“Is that what you think? That I believe something is wrong with you?” Priscilla said, sounding truly horrified.
The idea that something mightnotbe wrong with her made Alice’s eyes well up with unshed tears before she could stop it.
“Oh, no! Darling . . .”
Priscilla reached out and wiped at the corner of Alice’s eyes, a look of nothing but compassion on her face.
“I agreed to the arrangement so I could help you find confidence in being your true self.” Still holding Alice’s hand, Priscilla gave a squeeze before letting go and settling back into her seat. “I wasn’t there for you last year in your first season as I should have been, I was too caught up with my own issues, and then I was distracted by West.” Alice watched as her face took on a dreamy quality when she mentioned her husband. She envied the love they had found, knowing such a thing was rare intonmarriages when making a good match was the primary goal.
Turning her attention back to Alice, Priscilla gave a wan smile. “You are so young . . . I know I’m only five years beyond you, but I feel so much older. Caring for the duke forced me to mature quickly, and it opened my eyes to the things that matter in the world much more than status.”
Alice didn’t know much about what had transpired in Priscilla’s first marriage to the Duke of Stern, but she knew that her husband was a much older man who fell ill soon after they married and died less than two years into their union. The match was made by her parents who desperately wanted her to rise to the status of duchess.
“I want more for you,” Priscilla continued. “I did observe you a few times last season—I saw you playing the part. But it never seemed as if you truly believed what you were saying, like when you were speaking of Mary earlier. I agreed to work with you because of that—so that you may let go of the façade.”
Alice didn’t know how to respond. In some ways it was what she had always longed to hear, that she did not need to strive so hard to play the part and fit in. But if society shunned her genuine self, though, how would she be able to obtain all that her father demanded?
Some of her confusion and tumbled emotions must have shown on her face as Priscilla soon spoke up again. “I know not all of this may make sense to you right now, but I have faith you’ll be exactly what you need to be when the season begins. We just need to find a way for you to be comfortable with yourself.”
“But what if I don’t know who that is?” Alice quietly voiced.
“We’ll discover it together,” Priscilla declared. “What you need is a project, and I think I have just the thing in mind.”
CHAPTER 6
“You want me to dowhat?”
Ethan could hardly believe what Priscilla was asking of him.
“No.”
It was entirely too much. “No,” he repeated, turning toward West, imploring him for support. “Tell her, West. You just told me it’s time to hire a steward because I need to get out of the muck and into the office.”
“Priscilla thinks this is important. Just work with Alice for a few days. What harm can it do?”
So much for West being on his side. The man was completely in love with his wife and willing to defer to her on the matter, which meant he’d have to come up with a way out of this on his own.
“I know I’m asking a lot of you,” Priscilla said sweetly, turning her charm up to its full volume, “but itreallywould mean so much to me.”
“I understand the role you want me to play in this, but why on earth are you putting your inexperienced cousin in charge of a project that clearly means so much to you?” Ethan was beyond puzzled by Priscilla’s motivations. He knew she was invested in restoring the gardens, which is why he had spent time on themthese past few weeks and was happy to do so—temporarily. But now she intended to place Miss Pembroke in charge of the design? While Priscilla was asking him to oversee the project, of course, he was almost certain her cousin knew nothing about such an endeavor.
“Alice needs a project. I think having this responsibility and being able to use her full creativity in the garden will do wonders for her. But you are correct, she will need supervision as an undertaking like this will be new to her. Please do this for the both of us, Ethan.”
Letting out a prolonged exhalation, he shook his head in defeat. “Fine—but she needs to doexactlywhat I say. I don’t have time to add chasing her around to my responsibilities. I’ll follow her plan if she will follow my orders.”
There was nothing Ethan loathed more than a change to his plans. He liked knowing how the day, or even the week, was going to unfold. This was a decidedly large wrench in how he’d envisioned the next fortnight playing out. He would have to curb himself from letting his frustration out on Miss Pembroke, though she might prove to be deserving his ire.
And he hoped her arresting appearance wouldn’t prove distracting to the men. Ethan, for his part, knew he was strong enough to resist such a diversion, even if her pretty face had intruded into his thoughts multiple times since her arrival, but he wasn’t sure everyone working for him possessed the same fortitude.
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I just wrote to Johanssen and offered him the steward position. I’ll need extra hands if I’m adding supervision to my schedule.”
“Thank you!” Priscilla flung her arms around him in gratitude and Ethan was glad his cousin felt secure enough in his wife’s affections to no longer show the possessive streak he’d once exhibited when her attention was shared with anotherman. “It means more to me than you know. And I’m sure Alice will follow your direction without question,” Priscilla said, releasing Ethan and beaming at her husband, whose lips twitched in amusement.
But her face slowly changed, looking almost apprehensive when she added, “I was thinking about asking Nathalie to come for a visit as well.” Interpreting his incredulity as his mouth fell slightly open, she hastened to add, “Alice needs friends her own age around here, and you know as well as I that your sister would be a wonderful example of how to be principled amidst the objectionable morals of polite society. You must admit it’s a brilliant idea.”
“For Miss Pembroke—yes. But what do you expect poor Nathalie to do? Should she cater to your cousin’s whims as well?”
“Of course not.” Priscilla smacked his upper arm. “She may sit around and read all day if she so desires. But you know she cares nothing about thetonor having a season, and I’d like Alice to see that perspective.” Priscilla’s eyes grew large and her tone beseeching. “Though I know you consider her to be too imperious, could this not serve as an education? For her to reevaluate and see there are other things to value?”
