“I suppose it is strange,” Elowen conceded softly during some part of the conversation. “Perhaps it’s not the simplest of unions.”
Is anything as simple as it appears?
Beaming, Octavia nudged Eve. “See?”
“You’re bullying her into agreeing with you again; I don’t see a thing,” her friend responded. “All I see is the bride growingbored of the topic. I do hope we haven’t offended you, Your Grace. That wasn’t my intention. I really do think well of your match. He’s a handsome duke. He looks to have all his teeth and all his hair; you must be very glad of that.”
“I am,” Verity said and smiled.
“Very handsome,” Elowen added softly.
Octavia rolled her eyes with a casual nod. She drained her lemonade and set it on the bookshelf behind her while asking, “Good looks are on matter as they reside solely on the surface. What I want to know is if he is a good man. A gentleman can be many things. Do you trust him, Ver?”
Trust. That was an interesting topic to bring up at a time like this.
Her sister clarified. “Do you fear him? Your marriage?”
A shine of vulnerability showed in the young woman’s gaze. Nearly twenty years of age, Octavia was ready to be married as well. She adored a good dance and a light flirt with any pretty face. It wasn’t unusual for her to be surrounded by a party of young fellows wearing frills and smirks. She was always smiling.
Except for the fractured smile when Verity caught that shine.
Guilt tugged at her shoulders as she feared she had not done her duty properly to her younger sisters. Having lost their motheryears ago, she’d done her best to help manage her siblings. But a tender and soft mother could not be replaced. Verity feared she lacked such gentleness. Was she leaving her sisters lacking?
And now to leave them behind in the house for my marriage. I wish our brothers could be trusted to give them the attention and care that they need. If only we had more family to support them. What was I thinking? I’m not leaving London but what if living apart is too much for them? I want my family happy. Hopeful. Not lonely.
“Do you?” Elowen whispered.
“I think the answer is more complex than a simple binary,” Verity murmured at last. “While my engagement might have been sudden, I have walked into this with my eyes and my heart open. I made a choice.”
Octavia squinted. “Is it the right one?”
“Can anyone ever know?” She asked before sighing. “The important matter is that I met the duke and I chose to commit myself to this union. To Wycliffe. It is important that I keep my promise, to do my best as his wife and duchess.”
“How proper you are.”
Elowen nodded in agreement. “It is important to have a choice, isn’t it?”
Verity smiled as warmly as she could muster. Marriages were made to pass women from their families to another. They were meant to benefit the men who ruled the world. Paltry beliefs handed down through society. Whilst trapped, however, she refused to be afraid for herself.
Marriages were always about control. And having made a choice, she would keep some of that control. She needed to.
This is my life. Because I was born a woman doesn’t mean I will concede to whatever is left on my plate. I will prepare my own dishes and I will eat as I choose. I will use this marriage however I can. I must.
“We all have our choices,” Verity reassured her sisters and Eve.
“We all have what?”
She turned to see Lucien and Dominic before her. Lingering behind them was a vaguely familiar place. Judging on Eve’s brighter smile, it was the elder brother, Peter Starling, whom she had mentioned was crashing the party but a welcome addition all the same.
“Blessings,” Verity replied. “Hello, Lucien. Wycliffe. I’m glad to see you were not running away.”
“I have nothing to run away to or from.”
He always spoke clearly and simply. Sometimes his words felt like riddles. It was hard for Verity to decide if he was telling the truth or simply trying to hide his true thoughts.
Either way, she wouldn’t know him for certain just yet. That would take time and patience and effort.
Smiling, she asked, “What are you gentlemen up to?”
