“No, I don’t think anyone could hate a necklace like that. But wearing it will make her self-conscious. You’ve agreed to marry not only a wallflower, but one who blends right in with the wall.”
Hugh shook her head. “No, that’s ridiculous. She’s beautiful.”
“I know, but she hides her beauty in order to fade into a crowd. She is not interested in being the sort of woman whosebeauty everyone admires. I don’t think she will be comfortable with the sort of attention a duchess commands.”
“On the other hand, she spent a fair bit of my money at the modiste. Although, based on how Adele described the visit, my guess is that once the modiste discovered she could bill me, she was deceptive about the costs of things with Adele. I can’t see her spending that much money knowingly.”
“Are you angry about it?”
“Not at all. I gave the modiste permission to bill me for anything Adele wanted. I don’t anticipate her causing me any financial hardships. You’re right, Adele is not extravagant, and I can afford it anyway.”
“Speaking of people with financial hardships, I ran into your cousin the other day.”
Hugh frowned at that. “My cousin?”
“Collingswood. He’s still in town.”
Hugh made the face he made when he couldn’t remember something. “And he has financial troubles?”
“His property in Jamaica has experienced some hardships.” Lark watched Hugh for any reaction, but Hugh still seemed lost.
“He has not asked me for money,” said Hugh.
“No, he is too proud for that.” Lark frowned. “The thing is, Collingswood is your closest relative and he stands to inherit your title, which is unlikely to happen now that you’ve married. I don’t know him well enough to say if that matters to him. Maybe it doesn’t. In the meantime, I’ve received word that Collingswood thought he’d be inheriting some tract of land but lost out on it, then he tried to buy a piece of land in Surrey but was outbid for it, so he has thus far been unsuccessful at buying land in England.”
“That is curious.”
“In what way? Collingswood’s desire to own more property is well known.”
“I don’t know what to make of it, honestly. But I have the sense there’s something I don’t remember here. A connection I can’t make because some things are still lost to me. Do I like Collingswood?”
“You are not close. Your feelings toward him have always seemed… ambivalent.”
“Hmm. Are he and I… that is, do we compete? Is there ill will?”
“If there is, you have never spoken to me about it, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at your land holdings to see which of them Collingswood might have tried to make a play for.”
“That is a good idea. I will discuss it with my man of business.”
“Please do. I can’t say anything for certain, but I have a nagging feeling about him. Still, perhaps it is of no consequence and I am biased because I personally find Collingswood somewhat repellant. Did you invite him to your wedding?”
“Mother took care of the invitations, but I imagine she would have. He is my cousin, after all, and a Baxter, and Mother has been lecturing me about Baxters and Swynfords and reputations all week. I believe her intention of explaining that my ancestor Such-and-So Baxter fought with Henry V at Agincourt is to somehow impress me into seeing that Adele is unworthy. Luckily she does this only when Adele is not around, but I think Mother will not cease with this until the wedding is over and done.”
Lark nodded. “She’ll come around. She needs to see with her own eyes that nobody cares. If Adele is pretty and charming in public, she’ll do just fine.”
“Are you sure nobody cares?”
Lark crossed his arms. “I have given this some thought. I think we’re in the midst of a quiet social revolution, actually.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think it is the fate of daughters and sons to feel dissatisfied with the lives of their parents. What year were yours married?”
“I have no idea.”
“Your memory is still faulty, so I will forgive you that. Mine were married in 1778. Think about all that has happened since then. We lost the American colonies. We went to war in Europe. The king went mad. We defeated Napoleon. Not only that, but women want different things now. Did you read Wollstonecraft? Well, if you did, you won’t remember, but she argued that women should have equal rights. I think we can see a future where what we do in the privacy of our homes stops mattering.”
Hugh sat back in his chair and raised his eyebrows, so Lark decided to plow forward with his speech.
