But he didn’t come.
No one came.
By the time it grew dark outside, Susan knew she had to go back into the house. Since it was apparent no one had been searching for her, she felt a bit of hope. Maybe she would be able to get by her family without being stopped. Maybe she would be able to make it to her bedroom in peace.
At first, things seemed promising. The foyer was empty. She could hear the sounds of someone having dinner in the dining room, and as she slunk by, she held her breath. If she was going to be caught, this would be the moment.
But no one called out to her. No one stopped her or said anything at all.
Susan breathed a sigh of relief and nearly skipped up the stairs to her bedroom—she’d made it. She would be able to spend the rest of the night on her own, pondering her thoughts. She opened her door?—
“Oh, there you are, Sue,” a meek voice said.
It was Marina. Of course it was. She was sitting on the edge of Susan’s bed, her hands neatly folded in her lap. She looked on the verge of tears.
Under any other circumstances, on any other day, seeing her sister about to cry would have moved Susan. She would have rushed to Marina’s side, embraced her, and tried to reassure her.
Right now, though, she simply didn’t have it in her.
Why did Marina need to be comforted? Nothing was going to change for her. She would still get just what she wanted. She would be able to marry Gilbert. She was just going to have to wait a little while, until all the uproar died down. But a year fromnow, Marina’s life would be on track, just as she had wanted it to be.
For Susan, on the other hand, everything had been destroyed.
She knew she had to try to be gracious. After all, Marina didn’t know the extent of what she had done. She didn’t know that Susan had never intended to marry Norman at all, and that her actions had fundamentally affected her sister’s life.
Still, she ought to have known better.
Susan sighed, came into the room, and sat down. Marina was still her little sister. It was difficult to remain angry with her. “Have you bene waiting for me in here?”
“All day,” Marina said. “I came up right after breakfast. I thought you must have come here—but you hadn’t.”
“I didn’t want to be found,” Susan said. “I wanted some time to be on my own.”
“That was what I guessed,” Marina said. “So I decided to wait. I thought you would be along before too much time went by. But you weren’t. And then I didn’t know what to think. I can tell you’re angry at me. I wish you would talk to me about it.”
Susan looked at her sister. “You want me to talk to you about it? What do you want me to say?”
“I just wish I understoodwhyyou’re so angry,” Marina said, her voice shaking slightly. “You know I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I just wanted to spend a few moments with Gilbert, that’s all.”
“But you know better than to do that, Marina,” Susan sighed. “You’re old enough and smart enough to understand that you can’t just do whatever you want all the time. Actions have consequences. I think you’re thinking it doesn’t really matter that you put your reputation at risk, because your future is set. That’s the way you see it, right? Nothing very bad can happen to you because you know what the future looks like.”
“I don’t mean to be arrogant,” Marina said. “But it’s true, isn't it? I know what lies ahead. I have no doubt that Gilbert will wish to marry me, and that what happened at the ball won’t affect that one way or the other. Father is being controlling about timing right now, but nothing is really going to change. I’m going to marry Gilbert, and you’ll marry the Duke, and everything will be as it should. Isn’t that right?”
Susan shook her head. “It isn’t that simple, Marina.”
“But why not? I know you said the Duke didn’t wish to marry quickly, but you don’t think he’ll protest it, do you? He’s so obviously taken with you, Susan. I think he’ll be happy to move things up a bit, even if he doesn’t realize it.”
“He won’t be,” Susan said. “Believe me. I know him better than you do, and this is the last thing he’s going to want.”
“I’ll apologize to him, then,” Marina said. “I’ll make sure he understands that it’s my fault.”
Susan bit her lip. “Marina… the truth is, I never meant to marry the Duke at all.”
“What do you mean?”
“He and I came to an agreement the first time we met,” Susan said. “He wanted the legitimacy of having a known lady of thetonengaged to wed him, and of course I wanted Father to allow you to go ahead with your own wish to marry. It isn’t fair that you should have to wait for me. I wanted to step aside for you. But I didn’t want to be married to the Duke, and he didn’t especially want to be married to me—so the two of us came to an agreement. We decided that we would pretend to go ahead with the engagement for as long as it took to get you to the altar, and then we would simply break it off.”
Marina gasped. “But… but you have feelings for him!”
