“She is not my bride, Lucien,” Philip sighed.
His friend was a lot more optimistic than he had been, to his credit. However, he was too overzealous for his own good at times, and that did not stop with Lady Jacqueline.
“She seemed quite disappointed about your absence at breakfast, your mother says,” Lucien continued. “She did not speak at all, instead eating and then leaving with her sister and your mother.”
“Yes, my mother mentioned that. A market.”
“Is she ready to do battle?”
“Who? My mother?”
“Lady Jacqueline,” he chuckled. “The first time I visited you after the accident, your mother bought me a new dining table simply because I mentioned that I was looking into acquiring one. She is quite eager.”
“She certainly is, but I have warned Lady Jacqueline about that in a note.”
“A note? Are you yet to speak to her?”
“Of course not. Why, I spoke to her this morning before breakfast. I sent her a note because that is what one does when sending flowers.”
“Oh God, like mother like son.”
“It is not a gift, it is a gesture.”
“Certainly.”
“It is! I am well aware that I am not the sort of gentleman to have a lady like her, but we have found a mutual understanding, and we are going to see what happens.”
“Ah, so it is going well thus far.”
“Yes, in spite of her father’s best efforts. Can you believe that he did not say a word of the arrangement to his daughter? How can one do that and expect her not to take it badly?”
“I suppose he did it so that she could not rebel until she was already here. Arranged marriages can have that outcome.”
“In any case, it certainly did not help matters. Could you imagine if she thought I was in on his plan? She would have hated me.”
“She did not hate you when you accused her of trying to entrap you in marriage, so I doubt she would have taken it that far.”
“I do not find you entertaining.”
“That is quite the shame, for I certainly do.”
“In any case,” Philip said with a sigh, “we have discussed it, and have agreed to become friends and then see if that becomes a real courtship, just as I had planned to begin with.”
Lucien nodded, then suddenly looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Hang on a moment, when did these conversations take place? You were both absent at dinner last night, and you were absent at breakfast. When did you find time for a conversation?”
“Two conversations,” Philip corrected him. “We have had two thus far, and it has been while we were both outside on walks.She seems quite at ease with me, believe it or not, and I certainly had not seen that coming.”
“But has she seenyouyet?”
Philip was sure that his friend meant well, but it did not make him feel good to hear such words.
“You say that as though you expect Jackie to go running once she sees my face.”
“Of course not.”
“Why not? You know perfectly well that it is a possibility.”
