Eleanor’s chest tightened, though she kept her voice steady. “You see.”
Arabella looked back at her. “And you think this is because of your… engagement.”
“I do,” Eleanor said. “They are curious now. They look at you and see possibility instead of inconvenience. A connection. A reflection.”
Arabella shook her head. “You should not destroy yourself for me.”
Eleanor smiled then, gently, because this part mattered most. “I am not destroying anything.”
“You are,” Arabella insisted. “Your reputation–”
“–has never been my concern,” Eleanor said. “I never intended to marry.”
Arabella went still. “What?”
Eleanor spoke carefully. “I am four-and-twenty. I have no fortune of my own, but what is tied to the family. Father has never once pretended to seek a match for me. I have been useful where I am.”
“That is not–”
“It is true,” Eleanor said quietly. “And I am content with it.”
Arabella’s eyes shone. “You should not be.”
Eleanor reached out and squeezed her hand. “I am content because you are not.”
Arabella swallowed hard. “And what happens when Charlotte recovers?”
“By then,” Eleanor said, “you will have formed an attachment. Or at least a prospect. Something that Charlotte cannot undo with a whisper.”
“And you?” Arabella asked. “What happens toyouwhen the lie unravels?”
Eleanor lifted one shoulder. “I will end the engagement. Politely. Regretfully. I will claim incompatibility, or a misunderstanding. Thetonadores a disappointed bride. It gives them something to pity.”
“And if Charlotte tells them the truth?”
“Then she will look spiteful,” Eleanor said. “And I will look foolish. I can bear that.”
Arabella stared at her sister as though seeing her anew. “You should not bear anything. Why are you doing this?”
Eleanor’s smile softened. “For you, Arabella. I always have everything so that you might have a better chance than me.”
There was a pause, weighted and fragile.
Arabella’s voice dropped. “You would not have done this if Gwen were here.”
Eleanor huffed a quiet laugh. “No. Gwen would have dragged me from the ballroom and lectured me for an hour.”
“She would have stopped you,” Arabella said.
“Yes,” Eleanor agreed. “But Gwen is on her bridal tour. And even she cannot stop me when you are involved.”
Arabella’s lips trembled. “You are infuriating.”
“I know.”
“You are reckless.”
“Perhaps.”
