“It was more peaceful when you were in Paris,” she said.
“Do you think the giant mole on his neck is contagious?” Oscar asked.
“Absolutely,” I agreed.
“Undoubtedly,” Oliver said.
Roberta stomped her foot and pointed at each of us with a single finger.
“The three of you are the worst. He’s a very respectable gentleman.”
I nodded gravely. “To be sure. His stutter is most becoming.”
My brothers laughed, but Roberta scoffed and pushed herself further down the seat away from Oliver.
“At least I have prospects and won’t be a spinster,” she said.
The laughter died down, and the sting of her words fell over me like wind to the sea. Oscar shot me a warning glance, and Oliver groaned and looked to the sky for assistance.
“Oh, Roberta, being Lady Braddock will suit you just fine,” I said.
She narrowed her eyes and glanced at me and then out the window, some of the fight going out of her.
“I always liked James. I still like him,” she sniffed.
“Roberta,” Oliver warned.
“It’s fine,” I waved him away.
Roberta and my younger siblings wouldn’t know the truth of why I ended my engagement, and part of that meant them blaming me for it. I’d gotten used to it. James knew how to be likable and worm his way into the good graces of others.
“Why did he tell people you were engaged if you weren’t?” she asked.
I took a long breath. “I don’t know.”
It was a lie, but the truth was too much for one carriage ride.
“You are going to make a scandal tonight, I just know it. Ruby says that it wasn’t right for James to lie and that he deserves to be humiliated for it, but it’s selfish. What will Lord Braddock think of it? He will probably think we are prone to scandal.”
I reached across and rested my hand on her knee. “If he runs away at the first sign of trouble, then he isn’t the one for you.”
Roberta clicked her tongue and pulled her leg away, glaring at me.
“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t care what anyone thinks of you,” she said.
I suppose that was true in a lot of ways. It was hard to argue with her. I wasn’t wise or worldly. Whatever advice I offered her would be twisted and thrown back in my face.
“Thank God we’re here,” Oliver said a moment before he turned pale. “Actually, maybe we should just go home.”
I smiled up at him just as Roberta protested loudly.
“Too late now,” I said.
Sure enough, Fairview Manor was alight with dancing torches illuminating white stone and peaked roofs. A year later, and it hadn’t changed in the least bit. It was still beautiful, no matter what lived inside its walls.
The carriage came to a stop, and I steadied my breathing. The last four months were all for this moment. If I lost faith now, everything I’d done would be for nothing. I was strong. Even though my crimson dress was made of silk and chiffon and the shoes on my feet were heeled and delicate, I was still a captain in my own right. I may have hung up the title, and my dark hair was curled and tied back like a proper lady, but I knew who I was now.
A year ago, the voices were loud inside my mind, telling me everything I wasn’t. Now my own voice was louder than all of them. I would not falter.
