“I had thought you would say something opposite,” she remarked. “Like I need to be more firm with her, or something.”
“Good to know that you consider me a dictator figure,” he said sarcastically.
She couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“And you’re funny too, sometimes,” she said, letting a smile pass through. “Imagine my surprise.”
“So have you gotten the advice that you came here to receive?” He asked curiously. “Because you seem to be in a much better mood already than before.”
“I think what you said about…” she sighed. “Well, letting our relationship grow makes sense. I don’t want to solve everything at once, and that alone brings me peace. And perhaps I can just let Augusta be... herself for now. She will come to understand when it is time.”
“I just hope that she doesn’t do anything drastic in the meantime,” Duncan muttered under his breath. “But yes. Don’t overthink things. You have good intentions, and you care for her. In time, she will come to see it.”
When she walked out of that study, she felt more at peace. So much so that she went and sought Augusta out.
“Can I speak to you for a moment?” She asked.
“What is it?” Augusta sighed. “If you’ve come to argue…”
“No, I haven’t. I just was not happy about how our conversation went earlier, and I wanted to clear the air between us. Or at least, try to.”
“If you still cannot give me any answers, then I am afraid that there is not much here to clear.” “Sure. But I am your older sister, and I think I can speak to you without hesitating,” she said. “I don’t want you to be mad at me, and I want you tobe patient. In time, things will be sorted out. You will see.” “Patience is not my strongest suit.”
“Then you must develop it,” Charity said without missing a beat. “It is a useful skill that will take you far in life.”
Augusta’s gaze stayed on her.
“So you were thinking of sending us because of him,” she said again. “The duke, that is. You can tell me that, at least?”
Charity nodded.
“No, but I know that you do not like him. Matilda is terrified of him. I’ve realized that I cannot force you to like him by simply insisting on it, can I?”
Augusta shot her sister a wayward look.
“I suppose that is all secondary,” she whimpered, “do you like him?”
That is rather down on my list of priorities.
“That is not something that matters,” Charity smiled softly.
“Why would it not matter?” Augusta said, offended. “You are to spend the rest of your life with him, and you are telling me that it does not matter if you like him?”
“Those notions are better left inside the pages of a romance novel,” Charity concluded, not wanting to argue on the topic. “It is no use to bring them to real life. It’s complicated between us.”
Though in earnest, she did notdislikehim either. But that did not mean love, did it?
She was too terrified to ask herself.
Especiallywhen the stakes were so high. This was simply a marriage of convenience, and she had to come to terms with it.
However, Augusta did not seem convinced.
“You always make decisions with our safety in mind,” she said. “And you always pay for them alone. I am asking you to consider not doing that, is that really too much of an ask?”
“What makes you think I am alone?” Charity tried to distract.
“Tell me what happened with Uncle Edward, because I know something happened. I know you will never tell Matilda, but you can tell me,” Augusta did not waste a moment getting to the point. “I’ve told you this before, and it is all I ask of you. But you refuse to tell me.”
