“Because I can lay my eyes on you,” Ilona said softly, squeezing Fiona’s arm kindly.“There is no fire in you when you speak his name, no anticipation of the years to come.If you haven’t got that before you wed, you are unlikely to find it awaiting you on the other side.”
That observation was philosophical enough to occupy Fiona’s thoughts as they worked their way up Wilton Place and under the morning shadow of St.Paul’s Church.True, she did not love Ramsay in the way she knew was possible, but she had not considered that her family might be intuitive enough to read her feelings.Perhaps that was why they had taken a dislike to Ramsay.They were assuming that she was looking for a love match with him.
They reached the park, and Ilona slowed their brisk pace.“Might we sit for a bit?I am loath to ask it.”
“No, I don’t mind at all, you know that.”Despite the kindness the good Lord had heaped upon Ilona, He had proven rather stingy when blessing her with good health.Ilona tired easily, and despite her vivacious personality, her physical energy was less than comparable.
Finding a shade tree near the southern tip of the Serpentine, they lowered themselves to the grass near a bed of flowers.Ilona set her parasol aside and spread her bright silken skirts about her until each ruffled hem encircled her like the petals of a daffodil.With a smile, she watched the swans and ducks paddle through the water.
Without a single ruffle or furbelow to have a care for, Fiona only smoothed the straight lines of her blue cotton skirt to avoid any wrinkles as she took note of Lord Ramsay looking rather displeased as he waited for her not far ahead.
“I apologize if I was talking out of turn,” Ilona said quietly.
“You weren’t,” Fiona said, favoring her with a loving smile and reaching over to squeeze Ilona’s hand.“And never apologize to me.”
“For anything?”
Fiona shook her head, and Ilona sighed, absently plucking a nearby dandelion and twirling it between her fingers.“Then I will feel free to say what I think.”
“Haven’t you already?”Fiona said with a wry smile.
Ilona smiled brightly, her good humor restored.She pointed the dandelion at Fiona and twitched it like a lecturing schoolmarm.“I think you do not bear any love for Ramsay at all.Admit it.”
Looking across the water at Ramsay again, Fiona sighed and opted for honesty rather than another denial.“No, I don’t.But that is not why I am marrying him.”
With a little nod, Ilona said, “And there is nothing wrong for marrying for reasons other than love.People do it all the time and are happy enough with their choices.”
“But...?”Fiona prompted, picking a seeded dandelion of her own and blowing gently until the fluffy seeds took wing and floated away.
“Of course, there is that.”Watching the white flush float into the sky, Ilona picked one of the white fluff balls and repeated Fiona’s actions with a delighted grin.“I don’t believe you are one of those people, Fiona.Grasping at straws won’t bring you happiness.”
“I’m not grasping at straws!”Fiona gaped, her good humor fleeing quicker than the seeds on the wind.“Just because I want a marriage of my own?A home of my own?I’m not grasping for anything more than any lady hopes for.”
Her sister-in-law looked doubtful.“The straws I think you are grasping for are not the goals themselves, Fiona.Only your means of achieving them.You admit you have no true affection for this Ramsay fellow.”
“Yet,” Fiona insisted, glancing again at Ramsay, who was now pacing the bank of the Serpentine angrily as if that would solve anything.“I’m well aware of the price I will pay to get what I want, Ilona.But the payment will be made on my terms.”
“You would have it no other way.”Ilona inclined her head.“But there might be other avenues available to you at a lesser cost that I hope you will take the time to consider.Lord Temple, perhaps?Though you might consider him too serious a gentleman.”
“He asked me to go bicycling with him this afternoon.”
“There you are then!Opportunity knocking without you having to reach too hard.It’s a good thing the weather has turned in your favor,” Ilona enthused, drawing a deep breath and lifting her face to the sun.She gave the impression of being utterly relaxed, though her posture never slumped.“And mine.A week of gloomy weather had also begun to weigh on my mood.”
Fiona snorted lightly at that.As far as she had seen in all the years she’d known Ilona, very little could dim her spirits.
“Is that Lord Ramsay then, across the lake?”Ilona asked, her eyes still closed and a smile playing on her lips.“He’s fairly handsome, at least,” she went on as if Fiona had answered.“Dark and tall.I know you like that.He reminds me of that gentleman...I cannot recall his name.Lord Something.You know, the one who was courting Moira before she wed Vin?”
She stiffened in surprise and looked at Ramsay again.He was tall but lanky rather than muscular.His hairwasblack, and his eyes were pale blue.But surely that was just a coincidence?Had such a slight resemblance played into her decision?
She stifled a groan but Ilona seemed to hear her and opened one eye.“He seems to be waiting for you.Would you like to speak with him?I don’t mind resting alone for a bit.”
“I should, I suppose.”Fiona rose slowly, shaking out her skirts.
“Extend my apologies for disrupting your meeting.”
Fiona laughed at her blatant insincerity as she walked the short distance to Ramsay, studying him as she went.Ah, damn!
* * *
