“Lucien will not approve of this dress,” Leah said as she admired herself in the mirror, turning back and forth to get a good look at herself. “It is far too revealing.”
“This style is very popular in France right now,” Emery said, looking at the modiste to back her up. “I remember it from the plates I studied when I was ordering my wedding gown.”
“Indeed, it is, Your Grace,” the modiste said, nodding fervently. “The cut is, perhaps, tighter and lower than what some of the more modish fashion houses in London prefer, but both will mark you as a sophisticated and modern young woman looking for a forward-thinking husband.”
“I don’t think Lucien wants us to look modern or sophisticated,” Leah said, looking doubtfully at Emery. “And he certainly doesn’t want us marrying forward-thinking husbands!”
“I would encourage you to think about whatyouwant,” Emery said decisively, meeting Leah’s gaze. “Not what your brother wants. This is your life and your marriage. I wasted way too many years avoiding saying what I wanted because it might cause conflict, or letting my parents decide for me because I wanted to be agreeable and dutiful, and I’ll regret that for therest of my life. Because of it, there isn’t a single thing in my life that I chose for myself. Everything else was chosen for me. And I will not allow--”
Emery cut herself off. Her voice had been getting louder and louder, her breathing had been becoming more labored, and she had been on the verge of becoming hysterical. Other patrons in the shop were even starting to stare, and her three sisters-in-law were certainly gaping at her.
She forced herself to take a deep breath, and when she spoke again, it was in a normal, measured tone of voice.
“I merely hope that you can learn from my mistakes. You don’t have to do anything drastic. I just want you to think of what it is you most desire and be true to yourself. Don't be like your brother: don’t be so focused on what you think youshoulddo that you forget to do what you actually want.”
The girls all nodded. Eve looked a bit awe-struck, Celeste a little sad, and Leah thoughtful. Emery decided not to say anything more on the subject, and the rest of the visit followed without incident. It was only after they’d finished placing their orders and paid the bill and were on their way out the door that Leah caught up to Emery.
“You know, you shouldn’t judge my brother too harshly,” Leah said under her breath, so her sisters wouldn’t hear, as she followed Emery to the door. “I know that he can be a little rigid, but there are things about him you don’t understand.”
Emery glanced at Leah in surprise, then pushed open the door. The sound of the bell chimed as they stepped out through it and onto the street.
“What kinds of things?” she asked, but Leah shook her head.
“It’s not really my place to talk about it,” she said, “but I just want you to know that the only reason he is so intent on following rules is to protect us from the world, not to make us miserable. He does love us dearly. Sometimes I wish he cared about himself nearly as much, in fact.”
Emery considered this. “That’s all very well and good,” she said, “but he should be asking you what you want, not just blindly trying to protect you. That’s just patronizing.”
Leah smiled. “Well, I suppose he is our patron. And our patriarch. But yes, my brother is not perfect. But he is also a good person, and he wouldn’t be so rigid if he didn’t truly believe it was the best way to keep his family safe.”
“And you can’t tell me why you're saying this?” Emery asked. “It would be helpful to have some insight into the way he is.”
Leah gave her a cheeky smile. “I suggest you ask him. It’s not my place to tell his secrets.”
Emery smiled and linked arms with Leah. “You’re right. Thank you for telling me as much as you could. I’ll take all of this into consideration.”
But it was hard for Emery to imagine ever asking the Duke for details as to why he was the most uptight, joyless, uncompromising person she’d ever met. And after the London Season, what was the point? She wouldn’t be seeing him again after that.
Chapter Eight
“So, this is where you’ve been.” Lucien stood in the doorway to the parlor, his arms folded, and took in the wide, surprised eyes of his brother, who was sitting at the desk near the windows, writing what appeared to be a letter.
Henry set down his quill and slowly stood up. He still looked surprised, but as the seconds stretched out, another look clouded his face: fear.
“Don’t say that as if I’ve been hiding for weeks,” Henry said, turning fully to face Lucien. “The wedding was only yesterday. In fact, I was just writing you a letter to let you know where I’d gone.” He gestured at the paper behind him on the desk. “I wasn’t trying to disappear or anything.”
“And yet you did disappear. From perhaps the most important event of your life.”
Lucien took another step into the room and looked around. He hadn’t been to his house in Cornwall in many years. It was a dreary place, Cornwall, with far too little light and far too much rain, but he had suspected that it was where Henry had run off to. Henry had always enjoyed quiet and solitude. His favored hobbies had always been reading and writing, as opposed to the more gentlemanly riding and shooting. And Cornwall had always been his favorite of their homes to curl up with a book on long, rainy afternoons.
Henry swallowed. He looked very nervous now, and his eyes flitted to the doors, as if wondering about escape. But he didn’t waver, and when he spoke again, it was in a strong, clear voice.
“I am very sorry, Lucien. I should not have run away like that from my duty. I know that I let you down, not to mention Lady Emery and her parents. But I just couldn’t do it. Every single thing inside of me was telling me it was wrong.”
Lucien felt a flicker of anger, but he tried to remain calm. “Youcouldn’tdo it?” he repeated. “Or you didn’t want to? Because in my experience, men can do any number of things. Take responsibility, Henry: you absolutely could have married Lady Emery. You just chose not to.”
Henry blinked, then grit his teeth and nodded. “You’re right. I could have. But I didn’t want to.”
“Leaving me to clean up your mess.” Lucien couldn’t keep some of the anger from his voice now. “Not to mention endangering your sisters’ marriage prospects. You do remember that Leahis meant to debut in a month, do you not? Abandoning Lady Emery at the aisle could have ruined her reputation and destroyed our family name! Not to mention Lady Emery’s.”
