“Why do you want to marry me?”
“I do not believe that I have ever said so many words.”
“But you have thought them, have you not? I will not spend time finding ways to draw a confession from you. My grandmother has admitted to telling you that she could convince me to marry you.”
She flushed at that, and it confirmed everything even further. They had been planning it all along, as he knew, and at last he was going to know why.
“Do you honestly want me to tell you?” she asked.
“Very much so.”
“Well, the truth is that I never wanted to marry you at all.”
He laughed at that, as he thought that she had said it in jest, but then he saw the serious look in her eyes.
“I mean it,” she continued. “I remember when we were children, and our fathers came to that agreement. The son and the daughter of two respected dukes. It was only right and proper that we would be promised to one another. As a girl, I did not question it. I thought that it was an arrangement that would serve us both, but the more I came to know you the more I realized that it was foolish.”
“Foolish?”
“Yes, for I do not love you, and if there is one thing that had been proven to me during this party it is that you do not love me. You loveher.”
Love felt like too strong a word, but then George had never considered it. It was the first time that he had truly thought about it, and it began to take shape in his mind. He protected Lady Cassandra on instinct, he wanted her to be happy, and when he entered a room, she was the one he looked for. He was tomarryher, and he had fought to do so, and he was only just understanding why that was.
He felt like a fool.
“And it is more than that,” Lady Sylvia continued. “When your grandmother invited me, she told me that there was a horrid girl trying to steal you away, and that her heart could not take it. Now, I may not care to be your wife, but your grandmother has always thought the world of me, and I could not bear the thought of her being hurt. I was so cruel to Lady Cassandra, and to Philippa.”
“You have never liked Philippa.”
“No,” she laughed. “No, I have not. It is no fault of hers, we simply do not see eye to eye on many things. It is another reason why we should not marry, I suppose. Well, that and the fact that you hate me.”
“I do not hate you.”
And it was true; he did not. He did not particularly like her, but he understood why she had acted as she had. Everything that she had done was either because she was expected to or it was out of loyalty to his grandmother, as well as their fathers. She had been misguided, but George was not going to pretend that he had never done the same.
“Nor do I hate you,” she replied, her voice almost a whisper. “And for what it is worth, I hope that your marriage is wonderful. I shall not be present tomorrow, but I am wishing you both well. Lady Cassandra may never believe me, but it is true.”
“I believe you. I also hope that you find love for yourself one day, for you deserve it. Anyone willing to do all that you have done deserves to find someone that would do the same for them.”
To his surprise, they parted as friends. Once he was married, he doubted that they would see one another again with the exception of balls and other society events, but it soothed him immensely to know that she would not be looming over them for the rest of their lives. He could go on to have his marriage in peace, and that made him happier than he ever would have thought.
As long as, he reasoned, his wife would actually walk down the aisle.
He watched Lady Sylvia leave the household, and when she did so she boarded the carriage without looking back. He wondered how often she had seen the household as one that she would run one day, and if the thought pleased or terrified her. Regardless, it would not be hers, and she seemed pleased with that. Every difficulty was falling away, and that meant that there was no reason why he could not have an easy wedding and a blissful marriage.
But of course, it would not be that easy, not when his wife did not even want to marry him. Lady Cassandra had gone out of her way to fight the match at every turn, and she had almost succeeded. All that she had to do was run, and knowing her she would not be wholly against it.
With a sigh, he turned to go to her room and speak with her, only to meet Philippa leaving it as he arrived.
“How is she?” he asked in a low voice.
“Not best pleased,” she replied with a half-smile. “You shall have to fight for her if she is who you want, George.”
“I am prepared to. She may not believe me, but it is true. Whether she sees it or not, I am convinced that she is all that I need.”
“You need not tell me that, for I already know. That is what I have been trying to convince her of, but she does not want to hear it from me. She wishes, my dear brother, to hear it from you.”
And she would, George knew, as long as she was willing to listen. He simply hoped that she would be. Taking a breath, he knocked on her door.
