“I’m older,” Sybil said, appearing from around the doorway. “I’ll marry you.”
He smiled at Sybil, too. “You aren’t old enough to marry, either, young lady, but when you and Bonnie are, I’ll be around to help you pick the perfect gentleman to make you happy.”
“I want him to be just like you,” Bonnie said, smiling back at him with her missing teeth.
“Bray, I—”
“You’ve said enough, Louisa,” he said, knowing that trying to learn how to love her had been his greatest challenge and it looked like he had failed miserably at it. “You’ve said all I need to hear.”
Bray rolled the painting and stuck it in his pocket. He reached out both his hands and said, “Sybil, Bonnie, come walk with me to the door.”
They took hold of his hands, and the three of them walked out.
Chapter 27
Every why hath a wherefore.
—The Comedy of Errors,act 2, scene 2
As soon as Bray had left, Louisa sent Sybil and Bonnie up to Miss Kindred. She put on her bonnet, grabbed a shawl, and headed to the back garden.
Gray skies threatened rain and matched her mood. Louisa walked along the edge of the shrubbery, letting her hand gently skim along the scratchy leaves. What was she thinking? She knew Bray didn’t have designs on Gwen. She should never have accused him of such a thing, but at the time, she was angry about him for not telling her that the Prince wanted them to marry. She was shocked when she saw Bray walk in from the courtyard behind Gwen.
Did he really feel like Gwen was his sister? Even though it took him a few seconds, he did finally figure out how to properly thank Bonnie for her gift. But had Bonnie and Sybil really said they would marry him? Maybe her sisters could live peacefully with Bray and he with them. The thought of that made her love for him soar. Oh, how could she have been so wrong?
Louisa didn’t know what she could say or do to redeem herself. She had acted like a shrew to Bray and then let him walk out the door without apologizing.
She heard the back door open, and she saw Gwen standing on the top step. All of a sudden, Gwen flew down the steps and threw herself in Louisa’s arms and started crying.
“Gwen, please tell me what’s wrong! Did something happen at Mrs. Roland’s card party?”
No amount of talking and soothing was going to calm Gwen until she finished crying, so Louisa just held her and let her weep.
When the sniffling faded, Gwen raised her head and said, “Read this. It was waiting for me when I got home.”
Louisa took the note and opened it. Her gaze immediately dropped to the bottom of the letter, where she saw Mr. Standish’s signature. Her heart squeezed. She scanned the note and then said, “He’s leaving Town for the rest of the Season.”
“And he doesn’t love me, Louisa. I had thought he felt for me the same way I felt about him.” More tears ran down Gwen’s cheeks.
Louisa took the end of her shawl and wiped her sister’s damp cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Gwen. But here, read it again. Mr. Standish doesn’t actually say he doesn’t love you.”
“He didn’t have to. He told me so last night.”
“When?”
“I took a walk with him in the courtyard. I know you and Mrs. Colthrust told me not to, and even the duke told me I shouldn’t have walked with Mr. Standish, but I thought he was going to propose to me. That’s when he told me he didn’t love me.”
Now, Louisa knew why Bray was coming in from the courtyard with Gwen. Oh, how could she ever have accused him of pursuing her sister? Would he ever forgive her for declining his proposal of marriage?
“What am I going to do?” Gwen asked. “Mr. Standish doesn’t love me.”
“Well, the first thing you can do is understand that you can’t make someone love you. They either do or don’t. And it sounds like Mr. Standish just isn’t sure yet.”
Much like the duke wasn’t sure he loved her.
“Now, you can be miserable and cry every day while you wait for Mr. Standish to return so that you can continue to enjoy the gentlemen you are dancing with, and conversing with, and playing cards with, and enjoy the rest of the Season while you wait for him to come back. It’s your choice how you spend your time.”
“Do you think I’ll have another chance to win his love?”
