Then he told her about Salamanca, the Arapiles, the barren landscape, and the city itself, with its incredible architecture, one of Europe’s oldest Cathedral and University. “Not that we had much time to do sightseeing. We were too busy slaughtering and getting slaughtered.”
Arabella drank in his words. “Salamanca. Where Columbus and Cervantes studied.”
He looked at her, surprised. “Why, yes.”
“I spent my afternoons alone in the library, reading. Not only Byron. But also newspapers and travelogues. I love travelogues especially. Stories of exotic countries I’ll never get to see myself. India. China. Egypt.”
“So not the quiet, docile girl after all. You secretly thirst for adventure. You are an armchair traveller.”
She chuckled. “I have always envied those who were able to travel. One day, I will.”
The lake wasa picturesque dot of blue framed by birches and weeping willows on its banks. The clear water lapped onto a pebbled little strip where the children had gathered. They arrived in time to see Robin throw himself headlong into the water. Katy helped Joy pull off her boots and dress, then both followed Robin in their petticoats. They squealed when their feet touched the cold water.
“My children are water creatures.” Mr Merivale chuckled. “God knows where they got that from. We Merivales can’t resist water.”
“I once nearly drowned in a wishing well,” Arabella confessed with a laugh.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Wishing well? How so?”
“At Miss Hilversham’s Seminary for Young Ladies. We went out on a midnight excursion to our neighbour’s garden, which had a Celtic well. I made a wish for us all. Arrogant of me, I know. My friend Pen thought so, too. She disagreed with my wish and wanted to undo it. She insisted on retrieving the coin from the well and fell in. I tried to grab her, but she pulled me down.”
“There were two of you in the well? You could’ve drowned!” His face went grim.
“Possibly. But I held on to Pen, who could swim.” She shaded her eyes as she looked over the lake, watching the children splash about in the shallow water. “Lucy ran for help. So you see, nothing much happened.” Other than her brother getting quite furious and pulling her out of her beloved school and getting her friend Lucy expelled. But that was a different story.
An easy smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “As dangerous as it was, it must’ve been a sight.”
Arabella’s laughter rang out as light, clear peals.
“It sounds like you loved your time at the school,” Philip observed.
“I did, oh, I did.” Her voice grew wistful. “I wish I could’ve stayed, but my brother…”
“What happened? Why didn’t you —” He waved a hand. “You know. Go to London, balls, get married. Whatever it is they do, those ladies.”
She looked over the lake, the blue of the water mirroring her eyes.
“I had my seasons. It didn’t work.” She picked apart a flower. She’d had three seasons and a fair share of marriage proposals, all of which she’d declined. None of the men had appealed to her. None of them saw her as something more than a duke’s daughter. The only man with whom she’d imagined herself in love, a certain Mr Gabriel, had been oblivious to her feelings and married someone else. She’d felt a pang, but then moved on with her life. Was she as superficial as the rest?
He frowned. “This just confirms what I’ve been thinking all along. They are all idiots.” He curled his lips in distaste.
She looked startled. “Who?”
“Society.”
“Well, that’s the way it is. There are certain rules in the beau monde. A girl has one season, maybe two. If she doesn’t take…” she shrugged. “She’ll end up on the shelf. A spinster.”
Philip curled his lips. “The beau monde. Bah. There is nothing ‘beau’ about it. They’re decadent, selfish, and cruel. Especially dukes. A more corrupt and degenerate lot doesn’t exist. I despise them all wholeheartedly.”
She looked at him with a slightly open mouth and widened eyes.
“You wouldn’t want to marry one of those fellows anyway,” he informed her. “No, Miss Weston. You’re better off this way.”
She snapped her mouth shut. “You are absolutely right.” She swallowed. “I would never want to marry a duke.”
“To continue. What then?”
“My family — fell on hard times. We couldn’t afford a third season.” She bit her lip. “I didn’t want to be a burden on my brother, so I answered Katy’s ad.”
