“Hello, darling.”
She turned as her mother entered the room. Felicity forced a smile. Lady Stenfax was so completely out of touch with what was going on in these trying times, Felicity knew she had to put on a good face.
“Would you like tea, Mama?” Felicity asked. “I could call for some.”
“It’s a little early for tea,” Lady Stenfax said. “But we could simply sit. I’m so accustomed to having you all to myself and everyone in the household is so busy.”
Felicity nodded as she motioned to the seat across from the one she’d vacated. A nice chat not at all related to the troubling matters at hand was probably exactly what she needed.
“Asher being back is a surprise to me,” her mother began.
Felicity fought the urge to close her eyes and let out a long sigh. Here she’d hoped for a change of subject, but Asherwasthe subject that most haunted her at present.
“He explained it at supper,” she reminded her mother with as much patience as she could muster. “He was passing through, Stenfax invited him to share in our celebration of his wedding. Why would he not? Asher was always a…friend.”
Her mother pursed her lips. “Yes, he was allowed to play alongside you when his duties were finished. You were all of an age, but do you really think he was a friend?”
Felicity stared at her mother. She was implying that Asher’s position kept him from belonging. Exactly what he had said not an hour before in the garden.
“He was,” she said slowly, steadily. “Of course he was. His father’s position didn’t change that.”
Her mother looked at her closely. Normally Lady Stenfax was so flighty, but in that moment she seemed serious, indeed. “Asher has made something of himself now, I suppose. He has money of his own and the respect of many men of rank.”
Felicity drew back. “Are you saying that makes him more worthy than when he was just a servant’s son who was kind and generous and intelligent?”
“In the eyes of Society, certainly.”
“Do we care about the eyes of Society? Great Lord, Mama, not a month ago you made a big speech to Elise about how we didn’t give a whit about scandal and if she made Lucien happy, we’d face whatever came.”
“But Elise was marrying your brother,” her mother said softly. “And she was still the daughter of a titled gentleman, the widow of a duke.”
“So her rank erased all else?” Felicity said blankly, staring at her mother and feeling like she’d never seen her before. “That is all that matters?”
“Of course not, but it helps,” Lady Stenfax said. “Look at you, Felicity. Your marriage secured you with a fortune outside of Stenfax’s financial struggles. And your title makes you respected by all who meet you.”
Felicity jumped from her seat. Her brothers had known about the abuse against her during her marriage, but Lady Stenfax had never mentioned it. Now it seemed she hadn’t ever realized it had happened, or somehow believed what she went through was somehow made acceptable by the benefits Felicity had gained.
“Can you really not know what he did to me?” she whispered.
Lady Stenfax looked confused. “Who?”
Felicity turned away, trying to remain calm when she wanted to scream. “Barbridge,” she said, his name a sharp curse. “My husband, who you feel was such a good match.”
Her mother’s voice was tense. “I recognized you weren’t very happy, but arranged marriages are often not perfect, are they? You didn’t have much in common and—”
Felicity spun back. “He beat me, Mama.”
Lady Stenfax had begun to blink, like she was trying to wake up from a dream. For what felt like forever, she was silent, struggling, and then she said, “I…don’t understand.”
“From almost the first night of our marriage, that man put his hands on me to punish me for ills real or imagined. He told me, in no uncertain terms, that he had purchased me. I was his property and he would do with me as he pleased, including disposing of me. How could you not know that?”
“You—you didn’t tell me,” Lady Stenfax said softly.
“You saw my bruises from time to time,” Felicity replied. “Stenfax and Gray saw them, too, and they tried to get me out. But Barbridge was right. In the eyes of the law, I was his. He could control or abuse me if he wished to do it. You never wondered why I came around less and less?”
“You were busy,” her mother said, her voice breaking at last. “I thought…I thought you were busy.”
“Oh, Mama,” Felicity said, sitting back down and taking her mother’s hand gently.
