Ada blinked wearily at her mother. Last night’s adventure had kept her out much later than usual, but it was not as though she had anywhere to be this morning. At least, not that she knew.
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she loaded her plate and asked their footman for a cup of coffee.
“Have you been waiting for me?”
“I have.”
Ada said nothing, knowing her mother would be quick to tell her what she expected.
“Mrs. Carter and her son are coming to call upon usfor luncheon.”
Ada dropped her fork, cringing when it clattered onto her plate. Her mother frowned but didn’t comment.
“Why?”
Her mother started. “You are to be married to the man. I should think you would have to lunch with him.”
“Mother,” Ada began with a sigh, beginning the conversation they had repeated time and again. “I do not want to marry David Carter. And he clearly does not want to marry me.”
“How can you say that?” her mother asked as though this was all news.
“He has no interest in me, which has been made abundantly clear by the fact that you and Father and his parents discussed us marrying years ago, and nothing has come of it. He barely speaks to me, let alone shows any interest in a life with me. And I— well, I find him something of a bore.”
“Ada!”
“He speaks of nothing but business and only ever wants to speak to the lovely, softspoken, pretty women. The last time we saw him at a function, he spent the entire night staring at Minnie, despite knowing she was married.”
“Sheisa beautiful girl,” her mother said, some regret in her voice — regret that her own daughter didn’t look the same, Ada was sure.
Minnie’s soft features, blond hair, and blue eyes drew in every man. It wasn’t her fault — she was as sweet as she looked, even more beautiful on the inside.
Sometimes, Ada could admit, if only to herself, that it was hard to stand beside her friend, with her own angular features, strong nose, and square chin. She was told she appeared as standoffish as Minnie appeared welcoming.
“Then why has he not officially offered for me?” Ada challenged her mother, although she answered before her mother could. “Because he far prefers other women, that is why.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“What’s wrong with it is that he would never do that if he actually cared anything for me.”
“Ada, it’s the norm?—”
“Perhaps for you,” Ada said, unable to help the bitterness in her tone. “You grew up in an era where it was common for a man to be married to the woman he wastoldto wed, while the woman he truly loved lived in another house entirely. I’m sorry, but that is not the life I want for myself.”
A brief flare of fear showed in her mother’s eyes. “Ada, we need you to marry David?—”
“Why? Why is it so important?” Ada knew she was being far too aggressive with her mother, but she couldn’t help the annoyance growing within her. “It’s because Father wants to merge the businesses, isn’t it? He’s spent years trying to shed the connection to Blackwood, and he thinks that everyone will forget what he did if he merges with a reputable company, one not stained by that same decision he made all of those years ago. It also doesn’t hurt that this munitions business needs the iron and steel they supply.”
Her mother pulled herself up to her full height. While she had always been a woman to follow through with what her husband desired, she had also never backed down when it came to Ada or any other she considered her peer or beneath her.
“Ada. Your father and I have done everything for you. Kept you safe. Provided for you. We are only asking this one thing of you.”
“Something that will change the entire course of my life.”
“You can still live the life that you wish. I am sure he will allow you to do so.”
Ada closed her eyes for a moment, taking a breath to keep her annoyance within. “That’s just the thing, Mother. I do notwish to beallowedto do anything. I would like to make my own decisions.”
Her mother let out a humorless laugh. “That is a fantasy, Ada. A dream that is not going to come true. So, you might as well make the best of what’s in front of you. Where is this coming from, anyway?”
