Chapter 5: The plan in motion

"I have never been this exhausted in my entire life!" Caroline complained, weakly sitting in her favourite armchair, not at all caring that she slumped in it like a farm girl rather than a lady, as her mother would put it. Bonnie, who was just adding some sugar to a cup of tea, rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"Well, this is the price you pay for dancing with every gentleman last night," she answered unperturbed, sipping from her cup.

Caroline sighed, reaching for a biscuit. "The worst part is that Rebekah's going to be unbearable now that her plan miraculously does work," she told Bonnie, exasperated. "Why is it even working? What is wrong with gentlemen these days?"

Bonnie laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "All I know is, once you had finished dancing with Niklaus, gentlemen started flogging around you like bees flying towards honey. This is what you wanted, isn't it? So don't be theatrical about it," she added in a strict tone.

Caroline wanted to sigh again, but she knew this would really sound majorly theatrical, so she bit into the heavenly biscuit instead. She glanced at her friend who continued drinking her tea.

"Well, these gentlemen were so attentive, I didn't get to talk to you once last night. How was your evening?" she asked pointedly, remembering the scene she had involuntarily eavesdropped on before Klaus found her. Did she imagine a light blush appearing on her friend's cheeks? Caroline could rarely tell on Bonnie's darker complexion.

The other girl coughed slightly, before regaining her composure. "You missed nothing. A boring evening for me, as always," she dismissed Caroline's question, reaching for a biscuit herself.

"Really?" Caroline continued, seemingly uninterested, "No gossip? No enchanting dances? No secret meetings with gentlemen in dark alcoves?"

Bonnie flinched nearly unnoticeable, fixing her gaze on the fine carpet in the sitting room. "Sorry, nothing interesting to tell," she mumbled as Caroline fixed a stare on her.

"That sounds really boring," she started slowly, shrugging her shoulders in an unladylike manner. "Oh well, maybe Kol has something interesting to say about the ball, he always tells the most interesting stories," she posed, which made Bonnie abruptly raise her head to answer her gaze.

"Caroline," Bonnie slowly started, "what do you…", when the butler entered the room, clearing his throat.

"I'm sorry, Miss Forbes, there are, ahem, several callers," he started, staring at Caroline who looked surprised.

"As you well know, Marcel, Lady Mikaelson is out for a walk right now. You should tell this to her callers," Caroline answered, as the butler again cleared his throat, holding a plate with three calling cards towards her.

"These gentlemen are calling on you, Miss Forbes," he added. Staring at the plate, Caroline read the elegantly written name cards while Bonnie craned her neck to see the callers' names as well. "This is unprecedented!" she mused, before staring at Caroline again. "But Care, about before…" she started, but Caroline was side-tracked by the name cards.

"Oh my god," Caroline breathed before telling Marcel to send the gentlemen inside, hoping she looked more presentable than she felt.

"Brother," Kol greeted Klaus as they arrived at Mikaelson Mansion at the same time, "fancy seeing you here. Visiting our dear Caroline, I guess?" Klaus eyed his younger brother suspiciously, still remembering their encounter the night before. Though Caroline had promised she hadn't been dallying with Kol, Klaus doubted his brother's presence at their old family home was a coincidence. "What about you, Kol, whose company do you seek here?" he therefore asked.

Kol defensively held up his hands. "Can't a son just visit his mother and almost sister without having an agenda?" he countered, but his too innocent voice made Klaus arch his eyebrows in suspicion.

Stepping a bit closer to him, Klaus leveled a stare at Kol. "A devoted son might, but you never struck me as that kind. In all honesty, Kol: Are you here because you fancy Caroline?"

Kol frowned, taking a step back. "Honestly, Niklaus, I could never fancy Caroline as anything more than a sister. She's bested me at too many a ball game in my life for me to feel something other than deep rooted annoyance and some brotherly affection most of the time," he chuckled as Klaus suppressed a sigh of relief. "But I thought your fancy was merely a clever plan for our dearest Caroline to find a husband. So why would you care if I did, indeed, fancy her, brother?" Kol chirped in an amused tone as he entered the building.

Klaus followed, his annoyance clearly visible in his stance as Marcel pointed them towards the nearest sitting room, clearly realising that asking to announce the brothers could lead to unpleasantness for him due to Klaus' bad mood.

"I merely would not want her to be stuck with the likes of you, brother. Your reputation is less than stellar," Klaus stated as they walked down the hall, Kol's hand already reaching for the door.

"Believe me, my fancy is not what you should worry about," the younger man stated as they faced a room packed with gentlemen.

Klaus eyed the circus in front of him with disdain, rolling his eyes. The plan actually seemed to be working, as there were currently at least nine gentlemen trying to get Caroline's attention. At the moment, Tyler Lockwood was reciting a cheesy poem – pathetic -, while Stefan and Damon Salvatore both stood next to her, obviously arguing who should be the next one to talk to Caroline - way too much drama with those two. Next to the window, Jeremy Gilbert was holding a cup of tea - obviously too young to be even considered as a prospect - , while his own uncle, John Gilbert – the old lecher -, was brazenly staring at Caroline's breast that were emphasised in her pale yellow day dress. Klaus didn't even want to start on the other men crowding the room. At least Caroline had the good sense to inconspicuously roll her eyes when Lockwood ended on an especially schmaltzy note while grasping her hand, and her clear annoyance made Klaus smile. There was hope for her, yet. Elegantly freeing herself from Lockwood's fingers, she offered the man a polite smile. "That was… quite unique," she told him, before turning away and recognizing Klaus and Kol standing in the doorway.

"Kol, Niklaus, what a lovely surprise," she exclaimed, perhaps a bit too relieved. Klaus tried to hide his grin as he and Kol bowed politely.

"My darling boys," a voice breathed from the settee opposite of where Caroline was standing, and with a little start Klaus realised his own mother was in the room.

"Mother," he and Kol greeted, again in synch, and Esther stood, motioning for her sons to greet her with a well-mannered kiss on her cheek. Klaus saw a little smile play around Caroline's lips as he dutifully leaned down oblige his mother.

"This really is a lovely surprise," Esther agreed, trying to turn her sons around, "let's find you something to eat," she declared, obviously trying to usher them away from Caroline's suitors.

"It's not really a surprise," Klaus told her, refusing to move and giving Caroline a look, "as I promised Lady Caroline a walk in the park yesterday." Caroline didn't even look confused for a second. "Of course," she quickly agreed, fixing a falsely apologetic smile on her lips, "how could I forget! I'm really sorry, gentlemen, but I made these plans prior to your kind visits."

Esther frowned. "But surely you can go on a walk another time," she tried to contradict, but Klaus just smiled at her.

"Mother, I believe it's bad manners to make a promise to a lady and then revoke my word," he answered, "what might Lady Caroline think of me?"

At the same time, Kol leaned down to whisper in his mother's ear: "Niklaus might finally settle down," making his mother's eyes widen.

"Oh dear," she mumbled, looking from Klaus to Caroline, clearly at a loss for words, "of course you shouldn't break your promises. Off you go then." She waved her hands in the air, stepping aside so Klaus could take a step towards Caroline. "It clearly wouldn't do for you gentlemen to wait for their return," she continued towards the other men in the room, smiling politely, "but I am sure Caroline would be delighted to keep you company another time."

The gentlemen frowned and grudgingly started to walk towards the door, following Caroline and Klaus who had already left. Esther brought up the rear, fussing about the lovely gifts the men had brought and Tyler's moving poem recitation, diligently closing the door behind her.

Bonnie sighed as she was left behind. She was still sitting on the small settee, where she had been for the past hour, compacted next to Esther as they watched gentleman after gentleman try to catch Caroline's eye. After the first three men arrived and her and Caroline's chat came to an abrupt end, Bonnie continued to drink her tea. Though every gentlemen that arrived greeted her politely, it was achingly obvious that they were not even slightly interested in her and didn't even bother talking to her, as well. Caroline had tried to transfer some attention to Bonnie, looking at her friend apologetically, but except for a few polite (and boring) exchanges about the weather, nobody had really bothered with her. When Esther arrived her enthusiasm for matching Caroline with an eligible bachelor had fanned the flames, creating a near circus, making Bonnie feel quite content with being ignored, especially when Tyler Lockwood had started butchering well – known poems and she heard Luke Parker mumble jokes to himself. Even though, they might at least have remembered Bonnie when they left. She sighed, closing her eyes for a second.

"Thinking about me?" a voice suddenly broke through the silence, making her jump in her seat.

"Kol!" she half- screamed, turning to look at the grinning man leaning over the back of the settee. "What are you still doing here?" she whispered, her voice smaller than she would have preferred it to be. When she realised Kol had arrived with Klaus, she deliberately hid herself deeper on the little sofa, avoiding the man.

"Well, I could smell you were in this room," he said, shrugging. Bonnie stared at him. "You smelled me?"

Kol inhaled softly. "It's rose water, bergamot and something uniquely you. I'd smell it anywhere," he told her, and she blushed.

"Don't be ridiculous," she answered annoyed, standing up from her place. Still she pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, thinking about the rose water soap she used and the hint of bergamot perfume she was wearing.

"I'm not," he stated, looking at her intently, "especially after having you so close yesterday," he reminded her.

She quickly looked away, blushing. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Kol. Nothing happened!" He suddenly stood before her, his expression serious.

"Don't!" he told her and she stopped breathing for a second. He looked so regal and big, nothing like the carefree Kol she saw every day. He kneeled in front of her, his gaze softening.

"I'm sorry I kissed you, Bonnie," he started and she blushed even deeper, gasping. He shrugged. "Well, I'm not sorry about the kiss – I mean, I wanted to kiss you for a very long time!" he grinned and she saw that his neck had turned a little red. As he tentatively took her hands in his she let it happen. "I'm sorry about the way it happened, Bon. This was not the way out first kiss should have been, so please forgive me."

Bonnie was speechless. It took her a minute to gather her thoughts and when she did, she realised she was staring at Kol with possibly the stupidest, open-mouthed expression ever. A thousand questions where racing through her head. Was he actually sincere? Had he thought about their perfect first kiss? What had he thought about? Was he sincere? Did she want that kiss? What was happening? Was he really, sincerely in love with her?

Suddenly, she pulled her hands away from him. "That kiss should never have happened, Kol!" she told him in a trembling voice. "We cannot be together!"

With that, she stood up and raced from the room, leaving a confused Kol behind.

The sun spent just the right amount of warmth, and though freckles were not recommended for a young woman's complexion, Caroline turned her face toward the light, trying to outsmart her stupid bonnet. Next to her, Klaus was chuckling.

"Lucky for you, your maid does not mind you freckling your face, but if I remember correctly our mothers will murder you if you come back sun-kissed."

Caroline shrugged as a small smile played on her lips. Her eyes were closed and she steadied herself on Klaus arm, having face in him guiding her. "This morning was so exhausting, I need the sun to bring me back to life!" she moaned before turning to look at Klaus. "Seriously, thank you so much for saving me, Klaus," she stated, looking into his eyes. He held her gaze, and she was probably one of the few people who recognised the hint of a smile appearing around his lips.

"My pleasure. Though you might have to look a bit more in love, as some of your other suitors decided to follow us here," he added, and she looked around, startled.

"What? Where?" she nearly screamed and he shushed her.

"I saw the Salvatores and your Shakespeare," Klaus chuckled, "so to make them more interested you have to appear to adore me much more!"

Caroline frowned. "Shouldn't that have the opposite effect?" she asked, obviously confused.

"One would think a gentlemen wouldn't pursue a lady in love with another, but first of all: Most men aren't that smart."

"And second?" Caroline questioned.

"They hate me and would love to snatch you from under my nose," Klaus shrugged and Caroline giggled.

"Gentlemen are weird creatures!" she concluded, which made Klaus chuckle in turn. Or it was just the sound of her laughter that made him smile.

"Present company excluded, I hope?" he prodded but she only grinned.

"Oh, I believe you are the weirdest of them all!" she taunted him, and he nearly pouted.

"How can you say that knowing my brother?!" he exclaimed, breaking the link between their arms and making a huge, exasperated gesture.

This time, she started laughing whole-heartedly. "You're right, of course, I'm sorry," she exclaimed, "but let's be honest. Creatures would be offended to be likened to Kol, so he's a whole new category of weirdness by himself!"

Klaus grinned, holding out his arm again, which she took and they strolled on and chatted. He couldn't remember the last time talking to someone had been so easy. Or maybe he could and it had been more than six years.