The crowd parted, offering them a view of their cousin. Mary was standing with her betrothed, Alfred Blackwood, brother of the Duke of Winthrop, with a circle of other people around them. They rocked back with laughter, and Mary had a wide smile on her face.
“It’s wonderful to see her smile again,” Lydia said.
“And it will be good to see her in a color other than black. It must be so tiring to wear the same thing every time,” Edmund added.
“Still, we must be cautious. We cannot forget about—” Tension ran through Charlotte’s body, dreading the prospect that the marriage might crumble before their eyes.
“Yes, yes, the Iron Duke. You shouldn’t live your life in fear. It doesn’t become you,” Edmund said.
“But what if?—”
Edmund interrupted her again, as though he had all the answers.
“Nobody is going to interfere with their marriage. Look at them—they fit together as well as any two people ever have. And do you see the way Blackwood looks at her? There’s nothing but adoration in his eyes.”
“I hope that someone looks at me that way someday,” Lydia exhaled deeply, clasping her hands in front of her chest.
Charlotte was about to offer another warning, but looking at Mary and Alfred gave her pause. There was an aura of bliss around them, and Alfred’s eyes were indeed shining as he basked in the glow of his fiancée. He leaned over to whisper something secret into Mary’s ear. The smile that followed was enigmatic.
Charlotte had never experienced such intimacy before. She wasn’t envious exactly; it was more that she possessed a curiosity to understand something that seemed so alien to her. For other people, marriage was the height of ambition. However, Charlotte saw marriage as interference. No husband would ever allow her to continue with her research after all.
Marriage meant subsuming yourself into something else, and for your own ambitions to become secondary to a husband’s. While it was something to be celebrated by other people, Charlotte was not inclined to pursue it herself. Her dance card would once again remain empty, for she intended to rebuff any man who invited her.
Edmund was approached by another person, this time a middle-aged baron with fluffy red hair and an oiled, pointed beard. Helet out a loud exclamation as he opened his arms to Edmund, taking his hand and pumping it enthusiastically.
“Lord Gubbins, how the devil are you?” Edmund said.
“Couldn’t be better, my dear boy. I’m here for Tilly. It’s her first ball.”
“Ah, what an occasion! It’s the same for my sister, Lydia,” he said, stepping aside to make the introductions.
“Charmed,” Gubbins bent low and squeezed Lydia’s hand. Edmund then introduced Charlotte, who kept her hands clasped behind her back and offered a perfunctory nod.
“A very good season ahead of us indeed. You should come and meet Tilly. I’ve told her much about you, and she’s eager to make your acquaintance,” Gubbins suggested.
“I’m sure I’ll see her when I make my rounds,” Edmund replied in a noncommittal way.
“By the way, what was the end of that joke you told at the club the other night? For the life of me, I can’t remember.”
“It’s not a bacon tree, it’s a ham bush,” Edmund replied. Gubbins’ face broke out in laughter. Charlotte shared a glance with Lydia, who offered a helpless shrug. Sometimes Charlotte feared for the state of the world when men like these were incharge. What on earth could be funny about a ham bush? It made no sense at all.
Lydia wondered the same thing and asked Edmund to explain.
Instead, he tapped his nose. “What happens at the club stays at the club,” he said.
A servant passed with a tray filled with glasses. Edmund plucked a glass of champagne off the tray and sighed with happiness after he took a sip. Lydia bumped into a friend and turned away from Edmund and Charlotte slightly, which allowed Charlotte to converse with Edmund as privately as possible.
“I’m worried you’re not taking this matter as seriously as you should.”
“Balls are not supposed to be taken seriously. They are a place for fun and frivolity.”
“But Mary?—”
Edmund took another sip of his champagne and sighed. “You worry too much, Charlotte. You should be careful, for it will strip you of your youth. Mary knows what she’s doing, and Blackwood loves her. Nothing is going to stop their marriage, not even his brother.”
“I fear that isn’t true. Your behavior can be somewhat… cavalier.”
Edmund drew back, looking offended. “You believe that I might ruin our cousin’s chances?”
