After a long while, Patience whispered. “Well… at least it is only a marriage of convenience.”
Chastity nodded vigorously. “Yes. Exactly. No expectations, no romantic nonsense. And to aduke, Hazel! That must count for something. Surely it is better than being a spinster.”
Hazel did not reply.
Convenience.
She almost laughed. She had heard that word before in stories whispered behind fans, in quiet lamentations among wives at tea tables, in the regrets of women who once believed they were entering safe, unemotional arrangements.
She had heard of men who claimed they wanted an unattached union, nothing more than partnership, civility, shared rooms in name only. And she had heard how those vows broke. Sometimes the men changed their minds. They decided they wanted affection, warmth, and love. Sometimes they demanded heirs, even when they had promised otherwise. Sometimes they simply changed.
And women were left powerless, trapped in a life they had not chosen, bound by law and society, their names no longer their own.
Hazel wrapped her coat tighter around her shoulders. She would not be one of them.
No matter what,she vowed silently, feeling the resolve sinking deep into her bones,I will never be his.
Chapter Four
“Hazel!” her father called the moment she stepped into the breakfast room the following morning. “Excellent timing. Sit. We have news.”
Hazel stopped mid-stride. Her parents rarely noticed her, much less greeted her with any sort of fervor. A prickle of dread climbed her spine.
Her mother stood abruptly from her chair. “Oh, my darling girl, finally! Come here!”
Hazel blinked as her mother seized her hand and ushered her toward the table like a prized exhibit.
“Mama,” Hazel began carefully, “is something?—”
“Something?” her mother interrupted breathlessly. “Something? Your father has nearly burned through his quill from excitement!”
Her father gave a dignified sniff. “I have done no such thing.”
“You were trembling,” her mother countered.
“I was cold.”
Hazel sank into her seat, dazed. The tangle of her mess couldn’t have started unraveling yet… could it?
“Would someone please explain what is happening?”
Her father cleared his throat, folded his hands, and announced like a judge declaring a sentence. “The Duke of Callbury has delivered a request for your hand.”
Hazel’s stomach dropped to her knees.
“And I am in the process of sending back the confirmation of your betrothal,” her father continued.
Hazel shot to her feet. “Already?!”
Her mother clapped her hands together with delight. “Oh, Hazel,myHazel! A duchess! Imagine it!”
Hazel tried to breathe. “Papa, wait, you haven’t even spoken to me?—”
“There is nothing to discuss,” he said, waving a hand. “It is an excellent match.”
“Exceptional,” her mother echoed eagerly. “Your sisters’ futures will improve by association alone!”
Hazel opened her mouth, possibly to argue and quite possibly to faint, but at that moment, Chastity and Patience burst into the room.
