But at least this meant the opportunity for a break from her needlework. Oh, how she hated it. She had already stabbed her fingers several times. She was surprised that she wasn’t bleeding. She set the handkerchief she had been embroidering aside and rose to her feet. “Who’s here, Father.”
“It’s not a guest for you,” Father informed her. “It’s the youngest son of Baron Scunthorpe, and he says he’s here to see Marina.”
Marina gasped. “Gilbert!”
Susan didn’t know exactly why Father was pretending that Gilbert’s existence was news to him when it wasn’t. The whole family knew that Gilbert Jones had longed to court Marina. He had even tried to speak to Father about it in the past, and Father had turned him away, reminding him that Susan would have to marry before Marina would be permitted to do so.
But apparently things had changed. Today, it seemed, he was going to be allowed into the house.
Father waved the girls back into their seats. “Would you like to stay for this, Susan?”
“Of course she’s going to stay,” Marina positively bubbled. “This is the biggest moment of mylife, Father.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” But Father was actually smiling indulgently. “We don’t know what he’s come to ask… though truth be told, I think I can guess. I’ll go and fetch him. You two wait here, please.”
He bustled out of the room.
Marina fell back in her seat and turned to look at Susan. “Can you believe this is really happening at last? I’m sure he’s come to ask to court me—don’t you think that’s what it’s going to be? Oh, I just can’t believe we’re both going to be married, Susan—and to good men, no less!”
“Gilbert is a very good man,” Susan agreed with a smile. She could ask no better for her younger sister. “If he’s here to try to court you, I’ll be glad of it. And I’m sure Father will say yes.”
Marina knitted her hands together nervously. “I hope he will,” she said. “I’d like to say I’m as sure as you are, but we just can’t know. And after what happened the last time Gilbert asked…”
“Things are completely different now,” Susan said. “You know they are.”
Marina brightened and sat up a bit straighter. “You’re right,” she agreed. “Of course things are different, because you’re going to be married. Father never disapproved of Gilbert. It was just that he didn’t think it was my turn yet.”
“If only he wasn’t so strict about adhering to that old tradition,” Susan said, shaking her head. “You should be able to marry when you’re ready. It shouldn’t have anything other than do withme.”
“Oh, you know that isn’t true,” Marina said with a smile. “Actually, I think it’s sort of charming the way he wants to keep to the old traditions. I would feel differently about it if I still thought you were marrying against your will, of course. You know how I felt aboutthatidea. But since it’s so clear that you enjoy the Duke and want to be married to him, I think everything has happened the way it was supposed to.” She settled back in her chair, her nerves clearly having abated.
Father walked back in with Gilbert by his side. Gilbert was a small man, just a hair too tall to be called short, but less than a foot taller than Marina herself. He held his arms stiffly by his sides as he came in, clearly uncomfortable, but as soon as his eyes found Marina, a smile broke across his face.
“Gilbert.” She rose to her feet again and hurried to his side. “I hoped you would come.”
“Yes, of course. As soon as I received your letter, I made my plans,” he said.
Father looked at him, then back at Marina. “Letter? What letter was this?”
“I wrote to him and let him know that Sue’s engagement party had gone well,” Marina explained.
Father frowned. “When did you do this? We only arrived home yesterday.”
“I wrote the letter the night of the party and gave it to the Duke before we left. He said he would have it delivered for me.”
“You shouldn’t be corresponding with a gentleman, Marina,” Father scolded. “It could cause scandal, and it’s very inappropriate.”
“It won’t cause scandal, Father,” Susan chimed in. “Marina was clever to have the letter sent from the Duke’s house. Anyonewould think it was just correspondence between two gentlemen. No one will know that she had anything to do with it.”
“Well, you still ought to be more careful, Marina,” Father said. “You have to protect your reputation, you know.”
“Actually, Lord Crownway, that’s pertinent to my reason for coming,” Gilbert said, squaring his shoulders and drawing himself up to his full—though not very substantial—height. “You already know that I’ve expressed interest in courting Lady Marina, and now that Lady Susan is to be wed, I thought perhaps you might have reconsidered your position on allowing me to do so. I know it was important to you to see Lady Susan married before allowing Lady Marina to marry, but I wondered whether the time might not have come.”
Father inclined his head. “Why don’t you sit down, Mr. Jones, and I’ll have some drinks brought in for us. Then we can discuss this.”
Marina looked over at Susan, her eyes wide, and Susan felt her own heart begin to accelerate. The last time Gilbert had attempted this, Father had simply told himnoand shown him the door. Already, this was progress. Already, it seemed as if Father might actually say yes.
If he does—if the two of them begin courting now…
