“I do not find you amusing.”
“A pity, for I certainly do.”
“Jackie, you have to try and see things differently. I do not believe that the duke even remembers what happened between the two of you. Dukes meet a lot of people, after all, and if he had remembered it and continued to blame you, why would he have invited you in the first place?”
“Because he is a friend of Father’s.”
“You are being deliberately obtuse, aren’t you?”
“Perhaps,” Jackie smirked, taking some gowns from a maid. “Now, are you going to be in my ear all day or are you going to prepare for our trip?”
“If you allowed me to lift a finger here, I might be able to help you rather than follow you around.”
“There is not a single chance that I will be doing that. I am the lady of the household, and it is my responsibility to ensure everything runs smoothly. It is your job to learn how to paint and sew and sing.”
The two girls laughed brightly, Elizabeth taking some gowns from her sister with a grin.
“I cannot stand sewing,” she said firmly. “I—”
“Prick your fingers too much?” Jackie suggested, to which she nodded. “That is all the more reason to practice. We could find you a good husband, you know.”
“I am far happier with you,” Elizabeth promised. “Besides, if you are happy with this life, then perhaps I could be the same?”
Jackie eyed her sister carefully. There was a sadness in the way that she said it, but Jackie was quite sure of why that was. Elizabeth had always talked about her life as a wife and mother, until recently, but Jackie had not paid that part any mind. After all, several years could not be erased from memory after a mere few weeks.
“You would be miserable. You have always longed to find a husband, and you know it.”
“As did you, once upon a time,” Elizabeth pointed out. “What changed?”
“Mother died,” Jackie replied bluntly. “You had another two years before your debut, and so I had to spend that time preparing you for it, rather than swanning off with the first gentleman to express an interest in me. I had no time for the London Season, and in truth I did not miss it too terribly.”
“Yes, you did.”
Jackie gave her sister a smile.
“Not as badly as you might think. I enjoy running the household, and seeing how well you have bloomed in the last five years I cannot truly have any regrets. How could you expect me to?”
“You’ll miss so much, though. Do you not wish to marry at all?”
“Of course I do, but it is not something that I can do as yet. For a start, I must see to it that you are a wife, and then should I find a gentleman willing to marry an old maid I shall accept my fate.”
“You are hardly an old maid. I am twenty, myself, and you would never call me that.”
“Not with that spirit of yours, no. I don’t know, Liz, it is simply not how I see myself.”
“But if the opportunity were to present itself—”
“Do you know something that I do not?”
Elizabeth stiffened. Jackie never snapped at her sister in such a manner, so it was no surprise to her that she seemed so uncomfortable.
“My apologies, Elizabeth,” she sighed, then allowing herself to smirk. “Should I magically be in a position where you are married and the gentleman of my dreams appears, then I suppose that I would not be opposed to it.”
“That is all I ask,” Elizabeth replied excitedly. “But now that you have said that, you simply must keep to it.”
With that, she raced off. Jackie watched her go, envying her only slightly. It would have been easier if their mother were still alive, and they had been able to debut and spend their London Seasons together, but she would never have taken her small sacrifice back, not for anything in the world.
Even so, she had to admit that she missed her life as a young lady out in society. She had only been out for a year before her mother was too unwell for Jackie to see any use in playing a part in it all. Things were needed at home, and she was no useto anyone if all that she did was simper in some gown and tell gentlemen how wonderful she thought them to be.
