Page 2 of The Duke and His Cinderella
“You’re very optimistic,” her father said. “You also lack an understanding of what a gentleman wants, unfortunately. You will never win anyone over by showing them how unwilling you are to be obedient! Every gentleman wants a wife he can count on to listen to him. You, Eleanor, never listen to anybody. Our only hope is to get someone to commit to a marriage before understanding that about you. If we can do that, we may have a chance at getting you married. But if not…”
“You’re saying that you believe no one could know me and still wish to marry me.”
“They certainlycouldif you were willing to make even the slightest change to the way you behave. This is the reason we’ve added more etiquette lessons to your schedule in advance of the coming season.”
“But then I wouldn’t beme,” Eleanor said. “I would be pretending.”
“Oh, Eleanor,” her mother sighed. “This is the same argument you’ve always given me. You’re not changing who you are if you abide by the customs of polite society! You’re not betraying your true self if you make an effort to be liked. You should want people to like you. It’s hard to understand why that seems to matter so little to you.”
“I do want people to like me,” Eleanor said. “Peopledolike me.”
“And what about what happened at Lord Northumberland’s ball last season? It’s the reason your season was such a failure and the reason we’ve had to add more lessons for you.”
“I still don’t see why it was such a problem.”
“Eleanor, you wereloud.”
“I laughed while I was dancing!”
“People stared at you. We were humiliated. Marina would never behave that way.”
Marina looked down at her plate.
Eleanor knew her parents were right. Marina would never laugh out loud while she was dancing. But what waswrongwith it? “People saw me enjoying myself,” she said. “I’m sorry that was so embarrassing.”
“You’re not sorry. But you should be. You would be married by now if you behaved yourself the way we’ve told you to.”
“I just believe that there’s someone out there who can like me without needing to see me change myself. Is that so impossible to believe?”
“It’s a fantasy,” her mother said. “We all have to conform, eventually, to the things society asks of us. You’re no different, Eleanor. It’s time for you to grow up and accept your place in the world. It’s time for you to make the most of the things you’ve been given and accept the life that’s been laid out for you. Do you understand?”
“And what if the life that’s been laid out for me isn’t the life I want to live?” Eleanor asked.
“And that right there is why you won’t be attending the masquerade,” her father said firmly. “You’ve shown me that I’m making the right decision. For that, I have to thank you.”
“May I be excused, please?” Suddenly, Eleanor didn’t want to be around her family a moment longer.
Her father nodded. Eleanor got up from the table. She could feel Marina’s eyes on her, watching her go, and she knew her sister was going to want a conversation about all this later, but that would have to wait. For now, all Eleanor wanted was the chance to be alone in her room, to think about the life that was coming her way, and to wonder whether there was anything she could possibly do to avoid it.
CHAPTER TWO
The following evening, Eleanor was interrupted by a knock at her bedroom door. “Who is it?” she called nervously.
“It’s me.” The voice belonged to Marina. Eleanor hesitated for a moment—did she want to let her sister in? But Marina had always been kind, had always been on her side. She could trust her now. She went to the door and opened it.
Marina let out a gasp. “Eleanor. What are you doing?”
“I’m going to the masquerade,” Eleanor said firmly. “Don’t try to talk me out of it.”
“But what do you mean?” Marina looked Eleanor up and down. She was dressed in one of her finest gowns—one she hadn’t worn in several years, so she was glad it still fit her well. She was willing to believe that no one would recognize the gown, not even her mother. It would be worth the risk.
“I’m not going to miss one of my last chances to attend a party as an unmarried lady,” Eleanor said.
“Mother and Father aren’t going to let you go,” Marina said. “Do you think that all you have to do is walk downstairs in that gown and they’ll change their minds? They’ll send you right back up, Eleanor. They’re not going to see that you’ve gotten ready for the ball and say to themselves,oh, never mind what we said, we will bring Eleanor with us.They’ve said you can’t attend, and they won’t turn back on that idea.”
“I’m not planning to ask their permission,” Eleanor said darkly. “They don’t care about whether or not I derive any enjoyment from my life, Marina. All they care about is appearances. They want the image of two well-married daughters. They’ll have that. There isn’t anything I can do to stop it. But before they marry me off to a stranger, I mean to have a bit of fun!”
“So you’re going to march downstairs and board the carriage over their objections?” Marina frowned. “I don’t think that will work. They simply won’t go to the ball.”
