He’d teased her for requiring so many garments but complimented them anyhow. They’d both consumed a so very much whisky, but not so much that she hadn’t managed to select two gowns that would show her at her best, as well as a reticule and shoes and the exact undergarments she required.
In addition to a small wardrobe for Archie.
All of which she’d shockingly allowed him to pay for.
“I lost my valise and my money.” Tabetha drew her knees up to her chin and shivered.
Bethany stood beside the tub with a clean towel. “Out before you catch your death.”
Her sister draped the soft material around her, and Charley held up a night rail, which both of them assisted her into.
“Sit here.” Charley indicated a chair set before a vanity. “I want to braid it. You don’t know how many times I wished my hair was your color.”
“You know we love your hair,” Bethany countered. Charley’s hair was the same red as a ladybug. “And I believe Westerley’s come to appreciate it as well.”
Charley smiled a secret smile, and Tabetha spied a similar one on her sister’s lips.
She had wondered before—wondered what she might miss out on by marrying for position rather than love.
She’d come dangerously close to never knowing.
“I don’t want an annulment,” Tabetha admitted.
Bethany and Charley both gaped at her. “You’ll never be a duchess,” Bethany said.
“I know.” The admission was a painful one. “And I hate that I even care.” She wiped at her eyes. “Why do I even care?” she mourned, making a dismal attempt to stifle her tears.
Bethany crouched on the floor before her. “It’s because of Father. I’ve tried to talk sense into you before, but you are as stubborn as the rest of us. And it’s not as though he didn’t influence me as well.”
“But I promised him.” Tabetha sniffed. “It was the last thing I said to him before he died.”
Bethany took Tabetha’s hands in hers and squeezed. “Father was a wonderful man. I loved him with all my heart. But I’ve realized… he had a way of… defining each of us. I doubt he realized how his influence…” She laughed ruefully. “Caused each of us so much trouble.”
“Westerley too?”
Charlie was nodding. “The arrangement with Felicity’s father had him tied up in knots.” She stared at Tabetha in the mirror and tapped her hand to her heart. “Honor, you know. A man’s honor is everything.”
Tabetha held Charley’s gaze and nodded. She knew this about Westerley. But he hadn’t always been that way.
“Because of the duel.”
Charley nodded again. “He’d throttle me for telling you this, but he still wakes up in a panic sometimes, thinking he’s late.”
“I hope he can forgive himself someday.” Bethany sighed.
Tabetha turned to her sister again. She had changed since her marriage. It was almost as though she’d stopped hiding. And although she was still unusually compulsive about some things, she didn’t seem so… apologetic for who she was.
“You are his clever girl. The efficient and practical daughter.” The gowns her sister had worn since marrying Lord Chaswick were prettier than anything she’d ever worn before. And Bethany didn’t pinch her lips together anymore. “Was it love that changed you?”
Bethany shrugged. “Partly. But ultimately, I had to make the decision on my own. I had to allow myself to like other things, silly trinkets even.” She held out her hand, displaying the gorgeous ring Chaswick had purchased for their wedding. “Like rings and other baubles. And I’ve also decided I enjoy being improper on occasion.” She winked in Charley’s direction, “When I am alone with my husband, for instance.”
Bethany sobered and stared down at their hands. “I loved Father, but I am much more than he allowed me to be. I am passionate, fun, and even pretty. I am not only efficient and practical. ”
“But of course, you are not! And I have always known that you are beautiful!” And Bethany admitted to being passionate. Tabetha hated that her sister had ever doubted that about herself.
Her father had been wrong to make such an assumption—even more so to treat Bethany accordingly. Had he done the same to Tabetha, by treating her as though her looks were all she had to offer?
He had loved her. He had loved them both!
