“Well, with all of this, it makes sense that I delay my debut. I will not make a good match with all of this in the way. I ought to thank Lady Cassandra, too. Will she be visiting soon?”
“You need not plan such gratitude yet, for you are wrong. You will debut all the same, and if anything, it is vital now more than ever that you do well. We need to prove that we are unaffected by the scandal, which means you will continue to smile and dance and attract suitors.”
Her face fell at once.
“But I do not want any of this. I keep telling you, but you are not listening to me. I do not want to attract suitors, nor do I want to parade myself around, especially with everything that has happened. People will talk.”
“Nothing bad will be said of you. I will not allow it, and you know that. You are ready for this, Philippa. If you wait until you feel completely ready, then you will live here always. I want more for you than that.”
“But I like it here. I like being your sister, and living with you. I understand that when you have a wife I will be expected to find a husband and leave, but I thought you disagreed with that idea.”
“You will not be under any pressure to marry. I will never force your hand in the way mine is being forced now, but I do expect you to at least put forth some effort. You dazzled last night.”
“And all that anyone can seem to talk about is you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
She was quiet, and any trace of her happiness was gone. George pitied her, but she was no longer the little girl that wore ribbons in her hair and skipped across the garden. She was a young lady of marrying age, and he had to remember that.
As, it appeared, did she.
“Is she pretty?” she asked.
“She is. She is also quite accomplished with the violin, too, from what I have heard.”
“Yes, she is the cousin of the Bromley sisters. They cannot play for toffee, but I have heard that they have a cousin that is truly quite remarkable. She should play for us. If she is good, it might change Grandmother’s mind.”
“She is furious, is she not?”
“This is the worst that I have ever seen. I thought she might have thrown water over you this morning.”
“Hot or cold?”
“I do not think that you would like the answer to that.”
He chuckled, and put his arm around his sister’s shoulders and squeezed them. In spite of everything, she had always been his greatest friend, and he knew that he would do anything to protect her. She may not have been too pleased with his decision, but she would accept it in time. What mattered was that he had her support when it came to his marriage.
It was one thing for his grandmother to be upset and angry about what he had done, but Philippa had always respected him, and he did not know what he would do with himself if she no longer did.
“What are you going to do about her?” Philippa asked. “She told me that she never wants to speak to you again.”
“You know how she is. She will say all of that, and then by tomorrow she will need something from me and all will be forgotten.”
“Even something like this?”
George was not completely convinced that it would be the case, but he knew his grandmother. She was changeable, and what she hated that day could prove to be the best thing that could have ever happened the following morning.
Except, when he went to breakfast the following morning, she was not there. She did not arrive at lunch, either, and by that point he knew that something was amiss. By dinner, George was concerned, and went straight to her rooms. He knocked for her to no response, and then a second time. After the third, hesimply threw open the doors, only to find each room empty. She was gone, and he had no idea where she was, but that would have to wait.
He had a church to attend that afternoon.
Chapter Six
Cassandra hated that she kept thinking about it.
No matter what she did, her mind kept going back to their proximity that night in the garden, and how her skin felt under his touch. She had not thought on it in the moment, but she was now haunted by it, hating that it had happened all the while wishing that it would a second time.
It frustrated her to no end, for she wanted to hate him. Perhaps not hate, she reasoned, as she was to marry him whether she liked it or not and it would be better for her to be cordial, but she did not want to have any expectations. If she expected nothing from him, then he could not disappoint her, which was what was best for all involved.
