“You seem concerned,” Elizabeth smiled kindly. “Might I be of any assistance?”
“If you could find a way for the two of us to escape this visit, that would be wonderful.”
“Sadly, even I could not persuade Father to do that. This could mean big things for his standing, should he be in with a duke.There shall be no changing his mind on the matter, whether you want to avoid the duke or not.”
“He said the duke has invited us all personally,” she sighed, not truly responding to her sister. “Why on Earth would he do that? He was so brutish when he and I met, and if you ask me, I do not think a man of his standing would ever be forced to change his ways.”
“Perhaps you caught him at a bad time?”
“Be that as it may, I do not wish to know him.”
“It is a shame, because with how popular you were when you were out, it would have been quite easy to snare him as a husband.”
Jackie gave her a pointed look.
“Should I ever marry a man like that, you must send for a doctor immediately.”
“You shall never marry at all if you do not reenter society.”
“Liz, I cannot. You know that. For a start, I am much too old. When was the last time you saw a hopeful unmarried woman of four-and-twenty?”
“You would be fine, I assure you. Why, Lady Blackburne was two-and-thirty when she married an earl. There have been stranger things to happen, I assure you.”
“I do not wish to be seen as strange any more than I already am. You know, if you put half as much effort into your own season, you might find some success yourself.”
“Perhaps,” Elizabeth considered. “Though with Father being the way he is, I highly doubt that there would be a gentleman that would not be frightened off.”
Jackie sighed. Her sister had been every bit as beautiful as the ton had viewed herself, yet for some reason Elizabeth had struggled to enter a single courtship. That was what Elizabeth told her, at least, but she had never been one to lie.
The young ladies were not fools, of course; their father had changed immensely since the death of his wife, and now among his gambling debts and brandy bottles it was difficult to see why any self-respecting man would want to enter into such a family.
“Why did you help the duke in the first place?” Elizabeth asked suddenly. “You must have known it was dangerous to be alone in the dark with a man.”
“I did not, in truth, think of that. I simply saw a person with the same problem that Mother used to have, and I knew how to help her, so I wanted to try helping this other person. The fact that he was a duke meant very little to me.”
“I do not suppose that he ever saw it that way, of course.”
“No, he likely saw me as some silly girl trying to trap him, and a part of me does not blame him for that, but even so I cannot see past the way he spoke to me. Accusatorily, as if I had not just helped him.”
“You make an excellent point. Regardless, we could spend the entirety of the visit avoiding him, if you wish. I have little interest in speaking with him.”
“Whyever not? You could have him for yourself if you wish.”
Elizabeth blushed gently.
“No, thank you,” she chuckled. “He is no more the type of man for me than he is for you. I will say, though, that it was wonderful of him to have invited Lord Greene too. Nowthatis a man of fine standing. Did you know, he is set to inherit his father’s title? He shall be a marquess from then on.”
“Yes, so it is even stranger that the duke has invited our father of all people. Why do you suppose he has done that?”
Again, Elizabeth’s face flushed, this time even more than it had before. Jackie eyed her carefully. It had been more and more common for her sister to avoid her gaze, and she did not know what to do about it. There were only so many times that she could ask about it before she had to leave the matter be. She had enough to do each and every day without trying to decipher something about her sister, who usually shared everything with her.
“Father told me the two of them are friends,” Elizabeth explained. “They frequent the same gentlemen’s club.”
“If that is the case, why is this the first time that we are hearing of it? I cannot help but feel as though there is more to it than a simple friendship.”
“Well, you have always had a tendency to look too deeply into things. I would not pay too much mind to it. It is a visit and nothing more, and who knows? Perhaps you and the duke might find some common ground.”
“Could you take these to my father’s study?” Jackie said quickly to a servant, handing her some papers. “My sincerest apologies, Sister, what did you say?”
