“Even now,” he echoed. “Bridget, I am sorry that your Seasons have not gone as you planned. I wish that they had.”
She sniffled a little.
“If I had any reservations about Wheelton, I would tell you of them. But from what I know, he is a respectable man,” Elias said. “A little distant. Some would say that he is cold, but that does not mean the marriage will be a dismal affair. At worst, I imagine he will want you to live separate lives, and you will have your freedom, at least.”
Bridget laughed, so she would not cry. “Wonderful, Elias. I can spend all my days alone, reading novels about women who marry for love and have happy existences, while I languish in my misery.”
“Or you may make your own happiness,” Elias said. “There is more to live for than love, my dearest.”
Bridget grimaced. “How would you know? You have never been in love.”
“Neither have you.”
Bridget inhaled sharply, hissing between her teeth. “I might fall in love if given the chance, but you will deny me even that.”
Elias sighed. “I know you do not wish to hear any of this, but if you marry Wheelton, he will take care of you, if nothing else.He has already proven himself to be a better man by accepting the consequences of his actions and working to repair your reputation.”
“You mean by repairing his own and finding a duchess,” Bridget said. “His proposal, if you accept it, might absolve my previous actions, but I doubt he is thinking of me at all.”
“Does it matter? The result works in your favor regardless.”
Bridget took a sip of mint tea, trying vainly to calm her lurching stomach. “It matters, and you know it does.”
“I cannot justify refusing him, Bridget. Even if I wanted to.”
“I thought as much.”
Elias frowned. “Then, why have we quarreled over the matter?”
“Because I hoped that you would see reason,” Bridget said. “But you have not. That is fine.”
“Fine.”
“You sound as though you do not believe me.”
“Because I do not believe you,” Elias said. “Bridget, whatever you may be thinking…it will not work. Do not behave drastically in the hopes of escaping this.”
“I would not dream of that,” Bridget said. “What do you even imagine that I would do? Flee to the countryside under the cover of night? Become a governess without your permission?”
Elias cast his eyes upward, as though seeking patience from the divine. “Please, I beg of you...”
“No begging is necessary,” Bridget said. “I will accept my fate. I see that it is the only feasible way forward.”
That was a lie, of course. If Elias would not decline the Duke’s proposal, there was only one available course of action. Bridget would have to force His Grace into withdrawing his offer. She did not understand the Duke’s behavior, but she did know that he desired a special wife.
When His Grace came to dinner, Bridget would simply prove that she was not a suitable wife. She would show that man all the worst parts of herself, and she would be so utterly frustrating that he was forced to withdraw his proposal.
She had no notion of how she would survive after that, having two scandals to her name, but that would be a problem for later. At the moment, her only task was to make that man regret ever offering his hand in marriage.
CHAPTER 8
As expected, Gerard hosted an exquisite dinner. Lewis imagined that the duchess had spent the better part of the day deciding on the menu and directing the staff to ensure that every detail of Lewis’s short visit was beyond reproach. She was a proper duchess, and Lewis could only hope that the younger Leedway sister proved to be equally suitable.
Thus far, his future wife had spent most of the evening gazing at her food and drink with unusual intensity, as though the meal had somehow personally offended her. When the roasted pheasant arrived, the lady nearly speared it with her fork.
“How is the Dowager Duchess?” the Duchess of Greenway asked suddenly.
The same as she always is, utterly mad.
