Marriage was nothing more than a way for a man to get what he wanted while he continued to behave as he had before he married. For the woman, it was different. She was held down by so many constraints and rules. Augusta did not wish to conform to any of society’s expectations of her.
She’d been happy living her life that way, to the chagrin of her brother and the amusement of her sisters. And yet, years after her first season she’d finally found the man who changed her mind and would go on to be her husband.
She smiled as she observed the ring on her finger. Augusta was happy. She’d never been able to imagine her life with a man in it that wasn’t her brother, and yet now, she couldn’t imagine her life without Benedict in it.
Who would’ve thought that I would be getting married?
She’d resigned herself to dying as a spinster, living off the kindness of her family or the money she made from taking up a position as governess.
With a sweep of her skirt, she turned around in search of her family. She wished she could tell them the exciting news herself but there’d been witnesses to their betrothal and news traveled fast, in the ton, twice as fast.
“Congratulations on your betrothal,” a young lady said to her. “I’m so very happy for you.”
“Thank you,” Augusta said gratefully.
“I should be thanking you,” the younger lady said in hushed tones as she leaned in closer to her. “I was one of the ladies you rescued from Lord Colin. I don’t know what would’ve become of me were it not for you.”
Augusta was overwhelmed. There’d been many who hurriedly thanked her as they made their way back into the ballrooms or dinner parties that were organized after she’d rushed to their rescue, however, only a few ever stopped her to thank her some other time.
She understood that many of them were shy or scared and wished to forget the incident or never wanted to speak of it because they wished to avoid scandal so she’d never been offended by their lack of appreciation. In truth, she did not wish to be thanked, however, her interaction with the young lady who just left the garden was quite wonderful to say the least. It made what she’d gone through with Colin suddenly seem like it was worth it to get set up by him.
“I would like to congratulate you on your engagement,” said Lady Marigold, a Dowager Duchess and highly respected member of the ton.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” she curtsied.
“Yes, although I do wish you had a chaperone with you. It’s only right that you do.”
For once, Augusta agreed with the idea of a chaperone. If she’d had one, she wouldn’t have been faced with all of what had happened. Colin would’ve had no way to access her and try to ruin her.
“Of course, Your Grace. We’ll be heading back in right now,” she said, her fingers grazing Benedict’s, a secret smile playing on their lips.
Augusta hurried back in, her eyes searching for her family to tell them the good news with Benedict right behind her. She stopped suddenly when a figure appeared out of a hidden passage, blocking her path. She instinctively moved to the side, her lips parted to apologize to the person she’d just bumped into when she saw who it was.
She turned to Benedict who was standing behind her, unsure of how to proceed. She couldn’t tell whether he wanted to speak with her and fill her in on their engagement or leave it be.
“Ah, Lady Augusta, fancy seeing you here instead of running home. I heard that Lord Colin was seen fleeing from the garden and when I thought about who it could have been with, I never expected that it would be you, Lady Augusta, seeing as your reputation precedes you,” Juliet said with scorn, her eyes raking up and down the length of her body with disgust.
“Oh, Benedict, you must be so heartbroken with her betrayal,” she said, sidling up to him, her hands going up to his face in a gentle caress.
Augusta watched her, amused by the drama unfolding before her just as Benedict looked down at her with a look filled with disgust.
“What are you talking about?” he asked her, his face a mixture of confusion and irritation.
“What do you mean? I’m talking about this-” she pointed at Augusta, her eyes falling to the ring before she could continue any further. Her face turned an ugly shade of puce.
“Why do you have that?” she moved away from Benedict and reached for Augusta’s hand, her eyes glaring with hate when Augusta moved her hand away. “I need to see that. Who gave it to you?”
“Juliet, don’t you think you are too old to be throwing tantrums whenever things don’t go your way?” Benedict asked her, turning away as her face contorted into fury.
“Please ignore her and let’s go,” he told Augusta, leading her away from Juliet.
Augusta looked back at her, her brows knitting in confusion as she was led away. She stared at her suspiciously as her mind worked tirelessly. Juliet was a very vindictive person, that much was clear to see from the way she acted, however, how could she have been so certain of her words if she hadn’t been there to see her with Lord Colin.
Did she see me struggling against him and instead of helping, chose to wait for us to be found out like Colin intended?
She turned away from her, her thoughts all over the place.
“Are you still thinking about her? Lady Juliet is not a threat to anyone. She simply doesn’t do well when things don’t go her way. You have nothing to worry about,” he said.
