love for you is the real reason she chooses this. And for that, we must make sure you spend as much time as you can to make both of you fall so in love with each other, you can't imagine being apart."

"This plan is absolutely mad. You can't make people fall in love."

"For someone who wants to marry Sophia and has a way to do so, you are objecting a lot. I know it is full of risks but, isn't it worth it? You get Sophia, I get to find someone who will adore and love me and not my sister, and Sophia gets the happiness she deserves. It is not manipulation, just utilizing our resources in the best way possible and pushing things in the right direction--the direction that indicates that both of you are already besotted with each other. YOU ARE ALREADY IN LOVE. We just have to make her realize it. We all get what we want from this. But that is what you want, right? To marry Sophia?" Colette clasped her hands together and put them in front of her.

"Yes." Blake was surprised at how easily the answer came to him. Yet, it was true. He didn't know when the precise moment was that he had realized he could listen and look at Sophia for the rest of his life, that whatever brief moments they shared now could never be enough, but it had come and gone. In that moment, Blake could say nothing but that his heartfelt full, like this was right.

Was that love? No, it couldn't be...could it?

Colette clapped her hands together and grinned. "Well, this is marvelous."

Involuntarily, Blake's lips pulled into a large smile as well. "It is. I must ask. Are you sure you want to do this? End our betrothal and help me get Sophia instead?"

Colette's nose scrunched up in disgust. "No, it's all an elaborate jest I have been planning this the past week because I have no other appropriate way to channel my intelligence and time."

Before he could respond she barked out, "Of course I want to do this. I planned it. Do you take me for a fool or an imbecile, Lord Cavendish?"

Blake was taken aback. Clearly sharp tongues ran in the family but whereas Sophia's jests were light, Collette was like whiplash and even more belittling.

"Sorry. I had to ask on my honor." he murmured, earning him a dramatic roll of Colette's eyes. But when she shot him a heated stare he said, "And no, of course not. Never an imbecile, Lady Colette." The strangest feeling of extreme and awe and respect overtook him and he had the urge to hug Colette tight and spin her around, although he doubted she'd appreciate it.

"Good. We will plan whatever we must over the course of the next few weeks. Remember what you must do. Now, I suppose I have kept you here too long. Those wet clothes cannot be to comfortable and I apologize."

Blake nodded.

She was actually doing this for him, had planned all of this. He was going to see Sophia dressed in white, heading down the aisle to marry him and his blood started thrumming in excitement. Although he did not like the idea of deceiving her and doing all this in secrecy, it was the only way.

But in fact, it wasn't truly a secret, for someone else had heard it all.

A/N: Did you expect Colette to do this without any strings attached?

Comment down below and vote if you loved this chapter! I know I did as I revealed a large part of Colette, making me fall in love with her even more!

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