Jane scoffed in outrage and folded her arms.
“That is not true. I have known Penelope longer than you have. She would never cast me aside for you.”
Cecil made a face and leaned closer to whisper to Thomas conspiratorially.
“I blame my sister for her abilities to argue her way through any conversation. Nora was blessed with the ability to argue her way out of the most devious circumstances.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “I am not naming my first three children after you. It is not just greedy, it is ridiculous.”
“Perhaps the problem here is that you are thinking far too small, sister. I am of the utmost faith that it would work greatly,” Cecil nodded, clearly revering his own genius.
Jane glanced at Thomas, smiling at the amused expression on his face as he watched Nora and Cecil bicker and argue and it made her heart warm to see that he had accepted her friends already.
“Anyway –” Cecil said casually, as though he had not nearly given Nora a heart attack and also nearly acquired Godric’s wrath in the process, “It has been a pleasure to meet you. If you ever need someone to take your side during any arguments this young woman might conjure up, feel free to contact me. I shall run to your defence, straight away.”
Thomas shook his head slowly with a small grin.
“That will not be necessary. Jane is happier when she wins and I like ensuring that she is happy,” he stated easily.
His words were said so candidly, Jane felt her heart shake within her chest, surprised by what Thomas had just said. It clearly caught Cecil off guard as well, because he stared at Thomas for a moment, then he slowly smiled.
“I am happy to hear that you will that way. Despite all our fights and pending civil war –”
“Cecil, I beg of you, there is no such thing –”
“I care about her. She is like a sister to me – except that I have quite a number of those already, so I am glad she is not really mine because that means I can wash my hands of brotherly duties whenever I feel like it. But still, I value her happiness. And it seems as though you make her happy. I hope that you both are happy together for a long time,” Cecil finished, holding up his glass of punch in their direction.
Jane felt her heart warm at how kind Cecil’s words were but ultimately, she felt guilt flood her senses at the thought of the inevitable end that their marriage would come to in about a month’s time. Jane wondered if at all things would end as amicably as they are going now, but most of all, she hoped that they would continue on peacefully for the time they had left.
“Thank you. I hope so too,” Thomas replied, his voice carrying an emotion Jane did not recognize.
Cecil nodded and shifted his attention to Penelope, who smiled at Thomas and expressed kindly,
“Thank you for gracing us with your presence. I do hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“Thank you for inviting me,” Thomas said, with a slight smile.
As her friends shifted their attention away momentarily, Jane grew aware of the stares she and Thomas were getting once more and the disconcerting feeling from earlier returned.
It was offensive, how brazenly they stared at them and talked behind their backs, wholly unaware that their actions made them even uglier on the inside. Jane wished she could tell them to be quiet or compliment Thomas before their eyes, so they would understand that she is right where she desires to be.
“Duchess,” Thomas beckoned softly and she leaned in closer to hear him. “Would you like to dance?”
She stared at him for a moment and agreed eagerly, deciding to seize the opportunity to put on a show. Once the eight-piece orchestra had rounded up their song and prepared to begin another, Jane bid her friends farewell and followed Thomas to the dance floor.
For once, she was glad that she had gotten all the mandatory dance lessons her mother proposed that she take, eager to impress not just onlookers, but her husband as well.
She smiled as he pulled her closer and laughed every time he spun her around or dipped her. Thomas as a good dancer as well, so they moved well together, and Jane hoped that they were the very picture of a happy couple.
“You are quite adept at this, Jane,” he mumbled to her as they continued to dance. “For some reason, I imagined that you were not much of a dancer – or even fond for such gatherings.”
She nodded sagely. “You are completely right. I did not particularly like either of those, but my parents ensured that Iwas sufficiently trained for such settings. I can only hope that I have made my tutors proud tonight.”
Thomas let his gaze drop down her body for a second and when it came back up, he smirked and told her,
“Well, I can promise you that they would be quite pleased if they had the honour of witnessing you tonight. Though I cannot say I wished they did. I am not particularly fond of sharing.”
Jane threw her head back and laughed, genuinely stunned by his response. But when she refocused her gaze on him, his expression had grown muted.
