His heart began to pound, fear of rejection seeping into every vein. Maybe he could simply tell her it would be safer if she married him. Even as the thought materialized, he discarded it. Dory wouldn’t care about that. She would demand his heart.
If only he knew how she felt about him, besides angry. Had he truly lost her before he had her?
Chapter Twenty
Dory sat inthe parlor of Silver Meadows with her two very good friends, her back to the portrait of Lady Belinda, not wishing to look upon the perfect lady. She sewed lace onto the neckline of her sky-blue gown. It was to be her wedding gown, and she’d put off the task for weeks. With only days left before her marriage to Lord Dearling, she’d forced herself to work on it. Having Lissette and Rose with her helped. She sighed, not looking forward to the rest of her life, but still confident she’d made the right decision.
“Dory, I’m confused.” Lissette’s dark-brown gaze seemed to look into her soul. “You are not excited to be marrying. Is it not what you wished for over the last two years and the reason for attending the season?”
Lissette’s blunt questions were one of the traits she liked most about her. Being from France, and the country, no less, she was often confused by the complicated ways of society in England. But as soon as she was ready to come out, she was bound to be sought after. Not only was she a dark beauty with the slightest of accents, but she was very skilled at being a lady. She just didn’t understand the intricacies yet that she needed to know to debut.
Dory shrugged, not sure she could clearly explain. “It is and it isn’t.” At Lissette’s raised brows, she tried. “Yes, the season is for finding a husband, and I had greatly hoped for that to happen.We have to find a titled lord whom we can care about. I was fortunate in finding someone at Rose’s house party.”
Rose grinned, quite happy to explain. “Yes, she found Lord Dearling.”
“But then why is she not happy?” Lissette lifted her hand in question.
Rose put down her needle and studied Dory as well. “Areyou not happy?”
Dory shook her head, no longer able to hide it from her two good friends. The Duchess of Northwick and the Countess of Sommerset were well aware of why she was marrying, and that Lord Dearling was not her choice, but Lissette and Rose had been so happy for her, she’d not gone into the particulars. Yet now, she found herself crying every night, and she could no longer keep her sadness from them.
“Wait, I thought you were very happy.” Rose looked about to cry herself. “You seemed a bit unsettled the day of the ball but then you accepted Lord Dearling’s proposal. I thought you were pleased, but you’re not. Is this why you’ve been focusing on your studies and not on your wedding?”
Dory gave Rose a sad smile. “Yes.”
Dory looked to Lissette, who nodded knowingly. Not for the first time, Dory wondered how old the woman was. They had been told nineteen, but Lissette was worldly wise beyond that. “I am happy I am marrying, as I need to. However, I’m not happy because Lord Dearling is not the man I wish to marry.”
Rose inhaled loudly, but Lissette shook her head. “This is not good.” Again, the woman’s dark stare focused on Dory. Then, much like the fortuneteller from the fair, Lissette spoke as if she knew more than was possible. “You are in love with a different man.”
She froze. Lissette’s ability to assess a situation was a bit unsettling at times. It was one reason why they had nicknamedherDague, which was French for “dagger.” She was particularly good at accurately focusing in on the issue at hand, which is when they would use the nickname. The woman also happened to be an expert with weapons.
“What?” Rose’s exclamation gave Dory a moment to decide how to answer.
She would be leaving Silver Meadows forever in a few days’ time. She owed her good friends the truth. Perhaps they could learn from her mistake. “Dague is correct. I fell in love with someone else at your house party, but he did not reciprocate those feelings.”
“Oh, Dory, that is awful. But then why marry Lord Dearling?”
While Lady Elsbeth had been well aware, Dory had never told her other classmates about her mother’s activities. She took a deep breath, hoping they wouldn’t think less of her. “I must marry before my mother causes a scandal. She is miserable in her marriage to my father, and I’m not sure when that happened, as I remember them happy when I was young. But because of her misery, she finds solace in the arms of other men.”
“No.” Rose’s eyes rounded and her hand flew to her mouth.
Lissette shook her head. “I have seen such before. So you accepted Lord Dearling.”
“I did. He does love me. He’s also kind and anxious to please me.”
Rose grasped her arm tightly. “I am so disheartened for you. Who is the man who could not see what a wonderful woman you are? Was it Manning? Retfield? Tell me, and I will happily snub him the next chance I get.”
Dory shook her head, not willing to put a rift between dear Rose and her hard-hearted brother.
“I say, do not wed. Wait for a man who loves you and whom you love in return.” Lissette’s gaze took on a dreamy look. “Life is about love. We French know this.”
Dory had spent so much of her time teaching Lissette about the life of an English lady, she’d never considered what her friend’s life had been like in France, except that it had been hard with the war. “Have you been in love before?”
“Oui, I have. It is glorious. Étienne and I were much in love.”
At Lissette happy visage, Dory found herself feeling jealous. “If you were in love, why did you not marry?”
The woman’s face changed, her full lips thinning. “The war. It kill my Étienne.”
