At that moment, he thought he truly did see fear in her eyes.
“I have been patient,” he continued, “I have watched you try in vain to force poor Lady Sylvia into my path. I have let you do so, knowing that I could simply marry Lady Cassandra and have the matter end there, but you have refused to see reason. Bringing a man as dangerous as Lashton here only tells me that you do not care what happens to Lady Cassandra as long as you get your way. Well, it will not. All that will happen is that you are sent away.”
“You would never do that to me. We are family, George. You are angry, but that does not mean–”
“It most certainly does. You have hurt me, and you have hurt my sister, and you have never once apologized for it. I thought it was because you wanted the best for us, but I see now that it is simply the sort of person you are. You are cruel, and I will not stand by and allow it to happen any longer.”
For a moment, there was only silence. George waited for her to be furious, to tell him precisely why he had chosen the wrong lady and to argue with him that he needed to change his mind.
He did not expect her to smile at him. It was shaky at first, but then it settled deeper into place. She laughed softly, and George did not know what to make of that at all. His grandmother did not laugh. She hardly even smiled.
“You seem to like the girl.”
“I do, and I will not accept you treating her the way that you have. Whether you like it or not, tomorrow will come and she will be my wife and I expect you to act accordingly. I will not stand for mistreatment.”
“Very well. You have my word.”
It was difficult to be angry when he was so taken back. He had expected to argue with her for a long time, and to not come to a conclusion at all. What he had not thought would happen was his grandmother setting everything aside and seemingly accepting what was to come. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she cleared her throat, looking at the ground.
“I know that I have not acted well. I know that you must be ashamed to have a grandmother like me. In truth, I had not considered the girl’s feelings, and I have nobody to blame for that but myself. I should have known better. I should have been better, and it is not fair for any of you that I thought I could take control of everything.”
“Grandmother, I do not want you to say this only to appease me. I would rather you spoke your mind so that we could discuss this in its entirety and never have to do so again.”
“I am being honest with you, George. I was not convinced that she was the right lady for you, but after the way she spoke to me today I cannot help but see precisely why you like her so much.”
“She is nothing like Lady Sylvia, you do know that, yes?”
“Yes,” she replied softly. “Yes, and that is why she is right for you. I thought that you would do best with a girl that would never disagree with you, nor disobey you. I thought that a wife who knew her sole duty was to her husband would please you, but I see now that I was wrong.”
George had to think about that for a moment. He had never taken a moment to consider just what drew him to Lady Cassandra, but his grandmother was exactly right. He did not want a simpering girl that was barely out of her leading strings. What he wanted, what heneeded, was a woman, and that was what he had found in Lady Cassandra.
His grandmother had made mistakes, too many to count, but so had he. It had all been avoidable, but it was also possible to mend it all, as long as that was what they all wanted. His grandmother seemed willing.
He simply had to hope that Lady Cassandra would be.
“I will speak with Lady Sylvia,” she continued. “It was unfair of me to let her believe that you would choose her, and so it is for me to explain.”
“Why did you do it? You know perfectly well that I have never loved her, and that I never will.”
“Because I was foolish and assumed that I knew best. I have done that for years, and now I must sit and consider all of the mistakes that I have made with you, and your sister. You both must loathe me entirely.”
“Not entirely,” he half-joked, and she laughed softly. “I shall speak with Lady Sylvia. It is only fair. You have done the difficult thing and admitted your wrongdoing, now let me fix what I can.”
And, for the first time in his life, he swore that he could see her genuinely begin to cry. She had always been a hard woman, almost made of stone, but in that moment she was simply an elderly lady that had made mistakes and wished to atone for them.
“Very well,” she nodded, “she is in the dining hall. I told her that I would send for her once I had finished with Lady Cassandra, so she will not be expecting you.”
With that in mind, he made his way to the dining room. As expected, there she stood, in a gown that was perhaps too intricate for the occasion. She looked at him with a sadness in her features, which was quickly replaced by a bright smile. Even then, it was one that did not quite meet her eyes. It was practiced, and he knew precisely where she had learned it from.
“I did not think that you would be the one to bring the news,” she said, laughing shakily. “I expected a maid.”
“Lady Sylvia, might we sit for a moment?”
She did so without another word. They sat with a distance between them, and George took a moment to decide how he was going to approach it. This was a young lady that had been promised the world, and she was about to learn that she would not have it. He did not know what she would do.
“May I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she replied, shifting in her seat.
