That was not a very comforting comparison. “Fortunately for me, George already knows our financial situation.” Heat stained her cheeks at just how aware he must have been of every aspect of their lives. “My thrice-mended sleeves and threadbare hem will come as no surprise to him.”
“I suppose not.” Mother fretted with the fringe on her shawl. “And it is not as though he has not seen you all of your life in outmoded dresses and such.”
Mother was not helping in the least. She made this betrothal sound like an act of charity.
“How did this marriage arrangement come about?” Caroline hadn’t yet had the courage to ask, not truly wanting to hear the answer. She felt, however, she would do best to know all she could before George arrived. “Did he ask Father or did Father make the proposition to him?”
“I don’t rightly know.” Mother ran her fingers over the keys of the pianoforte as she passed. “The entire thing was arranged in London. At their club, I believe.”
At their club?“Meaning, of course, they were likely drunk as wheelbarrows when the agreement was reached.” Wasn’t that terribly fitting?
“Do not use cant, Caroline,” Mother scolded.
“My apologies.”
Before the silence grew overly long, Mother spoke again. “Between the two of us, I must say I am convinced that much of the reason for your fortuitous match lies in George’s mother’s ambitions.”
Everyone knew of Mrs. Carlton’s aspirations. She had her not-so-subtle eye on more exalted rungs on the ladder of Society than she could ever hope to reach on her own.
“The Downys may not be wealthy,” Mother added, “but we have a fair bit of cachet.”
And even that was diminishing with each new generation. Caroline’s great-grandfather had been a duke. Caroline’s father was the youngest son of the duke’s youngest son, which made Caroline one step removed from being an absolute nobody. Apparently, however, that one step meant something to the Carltons.
Boisterous male voices sounded in the corridor. Though the family maintained an income sufficient for both a butler and a footman, servants were never boisterous. The commotion, therefore, was likely the tardy gentlemen finally arriving.
The last time she’d seen George Carlton he had been her friend. Now he was her betrothed. Caroline didn’t care for the change one whit. She hadn’t the slightest idea how she was expected to behave.
“Caroline, you are woolgathering again.” Mother’s panicked whisper snapped her back to the present.
She watched the door, waiting for her future to step inside. She’d always liked George. Even when they were children, he had been good and kind. She sincerely hoped that had not changed.
The door opened and the butler stepped inside. “Mr. Downy and Mr. Carlton, ma’am.”
Mother rose and glided gracefully toward the door as Tom entered.
“My dear Thomas.” Mother greeted him with an embrace.
Caroline’s eyes remained glued to the doorway. She was happy to see her brother again, but he was not at all the most important arrival that day.
Oh, please let him not have fundamentally changed. If I must marry someone who doesn’t love me, I need him to at least be kind.
George stepped inside. The absence of a year hadn’t rendered more of an outward change in him than the difference between a twenty-one-year-old and a gentleman of twenty-two. He boasted the same nearly black hair, brown eyes, and easy smile. He held himself confidently but without arrogance. He no doubt still pulled everyone’s eye when he entered a room. That had been true of him for several years now, but had never been more apparent than it was just then.
Even seeing him grown, Caroline couldn’t quite clear her mind of the memory of him as a ten-year-old boy, all knees and elbows, running about Downy House with more energy than grace. She had been all of eight years old and passing through astage of clumsiness herself. He had, by his mere presence, eased much of her self-consciousness. If this boy, she’d reasoned, could appear so ill-equipped to occupy his own space and yet be so universally doted on, then she need not worry about her lack of elegance.
He approached her with his eyes narrowed in curiosity. “Dare I ask what has brought such an amused smile to your face?”
“I was remembering the first time you came to Downy House.”
His smile pulled broad. “I was such a gawky boy, and I was absolutely gleeful at the prospect of spending Christmas with someone other than my governess. I likely made a nuisance of myself.”
She had been well trained in the expected niceties of receiving a new arrival. “You were most welcome, as you are now.”
He offered the obligatory bow, which she returned as a curtsy.
“We are, indeed, very pleased to have you here with us again.” Mother had abandoned her “dear boy” to offer her salutations. “How fares your mother?”
“She is well, thank you.” George’s manners had grown quite impeccable over the past year. “You appear to be in good health, yourself.”
