Seated at the dressing table in the bedchamber she had been occupying at her grandmother’s house, Constance blushed. She could not deny that she had spent the money on a new dress with the thought of Ezra seeing her in it. And her sister was always complimentary, but she hoped she was truthful, too.
"Don’t be silly," she said, because she felt she had to.
"Grandmamma is right – there is something between you two, and don’t try to deny it. I know you too well, sister."
Charity was right, of course – but Constance didn’t want to acknowledge it out loud, because she knew she was wrong to feel anything. And certainly wrong to hope he might. If he had felt a spark between them, she was sure he would have realised that she was not really suitable to be a countess; that his mother was right to disapprove of her.
"You do know me, Constance. And I know you." Charity met her sister’s eye in the looking glass. "And I want to know the real reason you’re here. What happened this Season that made you travel all the way here?"
"I told you – I missed you," Constance said.
"Whilst that’s very sweet, Constance, I’m afraid I don’t believe you. We’ve been apart for this long before. Something has happened – something that made you want to get away. Or made Father want you to leave. He wasn’t happy about me missing the Season; I cannot imagine he would willingly let you go unless there was good reason."
Charity sighed and sat down on the bed, her skirts crumpling beneath her.
"You’re always so perceptive, Constance. It can be quite annoying, you know."
Constance laughed good-naturedly. "I know. Now – are you going to tell me what it is?"
"It’s nothing, really. Father is overreacting, as always."
Constance frowned. Her father was not known to be prone to histrionics.
"Oh?"
"There was a man… Lord Cinder," Charity began, wringing her hands. "He started courting me on the first day of the Season – turning up with flowers, asking me to dance every time we met. It was flattering, I won’t deny it."
"And?" Constance asked, turning to face her instead of speaking through the looking glass. "Did he change his mind? Or show improper interest?"
"No…he asked me to marry him," she said softly.
Constance gasped. "And Father wasn’t happy? Or you said no?"
"He was happy with the proposal," Charity said, biting her bottom lip, "especially as he had caught me kissing Lord Cinder earlier that day."
"Oh, Charity," Constance admonished. "You’re going to get yourself into trouble one day. But I don’t understand – what’s the problem, if he proposed and Father is happy with the match?"
"Oh yes, he’s happy. It’s a good match, and I think he’s pleased at the idea of getting me off his hands. But the problem is… I said no."
Constance blinked. "You said no? You kissed the man, and he proposed, but you don’t wish to marry him?"
"You don’t understand, Constance. You’ve never been kissed."
Constance felt her cheeks burn at this attack from her sister. She knew it wasn’t meant to be cruel – simply a statement of fact – but it felt like a reminder of how much plainer, how much less desirable, she was than Charity.
"No, I have not," Constance said primly. "Because such a thing can ruin a woman – and I don’t want to be forced into a marriage, thank you very much."
"Oh, don’t take offence, Connie. I just mean you can’t understand my position. Yes, I kissed him – but I felt nothing. No romance, no fireworks, no desire for more."
"Charity!" Constance exclaimed, rather shocked by the direction her sister’s conversation was taking. "You must not—"
"I just mean that I do not believe, having kissed him, that it would work between Lord Cinder and me. I don’t think we would be happy – and so I said no to his proposal."
"And so Father sent you here?"
Charity sighed. "I really did miss you, Constance. But he thinks I need to consider my choices – to reconsider Lord Cinder’s offer. And he means to keep me out of trouble…"
"I’m not sure there’s anywhere you would be kept out of trouble," Constance said dryly. "But I’m glad I know the full story."
