I don't think I got that much, but I could be wrong. I wasn't paying attention to chapters, just... reading. I love her main character.

btw, I sent Weaver to Greg's boss, but she hasn't responded yet.

Thanks, Deena.

Whoof tired tired.

Where is Erin, anyway?

I've got to a point in my novel where I feel like I'm playing Choose Your Own Adventure, because I'm in the middle of a scene with five possible outcomes, and I can't decide which is best. So, I'm here to invite you to play along. To set the scene:

THE PLAYERS:
Lucy Jones, our heroine. 18 years old, and the eldest of ten children, eight of them living. Her family is quite poor, since her mother, the daughter of a Norfolk squire, married beneath her, and her father turned out to be not much good at anything beyond siring lots of children. As a young child she was sickly, so she was sent away from her parents' London home to be raised by her mother's sister, who married above her. Her aunt and uncle, Lord and Lady Windham, took it upon themselves to make sure the numerous Joneses didn't starve and had a chance at respectable careers. Lucy herself has been brought up to be a governess or, perhaps, if she's really lucky, the wife of a curate or doctor or somesuch. She's a clear-headed, practical, smart young woman, except for the fact she's madly in love with her cousin Julius, though he obviously thinks of her as a sister.

Hal Arrington, Lord Windham since his father's death three years ago. 25 years old, he's just now officially come into his inheritance. Unfortunately, he's racked up so many gaming debts in the past three years that he's well beyond flat broke.

Captain Julius Arrington, 24, a fine upstanding young cavalry officer conveniently temporarily home from the Peninsular Campaign nursing an injured leg. Attractive, kind, but sanctimonious with it.

Portia Arrington, 20, beautiful and ambitious, but cold, proud, and generally a bitch. Has always hated Lucy for her low origins. At this point in the story, is two weeks away from her wedding to a middle-aged earl she secretly despises, but agreed to marry because she didn't have any better choices.

Cordelia Arrington, 19, and really the best of the Arrington bunch. A bit airheaded, but thoroughly generous and friendly.

James Wright, 25, fabulously wealthy, heir to a fortune got in trade by his (deceased) father. Also heir to his father's considerable intelligence and restless temperament, and therefore bored as hell with the life of an idle gentleman that his proud father intended him for. Deep down, he's as fine a person as you'll ever meet, but on the surface he's impulsive and mischievous--largely because he's so bored. Portia has been flinging herself at James in the week they've known each other, hoping he'll offer to elope with her and spare her from having to marry the earl.

Anna Wright, 19, his beautiful sister, with an equally beautiful fortune. She and Julius are wildly infatuated with each other and intend to marry, though they've only known each other a week. It won't end well, but that's for another book.

THE SCENE:
We're at Portia's betrothal ball, at her fiance's Gloucestershire home. It's Lucy's first ball, and to her surprise she's quite popular. In particular, James is now ignoring Portia and dancing attendance upon her. The ball is over half over when Hal, plagued by a guilty conscience, confesses to Lucy that he's deeply in debt, and will no longer be able to offer any assistance to her family. Understandably upset, she flees the ballroom. James notices and follows her to the nice empty isolated room she's found to hide in. He comforts her, finds out what's happened, and offer to marry her. (Did I mention he's impulsive?) They talk, he kisses her, she agrees to marry him on the condition that he meet her family first so he'll know just what he's let himself into in offering to support them. (Did I mention her parents were excessively fertile?) More kissage ensues.

Here's where I don't know what to do next. And since I suspect this post is pushing the length limits, I'll continue in another one.

t continued

THE OPTIONS, which basically break down into whether anyone discovers them mid-clinch, and if so, who:

1) Portia finds them.
Pros: Given that Portia hates Lucy and wants James for herself, major conflict and angst will ensue, which is always good for fiction.
Cons: I tried it this way last night, and loved what it did with Portia, but NSM for Lucy and James. I want there to still be lots of tension and questions between them, with Lucy not sure she even likes or trusts this man she's agreed to marry to save her family, and dismayed at herself for responding to him physically. Inserting Portia into the mix turned them into a united front, and I want to delay the friendship and trust-building just a little longer, because otherwise where's the drama?

2) Hal finds them:
Pros: Hal is a real piece of work to begin with and has had rather too much to drink, so he's bound to say something vulgar and embarassing, and make his greed at being doubly connected to the rich Wrights a leetle too obvious.
Cons: No major ones, really.

3) Cordelia finds them:
Pros: It's logical within the confines of the plot that she'd be the one who actually bothered to look for them in the first place.
Cons: No drama. She'd be thrilled for them, perfectly willing to keep it secret if asked, etc.

4) Julius and Anna find them:
Pros: Also makes sense that they'd look for them. Cordelia might enlist their help, or Anna might be ready to go home and be looking for her brother. Given Lucy's idealized love for Julius, she'd be pretty humiliated to have him catch her getting all passionate with someone else. And, it's already occurred to her that it's awfully awkward to have to marry the brother of the woman who's going to marry the man she actually loves.
Cons: No major ones. It'd be nice and awkward.

5) No one finds them.
Pros: It'd work really well with a scene I'm planning for the next day, after Hal tells the rest of the family about the money problems. Lucy would end up having to tell the entire family about it in one fell swoop when her aunt calls her to join the family conference.
Cons: I'd lose the immediate drama of having someone catch them and having Lucy be all humiliated about it. And, I'd lose the potential of writing a scene with Lucy and her cousins having a late-night post-ball confrontation about it, which might actually be more angstful than the family conference scene the next day--you'd have Portia in full-on bitch mode without the restraining presence of her mother, Hal less than sober, etc.

All input appreciated. Thank you for playing.

Hmm. I'd have to vote for Julius and Anna as the best way to get your "embarrassing moment" in without uniting them too quickly.And without completely shattering Lucy. Of course, I've never written a novel(except for a very sad little Tales of The City meets Butterflies are Free that I wrote at college. Not all bad, but so Not Ready for Prime Time.)

I have to say that I hate characters being humiliated for any reason. I'd suggest that no one find them

For high conflict I'd say go with what erika suggested.

Hmm. How about a variation of #5? As far as Lucy knows, she's not discovered, but one of the cousins catches her but doesn't interrupt, instead going to the others and telling them what she's seen and heard. That way, Lucy will be steeling herself for how to announce the engagement, only to be bushwhacked by the post-ball confrontation.

I agree with Anne.

Anne's suggestion does sound as though it has potential.