Jocelyn frowned at her. “Absolutely not. The man clearly adores you, so what are you waiting for? Grab him up before some scheming ninny gets her claws into him.”
This hadnotbeen her aim in gathering them in Cherish’s salon. She’d merely wanted to let them know Rob had spent a few days with her before the party started. What they did together during that time was no one’s business, but she did not appear to have fooled anyone when claiming it was all innocent.
Her blush completely gave her away. “I have no intention of grabbing him up. How can I marry him when the problem he and I face is obvious?”
“What problem?” Ailis asked.
Cherish and Margaret edged closer to Fiona, now realizing what she was about to tell the others. “I cannot have children,” she said, releasing a ragged breath. “I cannot have them, and yet this is what is essential to carry on the Durham line. There are no other male heirs. Rob is the last of them. He needs sons, and this is something I can never give him.”
“Does he know your situation?” Eden asked.
Fiona nodded.
“And yet he still wishes to marry you?” Jocelyn asked. “Then you have been honest with him and he is fully aware of the consequences.”
Fiona shifted uncomfortably. “Yes, but this does not alter the fact that his line will extinguish upon his death if he does not sire legitimate offspring.”
“Even our royal lines have died out and England has survived,” Ailis remarked. “If the extinction of the Durhamdukedom does not concern him, then why areyouso troubled by it?”
Jocelyn hastily agreed. “I learned the hard way about marrying the wrong man…almostmarrying the wretched cur. Fortunately, I came to my senses and fled the church before we exchanged vows. How foolish I looked, penniless and lost. But this is how I met Camborne. Despite his horribly rakish reputation, everything immediately felt right with him. I knew he was the one I was meant to love and marry.”
“Durham reminds me a little of my husband,” Ailis ventured. “Both of them are serious men who are not rakish at all. I think a man like this loves once and only. He loves faithfully and forever. If he has chosen you, then why are you so determined to deprive him?”
But would love not fade when faced with disappointment?
This was Fiona’s greatest worry, that Rob would start to have regrets as the years passed and he did not have children.
“We have gotten a little off the topic,” she said, clearing her throat. “It isn’t about the betting book, although all eyes are on Durham because of it. Nor is it about his affection for me. It is about cutting off Lady Cordelia before any scandal can spread.”
“Durham would feel honor bound to marry you if ever that happened,” Margaret pointed out. “He would insist on it, for certain.”
“That would put all of London in a frenzy,” Ailis muttered. “I wonder what odds they have on your winning his heart? Jonas’s brother made a fortune off that betting book they opened on Jonas because no one else ever bothered to learn more about him. They just assumed he would marry one of last year’s crop of diamonds and wagered on ladies who were obviously never going to be suitable for him.”
“No odds on me,” Fiona muttered. “I doubt I am even considered in the running, since rumors are swirling that I havealready rejected him. I’m sure everyone considers me too old, anyway.”
“Only a fool would ever rule you out,” Cherish said, raising her teacup in tribute to her. “Here’s to your success! All women of a certain age shall support you, I am certain. Three cheers for maturity.”
Fiona laughed. “I am impatient, outspoken, and definitely more childish than I ought to be.”
“All the better,” Cherish replied. “Durham has always been remarkably mature for his age. Even as a young man, he showed wisdom well beyond his years. Hooray to those of us considered on the shelf…and to the men clever enough to choose us.” She turned to Margaret, who was the youngest among them by several years. “Do forgive me—I do not mean to disparage your youth and vigor.”
Margaret, who was the sweetest among them, although Ailis was a close second, smiled back at her. “Oh, Cherish. No offense taken. I am cheering just as fiercely as you are. Love must always triumph. Isn’t it wonderful that he cares so deeply for you, Fiona?”
Yes, it was.
But did Fiona dare reach for this temptation of happiness?
She hugged them all now that her mission had been accomplished. Cordelia’s malicious insinuations would be addressed if and when the time came. As for the possibility of her ever marrying Rob? She had agreed to give him a year. Fate and her wishes for a miracle would determine what happened next.
“Then we are of one mind? If Lady Cordelia casts any aspersions, you are all to simply feign boredom.”
Eden grinned. “Oh, yes. We shall yawn and dismiss any possible spark between you and that gorgeous man.”
Fiona headed back to her bedchamber to prepare for this evening’s dinner party, hoping her friends would not let her down. She was surprised by how supportive they had been about Rob, none of them considering him a mismatch for her.
In truth, this did cheer her.
“Take that, you miserable wasp,” she muttered, ready to swat the spiteful Cordelia if she dared to cause harm.
