“It is your duty,” she said, stiffly, her hands wrapped into fists. “That is not to say, however, that I would have preferred to make my own match, as you have suggested. But I appreciate my father’s wisdom and understanding when it comes to my situation and circumstance and if he believed you to be the best match for me, if he believed that it was right for us to wed, then I was willing to accept that.”
David shook his head. “I do not think it right for him to have done such a thing.” He held her gaze, watching for any flicker in her expression, anything that would tell him that she had already known about the codicil – or the lack thereof. “Especially when he threatened me with the codicil, knowing full well he had done no such thing.”
Frederica’s eyes flared in an instant and she gasped in shock, her hand gripping the back of the chair hard, whitening her knuckles. She said nothing for some moments, simply staring at David with utter shock, before swaying lightly and closing her eyes.
“Perhaps it might be best if you sat down, Frederica.” Nora, rising from her chair, spoke with great gentleness and acted with even more of the same. “Come, please. Allow me to help.” Taking the lady’s arm, she led Frederica to the couch and had her sit down, sending a worried look in David’s direction.
“Perhaps some tea, Hampshire?”
A low moan broke from Frederica’s lips, her eyes closing. “No, this cannot be. He assured me that – ”
With a nod, David went to ring the bell. “Your father reassured you?” David came to sit down opposite Frederica, taking her in. “He promised you that the codicil would bind us, yes?”
She looked at him, her eyes swimming with tears. “Yes. He did.”
“I am sorry, truly.”
“I – I do not understand.” Closing her eyes, tears fell to her cheeks as she drew in a ragged breath. “Father told me that we would be bound together in marriage, that the codicil was there to ensure my future was safe and protected. Now you say that it was all a lie? That he did not write the codicil?”
“The solicitor could not find it,” David said, as gently as he could. “He was most thorough but it was apparent to us both that it was not with the will itself.”
Nora pressed a handkerchief into Frederica’s hand and, much to David’s relief, she took it and wiped her eyes. “I have suggested to Lord Hampshire that it might well be that your father intended to have the codicil written,” she said, as Frederica sniffed lightly.
“It may be that his ill heath prevented him from doing so.”
Frederica swallowed and looked down at her hands. “You knew of this also, then.”
“I did.” Nora did not speak with anything other than gentleness as Frederica began to worry the edges of the handkerchief, clearly still distraught over what she had learned. “Lord Hampshire and I, as I am sure you are aware, had a connection before this engagement between you was demanded.” She leaned a little closer to Frederica.
“That is not to say that there was any impropriety between us once that engagement was announced, however. The onlyreason I am here now is so we might face this together, the three of us as one.”
Frederica shook her head no. “There is no purpose in that, Lady Nora. It is not as if the engagement is going to end.”
Something tightened in David’s stomach, seeing how Frederica shrugged lightly, turning her attention back towards Nora. Did she truly believe that all would continue as it had been? That they would marry, even now?
“I am promised to him and he to me,” she said, as Nora shot a glance towards David. “Our wedding will take place and – ”
“Frederica.” David rose from his seat, came towards her, and hunkered down, looking up into her pale face.
“Are you certain that is for the best? Do you not want the opportunity to make your own choice? There are so many gentlemen in London who would be honoured to have you as their bride.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “No,” she stated, her voice trembling. “I do not want to make my own choice. We must wed, Hampshire. It is what my father wanted.”
“But it is not what I want,” he told her, as she shuddered violently, then put her hand to her mouth to hold back the sob that threatened to escape. “It would be unconscionable to commit myself to you when I am already in love with another. It would bring neither of us any happiness, Frederica. Surely you can see that?”
She stood up sharply, her skirts billowing around her. “I do not care about happiness, Hampshire! I care only about my future, which is one of safety and protection.”
“Frederica.” Before David could respond, before he could speak to her, Nora too rose to her feet and, taking the lady’s arm, looked straight into her eyes.
“What is it that has you so afraid?” she asked, the question direct but spoken with all gentleness. “Is it something to do with the man that I saw you with in the park? Mr. Rathbone?”
David’s eyebrows lifted, understanding precisely where Nora’s thinking had come from. Yes, Frederica had insisted that they marry all the same – a troubling thought in itself, given the freedom they now both had – but that had not come from any concern over what the ton might say of it. Nor had it been out of any sense of affection for him or he for her. Instead, she had spoken only of safety, of her need to be protected. What protection was it that she believed he could provide that another gentleman could not?
Frederica shook her head, her whole body shaking with sobs. “You cannot help me.” The words came from Frederica like a stone dropped into still water — flat, heavy, final.
She looked at Nora with eyes that held no anger, only an exhaustion so deep it was almost serenity. “Neither of you can. No one can. I thought you should know that before you waste any more of your kindness on a cause that is already lost.”
The silence that followed was terrible.
