“You did want to,” Isabella pointed out mildly. “When he first came to see whether I would marry him, and you thought he was here for you, you wanted to marry him. I heard that conversation, so I know what was said.”
“Isabella, that’s enough,” her father said. “Don’t taunt your sister.”
“I’m not taunting her,” Isabella argued. “It’s the truth. She did want to marry him. She’s only saying otherwise now because she wants me to feel badly about the fact that I’m going to marry him, but I don’t. I think he seems like a good and honest man. I’m happy with this engagement.”
“He’s a bit of a joke among the ladies of the ton,” Rosalind said dismissively.
“No, he isn’t,” Isabella laughed.
“As though you would know!” Rosalind said rather hotly. “Nobody talks toyouabout anything. You’re even more of a joke than he is.”
“Well, if that’s the truth, then my reputation has nothing to lose by a marriage to him,” Isabella said, and Felicity smiled at her. “And it’s good to know that you don’t want him for yourself, Rosalind, because I would hate to think that my actions had caused you any sort of sadness. Now that I know this wedding won’t be causing you any pain, I’ll be able to celebrate with you fully. In fact, I think I’ll ask Father to let you be involved in every part of the planning.”
“What makes you think I’d want to do that!”
“Well, it’s like you said.” Isabella widened her eyes innocently. “Felicity and I haven’t the best taste for fine things. Not like you. We might choose the wrong flowers or the wrong wine. You’ll help make sure that doesn’t happen. Really, I’m so lucky to have you for a sister.”
“Half-sister,” Rosalind said.
Isabella paid that no mind. “And I know you wouldn’t want to be stuck hosting a party that didn’t have the best of everything,” she pointed out. “That might make it look as ifyouwere the one without excellent taste! We can’t let anyone think that.”
“She has a point, Rosalind,” their father said. “Perhaps we should put the details of this wedding in your hands.”
Rosalind’s mouth opened and closed, and it was obvious that she could see she had been manipulated but that she wasn’t sure exactly how it had happened. Isabella couldn’t resist a small smile. She would miss this. Sometimes she did feel guilty when she did things like this to her half-sister, but on the other hand, if Rosalind had ever once in her life acted with basic human kindness and decency, Isabella would have returned it in equal measure. It was Rosalind’s own fault their relationship was the way it was, and Isabella wasn’t going to spend too much time feeling guilty about that.
“Very well, Iwilldo it,” Rosalind agreed. “Everyone will see that I have wonderful taste. Your husband will wish he had chosen to marry me, but it will be too late for him! And the other gentlemen of the ton will be clamoring at my door.”
“Good,” Isabella said, and meant it. Though her half-sister irritated her, she didn’t truly want bad things for Rosalind. As long as the two of them were able to stay out of one another’s way, Isabella foresaw no problems for them. And once she was married—and once Felicity’s future was set—there would be no need to worry about Rosalind ever again, so why shouldn’t she find happiness of her own?
Rosalind’s lip curled, and she seemed certain that she was being tricked somehow, but she turned to her father. “We ought to serve goose at the wedding,” she told her father. “I know it’s one of the more expensive options, but it will make us look good,and the guests will appreciate it. And we want to let people see that when the time comes for my wedding, they can expect to be served something fine.”
The Viscount nodded. “I’ll give that serious consideration,” he said. “Thank you, Rosalind. It’s good to see you ladies getting along for once, I must say.”
Isabella didn’t bother pointing out to her father that his treatment of her, as if she were worth less than Rosalind, was the reason Rosalind had always been so cruel to her. Nor did she make mention of the fact that their not getting along had more to do with Rosalind’s inability to get along with anyone than it did to do with her. She simply smiled. “I’m glad too, Father,” she replied. “It’s wonderful to know that my sister is happy for me on the eve of my marriage.”
Rosalind opened her mouth as if to correct Isabella, but Isabella, who had always meant to emphasize this, turned to her with a smile. “Half-sister, I mean,” she said. “That’s what I meant. My apologies, Rosalind.”
Rosalind looked at her suspiciously. Once again, it seemed as if she knew she had been disrespected, but what could she say when she didn’t know exactly how it had happened?
“The roses, then,” Isabella said to her father, reflecting on the fact that she had always been good at the art of getting her own way. She wondered whether that was a skill that would carry forward into her marriage to the Duke.
CHAPTER 5
“You and Rosalind were quite fiery with one another today,” Isabella said to Felicity.
The two of them had decided to eat their dinner in Isabella’s bedroom. Their father had permitted this tonight. He wasn’t very predictable when it came to whether he would allow it. Sometimes, he seemed to like having the opportunity to eat with Rosalind alone, and at other times, he seemed to feel that the proper thing was for the whole family to be at the table together.
Perhaps it was the impending wedding that had led him to loosen his usual rules. Whatever the reason, Isabella was glad for it. She didn’t have much appetite tonight, though. The circumstances of her life were about to change, and it was difficult to put that fact out of her mind.
“I felt as if I must speak up,” Felicity said.
“Because I won’t be here much longer to do it for you? I do feel guilty about that,” Isabella said with a frown. “A part of me wishes that I could stay.”
“But of course, you mustn’t think like that,” Felicity said. “This marriage is the very best thing I could have imagined for you, Isabella. I always worried about you, sitting here alone in this house after I’d left and after Rosalind had left. You and Father hardly talk, which I can’t blame you for, but I know you never placed any value on the prospect of a marriage for yourself. It does put my mind at ease to know that you’ll have one now.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Isabella said. “Of course, the only reason I’m doing it is to secure your future. I don’t care a whit for the Duke of Windhill.”
“And that’s the part that worries me,” Felicity said.
