Rogue cast her eyes steadfastly down as she rode slowly on her chestnut mare, not out of demure politeness in the presence of an older man but rather, because she was afraid that should she meet those laughing red-tinted black eyes, her heart would be on her face and all her feelings would come out in a rushed and awkward torrent of clumsily-expressed words. Which in itself would have been humiliating enough as it was, but with Ororo's nephew Evan riding a couple of paces behind to play the role of both body servant and chaperone, Rogue didn't even want to imagine how fast gossip of her slip up would spread all over the county.
"So, this is certainly a magnificent plantation, Mademoiselle." She heard his drawling voice, and remembered with some amusement how he'd taken to calling her by that title after Ororo, who'd traveled to Europe in her youth, had glanced over sharply when Mr. LeBeau had decided that it was Xavier's middle daughter he would bestow with the more intimate reference of chérie.
"Why thank you, Mr. LeBeau," Rogue replied in almost a whisper, trying to imitate sister Jean's graceful charm.
"Please, Mademoiselle, feel free to call me Remy," Mr. LeBeau--Remy--told her with a pleasant grin, and Rogue couldn't help but color faintly.
"All right, Mr...er, Remy," she finished blushingly, already starting to forget that Evan was only a couple of paces behind them. Let Miss Ororo find out, she thought defiantly to herself. It's not like Ah'm being inappropriately forward with Remy--he's the one going out of his way to strike up conversation, anyway!


Ororo Munroe had, indeed, realized that Rogue had taken a liking to the charming Cajun Remy LeBeau, and it displeased the elegantly dignified woman more than the prospect of her falling for her sister's future fiancé Pietro Maximoff. Ororo knew the types of men with Remy's charm and reputation, although why the dashing Cajun, whom she suspected enjoyed both fast living and fast women, had decided to court the least dazzling of the three sisters had been a puzzle that she hadn't been able to figure out yet. Either way, the last thing Miss Rogue needs is some reckless young heartbreaker posing as a gallant gentleman to break her heart when she has yet to experience any true love, Ororo thought darkly to herself.

Which was why, as she was headed out to town to run some errands, she found herself feeling doubly glad when she encountered by pure chance an old acquaintance from her early travels to Europe.
"Miss Ororo? Is that you? It must be you, for I have yet to meet a lady more elegant and dignified such as yourself," the handsome blonde man atop his horse spoke in a polite, British-accented voice, slowing down his surprisingly obedient black stallion when he happened to catch a glimpse of Ororo as she'd leaned out her carriage to give some instructions to the driver. Ororo herself was rather surprised to see him, for she'd never expected to meet him again after she'd returned to the United States to work for Xavier. And he had certainly grown so much from the fair-haired young boy, barely in his teenage years, that she remembered.
"Why Mr. Worthington, what a pleasant surprise," she said, warmth in her voice as she quickly ordered the driver to stop so she could chat. "And how is your family doing, may I ask? How is your sister?" Warren Worthington III smiled again, running a hand through his sunny blonde hair as he replied, "They're doing quite well, thank you very much. And my sister recently announced her engagement to Sir Braddock's son, in fact; funny that you should mention her."
"I see. Well, my warmest congratulations to the happy couple." Ororo had only a faint idea as to who Sir Braddock was, nor did she very much care to confirm any information on him at that moment, either, for Warren's mention of his sister being engaged had reminded her that there was a certain young lady at the plantation who was very much without a fiancé and in desperate need of one to protect her against the Cajun's advances.
"And if I'm not being too forward in asking," Ororo chose her words carefully, "how are you doing as far as the future Mrs. Warren Worthington III is concerned--or is there one, already?"
"Oh," Warren smiled guiltily, absently running a hand through his hair, "I haven't, er, exactly been courting anybody lately, Miss Ororo."
"I see." Ororo took notice of this little piece of information, smoothly covering up her intentions with an appropriately embarrassed smile and blush as she quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Mr. Worthington, it must be the hot sun that's distracting me, for I usually would not have forgotten my manners by asking so bold and personal a question."
"That is quite all right, Miss Ororo," Warren replied pleasantly, and Ororo wasted little time hesitating as she plunged on.
"But you see, Mr. Worthington, the gentleman I work for happens to have three daughters--all lovely young girls, they'll be delighted to meet you one of these days, I'm sure--and it just happens that one of them..." Ororo thought fast, wondering how to state that Rogue needed a suitor in a delicate manner, "she is without an escort to the Acquillas' party this Saturday...she's a very charming young lady, I assure you, and--"
"Say no more, Miss Ororo," Warren interrupted. "I'll be honored to accompany this young lady whose father you work for."
"Thank you," Ororo answered modestly, grateful that he'd bailed her out before she had to use more indelicate ways to hint that he should try his hand at courting Rogue. Turning to her driver and motioning for him that he should resume his path, she bid good-bye to Warren and tilted her face away from him to hide a smile.


Jean couldn't help but smile as Bobby Drake continued to eagerly follow her like some adoring puppy dog, turning around with friendly viridian eyes and stating in as gentle a voice as possible, "Bobby, this is very sweet of you to accompany me around the forest like this, but everybody's expecting me to announce my engagement to Pietro at Mr. Acquilla's party this weekend, and--"
"Well, are you going to?" Bobby broke in, a last ray of hope still shining brightly in his eyes. Jean graced him with a fond smile; Bobby was so sweet and eager to please, but he was after all too young for her, and she'd never taken his attempts at courting her as anything more than child's play, something to occupy his time with until someone else caught his fancy and he moved on to a girl closer to his age.
"Probably, yes," the beautiful redhead replied evenly, feeling a tug at her heart when she saw Bobby's crestfallen look at the realization that Pietro Maximoff had won again, as usual.
"Oh," was all the devastated boy could say, and Jean, struggling to think of something that might cheer him up, reached over and lightly touched his arm to get him to look at her.
"Listen, Bobby," she began, "I'm going to the party with Pietro, but as far as I know, Rogue has no escort yet."
"You mean I should...?" Bobby's voice trailed off uncertainly, and Jean could understand, realizing with a wince that Rogue had hardly given even the boys she knew well the light of day, least of all Bobby, whom she was barely even acquaintances with.
"Please, Bobby, it would mean a lot to me that you go with her," she pleaded. "I know she might be a bit aloof and cool, but she's my sister and also very captivating once you really get to know her."
"Well..." Bobby still looked uncertain, as he bit down on his lower lip and shuffled his feet around on the dirt. "I was thinking of asking Miss Rahne Sinclair if you turned me down..."
"Miss Rahne? Why Bobby, you already know that Sam Guthrie's been courting her for months now," Jean reproved mildly, and Bobby frowned.
"In that case, I guess I will ask your sister," he finally agreed, and Jean smiled, glad that now Rogue would have no more reason to mope and sulk at parties because she was one of the few young and marriageable girls who wasn't surrounded by a flock of suitors.


Ray Crisp wore an expression of utter disbelief on his face when he heard Kitty's request, completely forgetting all the etiquette that ought to be employed when talking with a lady and echoing incredulously, "You want me to start courting your sister?!" Kitty placed her small hands on her waist, pouting and firing back, "And why not? Certainly you have a reputation in this county as being one of the wilder ones, I'm sure Rogue will find that more intriguing than if some perfect gentleman bogged down by manners and chivalry were trying to woo her." Ray laughed coldly, snapping in a blunt tone of voice, "I may be one of the wilder ones, as you've so eloquently put it, but I've got enough sense not to tangle with your sister after she nearly hit Todd Tolensky last spring!" Kitty frowned and blushed at the memory, defending her sister, "Yeah, well, Todd is nothing but a white trash scalawag anyway, so it's not like he didn't deserve it." Ray shrugged her excuse off and went back to cleaning his pistol, as Kitty thought up a new approach and began to singsong while fluttering her eyelashes, "Besides, Ray, you're not scared that my sister will have enough sense and spirit to hit you as well for acting rudely around her, now are you?" Ray snapped up in anger, and the gun in his lap nearly went off at his sudden action, causing Kitty to let out a little scream and jump back.
"Of course I'm not scared of your sister!" he hissed angrily, looking like he wanted to throttle Kitty for even insinuating that. Kitty smiled back in a maddening way.
"Then prove it," she challenged, surprising them both at the way everybody's favorite little sweetheart of the Xavier plantation was showing so much spunk.
"Miss Kitty, since when have you been so forward in speech and action?" Ray inquired, not out of viciousness but rather, pure curiosity. Kitty turned pink, trying to shrug it off as she spoke softly, "At least escort my sister to the party at the Acquilla plantation this Saturday. Please. Rogue truly is a lovely person, inside and out, and she deserves better than to sit around with the matrons while all the other girls are dancing because you men are too scared of her spirit and her strength to try courting her." Ray swore under his breath that the cute little kitty cat was far more manipulative than she appeared, but grudgingly gave in and accepted curtly, "All right. Miss Rogue is a beautiful and intriguing person, once you get past her shrewish ways." Kitty laughed happily when she heard his words, cheering, "I'll forget that last part and you'll go to my sister right now and we'll call it even!"


Pietro looked surprised when he heard Ororo's words that Jean was absent from the plantation.
"She's not here?" His silver brows knitted together above his sky-blue eyes in a frown, and he ventured, "What about Miss Kitty and, uh, Miss Rogue? Have they all gone out together?"
"No, Miss Jean wasn't expecting any visitors today," Ororo reminded him pointedly, "so she went out for a walk. As for Miss Kitty, she left as well to visit the Crisp plantation, and Miss Rogue is actually preoccupied right now with introducing a guest to the family plantation. If you'll just wait, though, I'm sure all three of them will return in no time."
"I, uh, don't think I have too much time to wait around," Pietro replied hastily, remembering that he'd ditched Wanda for his little impromptu call on his future bride and thinking about his twin sister's infamous wrath. But then again, what good would it do for him to go back now? Wanda would surely be out for blood at that point in time, considering how late he was probably making her. Pietro cursed his spontaneity, as he decided that he might as well stay and wait it out so his sister's anger might have a chance of cooling off.
"But then again, what kind of suitor would I be if I just came by for five minutes and then left again without seeing the lovely lady?" he rebounded smoothly, settling himself into the nearest chair. "I'll wait."

Pietro had barely waited for five minutes when the sound of hooves signaled someone's arrival, and the silver-haired youth eagerly leapt up to his seat, scanning the acres of lush green cotton fields to see if it was Jean. Or, perhaps, Rogue even...A tall, blonde gentleman riding expertly on a black stallion quickly chased away his initial hopes that it might be either of the two striking redheads, as Ororo immediately smiled and greeted, "Mr. Worthington, I'm so glad you're able to pay a visit to this plantation so soon." Pietro's curious blue eyes darted rapidly between the two, wondering to himself what was going on as the blonde-haired gentleman smoothly reined in his horse, bringing the massive midnight-colored beast to a stop and respectfully taking his hat off in the presence of a lady.
"I've come here to, uh, call on the young lady of the house, as per your request," Warren reminded her in words tinged with a British accent, and Pietro frowned, deciding that he must be courting Miss Kitty since Miss Jean was already engaged to him and nobody but a Maximoff would have the boldness to court a sullen wallflower like Miss Rogue. Ororo was smiling, saying delicately, "Ah, yes, of course. If it isn't too much trouble, could you please wait while I go inform the patriarch of the family of your arrival?" Warren smiled pleasantly.
"But of course," he agreed, and Ororo quickly gathered up her skirts and rustled efficiently into the house, taking with her a light breeze of verbena fragrances.

Warren had barely gotten off his horse and settled himself into a chair on the porch next to Pietro than a new pair rode up, and the latter's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of his statuesque future fiancée, then clouded in a frown when he saw that she was escorted by Bobby Drake of all people. Warren, meanwhile, had also glanced up in interest when he heard the familiar sound of hooves clopping on a dirt road, remembering Miss Ororo's request that he call on a young lady at the plantation. All the elegant African-American woman had disclosed was that said young lady was a beautiful redhead named Miss Rogue, and Warren, seeing the lovely sixteen-year-old girl riding toward him with sunlight dancing on her glorious red hair, immediately assumed that she must be the young lady. Standing up, he began walking toward the red-haired girl, reaching up and offering to help her off her horse, which she accepted with a surprised look and a modest blush. As he'd already taken his hat off to greet Miss Ororo, Warren chose to sweep down in a respectful bow, beginning to say, "You must be the famous belle of the Xavier plantation Miss Ororo was talking about." In an instant, Pietro had zipped up and stood possessively next to Jean, spitting out jealously, "Yes she is, so who might you be and what are you doing making all these unwanted advances on her?" Warren looked taken aback by his behavior, as he started to say, "Why, Miss Ororo asked me to call on her during my stay here."
"She did?" Twin expressions of surprise flashed across both Jean and Pietro's faces, as they alternated between looking at each other to looking at the proud mansion that Miss Ororo had disappeared into a few minutes earlier.

At that moment, a second pair of arrivals came into view, as Kitty and Ray rode up, the former chattering a mile a minute, the latter smoldering sullenly atop his cremelo stallion and occasionally responding with the obligatory grunt. Kitty waved sunnily from atop her little strawberry mare, calling out to her sister happily, "Hey, Jean, guess who's come to call on Rogue?"
"Why Bobby Drake, of course," Jean replied neutrally, at the same time that Warren looked at her in alarm and asked, "Forgive me for asking this, but you're not Miss Rogue?"
"No, she's my fiancée, Miss Jean," Pietro seethed to the blonde Englishman's consternation and embarrassment, at the same time that Kitty wondered, dumbfounded, "Huh, what do you mean Bobby? It's Ray Crisp!"
"So, Miss Ororo told you to call on Miss Rogue, huh?" Pietro began, the possessive, jealous edge in his voice failing to disappear as he talked with Warren, who nodded.
"Yes." He then shrugged his broad shoulders, admitting helplessly, "However, I'm afraid I don't know who Miss Rogue is."

"Ah'm Rogue," a female voice, tinged with a much stronger Southern accent than that of the present two ladies, spoke up curiously, as Rogue finally made her much anticipated appearance, riding side by side now with Remy and with Evan trailing several feet behind them. Pietro was the first one to zip up to her before she'd even had the chance to get off her horse, arrogantly tossing his headful of shining platinum-colored hair and sneering, "Well, so the little princess has finally chosen to grace us with her presence! It's not polite to be absent when someone comes calling on you, Miss Rogue...especially when that someone happens to be me!" Warren turned in confusion to the second redhead who'd appeared, beginning to say apologetically, "So you're Miss Rogue? Miss Ororo has requested that I call on you during my stay here in Mississippi..." Bobby jumped up, piping, "Hey, Miss Rogue, long time no see, huh? I mean, you're all going to the party on the Acquillas' plantation, tomorrow, right? Miss Rogue, I'd love to escort you there if you'll allow me, and you simply must promise me at least the last dance of the night and a seat by you at dinner!" Ray, after some prodding and pushing from Kitty, got up and grunted in a surly tone, "Funny, because I came here to call on Miss Rogue and ask her for at least the last dance of the evening and a seat by her at dinner as well." Rogue listened with wide-eyed disbelief, and the only thing preventing her jaw to slacken and drop to the ground in shock was the years of Ororo's careful training in the etiquette of a Southern lady of high social position. Only a day before she had been the thorn amidst the two roses of the Xavier plantation, petulant in demeanor and shrewish in reputation, with men even paying attention to her only because of out of either bravado (Pietro) or ignorance of her coldly sarcastic ways (Remy). Now she actually had more young men scrambling to be her escort than she knew what to do with, and Rogue turned and looked helplessly at Remy, who was watching all this with an amused twinkle in his eyes. Hn, lot of help he's going to be, she thought sourly to herself, noting that he seemed more ready to laugh at the events unfolding in front of him rather than step in and tell all the suitors that he would be escorting her to the party, even if he'd mentioned no such thing during their ride together because he didn't know there was going to be a party and Rogue had been too shy to tell him and have him think she wanted him to ask her.
"Well, Rogue?" Kitty was looking at her sister with eager cornflower-blue eyes, and even Jean had turned around to see which beau she would choose. Rogue looked with sullenness at the crop of suitors that had suddenly sprung up, before holding her head high and replying defiantly, "Ah'm afraid Ah'll have to deny y'all the burden of escorting to the party." She shot a look at Remy, who was now looking at her face with interest to see what she would do next, and the expression in his eyes gave her enough confidence to drop her bombshell.
"You see," Rogue revealed with a half-smile, "Ah've already promised all the dances to Mr...er, Remy here beside me!"