“Oh, Nellie. I pray he makes you happy.”
Nellie put her arm around her sister’s waist. “Thank you, dear. But I imagine Charles and I will disagree on many things.”
“Charles?”
“Yes, he invited me to call him by his given name.”
“Well, he can’t be too stuffy.”
“I tried to tell him about the article I wrote about foxhunting, but he cut me off in the most autocratic fashion. No doubt, he disdains such a view. He’ll be angry if he learns about it before I can find the courage to tell him.” She smoothed her dress with both hands. “He is sure to anger me, too, at times.”
“Welcome to marriage,” Marian said dryly.
“I must go and tell Alice, although the whole house, from the kitchens to the stables, knows by now.”
In the schoolroom, her tall, willowy, fifteen-year-old sister was complaining of missing out on all the entertainment.
“When I have my Come-out, will you hold a ball for me at Shewsbury Park and invite loads of eligible gentlemen?” Alice’s big blue eyes were alight with visions of a rosy future.
“Indeed, I shall,” Nellie promised.
“The duke is so handsome. I peeked at him through the drawing room door.”
“You will meet him when you take part in the archery contest. You can make a game of it. You are quite skilled with your own bows and arrows.”
“Oh, good.” Alice gave a gusty sigh. “Are you both madly in love?”
At Alice’s age, Nellie had dreamed of falling in love at first sight. It was part of growing up, after all, and she disliked quashing Alice’s girlish dreams. “Shewsbury and I have only just met,” she said with an amused shake of her head. “So how could we be in love?”
“People do fall in love at once. Why, I just read a novel where…”
“And what novel might that be, Lady Alice?” Her governess, Miss Dale, looked up from her desk at the end of the room. “I trust your father will not disapprove of your reading material?”
Alice tightened her lips and looked mulish. “I found the book in the library.”
Nellie doubted that was where she’d discovered it. “It can’t be anything too shocking,” she said to Miss Dale. She suspected Alice found one of Marian’s gothic romances left behind after she married. What harm could it do? One should enjoy an unrealistic view of life, if only for the brief time allowed to a young girl before real life intruded.
Was it possible to fall in love at first sight? Charles could make her heart beat faster with a look. That was not love but physical desire. It was more important that they become good friends. Or might they not even remain on good terms?
“I’m sure His Grace fell desperately in love when he first set eyes on you, Nellie,” Alice said, breaking into Nellie’s thoughts.
Nellie smiled. “Thank you, poppet.”
Charles did not seem the sort of man to utter overblown emotional speeches. Unlike Kealan Walsh, who had declared his adoration of her supposed charms, hand over his heart, as he read aloud his verses. But then the thought struck her that Charles might well have been that way with his former fiancée. If the poets were to be believed, a man only ever loved with such intensity but once.
“The duke has chosen me to be his duchess. It is quite an honor. I’m sure love will follow in time,” she said. While Nellie didn’t believe it, she wanted Alice to hold onto her dreams.
“An honor!” Alice gasped. “How very dull. As if you’re something he might place behind glass in his trophy room. Will he lock you up in the attic in Shewsbury castle after you’ve given him an heir?”
Nellie’s laugh sounded brittle to her ears, for something similar, although a little less dramatic, had occurred to her. “The ruins of the old castle remain on the grounds,” she said to guide the conversation into safer waters. “The mansion was built in the last century. I believe it has a very fine park.” Nellie smiled. “You only find such things in novels, Alice. The duke would not be so cruel, but if he does, you will have to rescue me.”
It was quite possible that Charles would take another mistress after she gave birth to his heir. She must guard her heart. Divorce would be out of the question, for she would be ruined socially. But no eyebrows would be raised at a discreet separation, or even if she took a lover. Nellie despised the idea. She would rather create her literary salon and immerse herself in books and poetry.
Their marriage might be for financial reasons, but she would hate it if Charles strayed. She wished she could be sure of the man she was about to spend her life with. The Haute ton lived by their own rules, and few benefited women. At least the archaic practice of dueling had fallen into disfavor. Their brother, Nathaniel, had been wounded defending a woman’s honor when barely more than a youth. Thankfully, he had survived with merely an arm wound when the lady’s husband took pity on him. Now married to Eliza, who was not the lady in question, Nat was the proud father of a three-year-old daughter, Julia.
“Shall I come and see you when you’re dressed for the ball?” Alice asked.
“I depend on it,” Nellie said. “You must give me your opinion.”
“Your gown is so beautiful,” Alice said with a wistful smile. “It’s like gossamer. White satin and gauze with those pretty lilac silk flowers. I shall have a gown just like it one day.”
“An even prettier one.” The ballgown had not been Nellie’s choice. Although she wasn’t inclined to spend hours poring over lady’s fashion magazines the way her sisters did, she knew what best suited her figure and looked
