She looked up, shocked.“It wouldn’t be appropriate for His Grace to marry me.I do see that now.Besides, feeling burdened is no reason to marry anybody.He deserves his choice.He deserves love.”
Both Charlton sisters smiled at that.They were fond of their brother and fiercely loyal to him.It was a nice sentiment to have their support, even if the Duke of Brantingham could never marry a girl with no known family, no lineage, no past.
There lay the crux of the matter—Aurelia had been promised to a man beyond her reach.
She sought to change the conversation, asking Lady Margery about her plans for the upcoming social Season.
“I look forward to seeing my friends and having fun,” said Margie, placing the magazine on the bedside table.“But I am a dedicated spinster.I don’t want to marry.I’d rather go to university.”
It wasn’t a shocking dream.Aurelia had attended Ladies College at Cheltenham, and many of her classmates yearned for the day when they might go on to the University of London, for example, which had recently opened to women.
“What would you study?”she asked.
“The art of not getting married, to start.”Margie grinned mischievously.“Perry and Selly view a gentleman’s education as a stepping stone to adulthood, yet I long to learn things despite my sex.I must challenge myself beyond choosing furniture and organizing dinner menus.”
Lady Fanetta closed the wardrobe doors and seated herself at Aurelia’s dressing table.She rummaged through the jars of scent and pots of facial creams that were currentlyen vogueamong smart, young women.Aurelia was not so prim that she didn’t enjoy a blush of rouge upon her cheeks or a dusting of powder over the freckles dotting her nose.
“I wish to do all of those things,” said Fannie.“Is it unrealistic to be both a clever woman and an efficient wife?”
“Not at all,” Aurelia answered.“I believe that nothing is out of reach for a modern girl.It’s the menfolk who must strive to meet the mark.”
The trio erupted into laughter, for her words were truly daring, yet lots of ladies felt the same way back home in Cheltenham, and doubtless more shared their opinions here in London.
“Do you still hope to marry our brother, Miss Goldsworthy?”Lady Fanetta asked her reflection in the cheval glass.
“Fannie!Never mind her,” said Lady Margery.“She forgets herself sometimes.”
“It’s alright.I’m not offended.Ihadhoped to marry him, but I understand now why I cannot.Your brother has been kind to me during this muddle of ours.”
“Oh, yes,” the girls agreed.“Selly is very kind.”
They sang his praises while Aurelia donned her cloak and pinned a bonnet atop her head.She was as eager as the others to see the switching on of the electric lamps and hoped to look pretty for her outing with His Grace.
In time, the Charlton sisters disappeared in search of their own bonnets and cloaks.Aurelia walked the length of the gaslit corridor, her mind reeling from the doings of the day.She nearly bumped into the Duke as he exited a room.
“Oh!”She dodged him.“I do beg your pardon, Your Grace.”
His big body took up a lot of space in the passage, yet somehow they managed not to crash into one another.
“That was a near miss,” he said, “but thankfully no harm done.”
He pulled the bedroom door closed behind him, looking boyish and guilty.
She suspected that he’d been caught doing something naughty.“What’s in there?”
“It’s the duchess’ bedchamber.I keep it much the same as my mother left it.”
Aurelia felt her cheeks redden.What right hadsheto criticize where a man went or what he did in his home?“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to pry.”
The Duke of Brantingham wore a heavy greatcoat trimmed in astrakhan and carried a tall hat in the crook of his arm.He looked very smartly turned out for their trip to the Victoria Embankment.
“I was honestly looking through some of Mama’s papers whilst I waited for you to dress,” His Grace explained.“I was hoping to find any mention of you, or to uncover any plans for our betrothal.”
Her pulse quickened with anticipation.“And?”
“If it truly was my mother’s wish—if her hands were anywhere in this scheme at all—I’m afraid we shall never know.I was present at the reading of her will.My solicitors and I sorted through all of her affairs.There was nothing out of the ordinary then, and I find nothing out of the ordinary now.”
Aurelia suspected as much.“Which leaves only the worst-case scenario.”
