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“I would not be surprised if she has trapped him,” one woman, seated on a bench, remarked to the friend beside her. She made no attempt to say it quietly.

The friend nodded, shooting a nasty glare at Marina. “There has to be some explanation for it. I cannot see how he has chosen her willingly.”

Marina did not even need to read the scandal sheets to know that she was splashed across their pages, for the sweet housekeeper, thinking herself discreet, kept sneaking them off the morning tray of post and tossing them into the fire.

“Be kind,” an older woman, seated on the edge of the bench, chided. “Unkindness can make even the most beautiful girls very ugly indeed.”

A faint warmth blossomed in Marina’s chest, hearing that. It was not often she had heard the whispers of someone supporting her among the hisses of dissent.

“Perhaps, but it shall never make me that ugly,” the first girl remarked with a snort, and Marina’s heart sank again.

“Oh, you are wicked!” the second girl interjected, giggling.

The older woman huffed out a breath. “You are both wicked, and that is why she will soon be a duchess, and the two of you will see out another Season unmarried.”

Marina allowed herself a small smirk of satisfaction as she watched the two unpleasant girls deflate under the remark.

Nevertheless, her walk was quite ruined.

She looked toward home… and felt her stomach lurch as a carriage rolled to a standstill outside the steps of her porch. The ladies on the bench had noticed, too.

“Is that him?”

“Oh, let us get closer. I hear he is terribly handsome.”

Marina walked quicker toward the gates of the park, and hesitated on her side of the street. She was not sure if she wanted to have to greet Anthony out in public, for everyone to see and hear, or if it would be better to wait until he was inside the house.

She had not seen him in a week, since he had come to ask her uncle for her hand. A swift visit. Although, he had sent word each day to let her know how William was doing. Apparently, the sweet child was almost himself again.

The approach of the two unkind women pushed her onward, across the street.

She was just walking around the back of the carriage when the carriage door opened and the Dowager Duchess stepped down without the help of a footman.

“Too slow,” she scolded as the man finally reached the door.

Oh…

Marina waited to see if Anthony would appear, but it seemed the dowager had come for a solo visit.

Just then, the old woman noticed Marina. “Out for a walk, Miss Longman?”

“Uh… yes,” Marina replied, gulping.

There was something so intimidating about the old woman, though she was a head shorter than Marina and squinted through her spectacles as if she could not see well.

“Let us take a turn,” the dowager said, and promptly took off, back toward the private park that Marina had just left.

Is this the part where she tells me she does not want me marrying her grandson? Marina took a moment to steady herself, bracing for the worst, and hurried after the dowager.

Upon entering the quaint, albeit bland, park, a transformation settled across the open space. The ladies who had spoken so harshly about Marina suddenly blanched and looked away, while the older woman with them raised a hand in a wave.

“Do you walk often, Miss Longman?” the dowager asked, once Marina had fallen into step with her.

Marina nodded. “Quite often, although… never mind.”

“No, do continue,” the dowager instructed. “If we are to be family, you must become accustomed to speaking your mind.”

Still, Marina hesitated. “It is just that… I would prefer to be at Stadley, walking the grounds and gardens. That is where I walk most often. Here, I rather feel as if I am going in circles.”