Page 96 of Her Lion of a Duke
“You seem different,” Beatrice said softly. “I am happy that the two of you were able to overcome your differences.”
“I cannot believe that you all knew about it!”
“Our husbands, like yours, tell us everything,” Emma snorted. “And whatever we know, we tell Beatrice too.”
The ladies laughed, but Cecilia could see the sadness in Beatrice’s eyes.
She wished that Beatrice could see herself the way they all did, but there was no changing it. Beatrice saw herself as the very opposite of beauty, and in her eyes, she was not worthy of what she so desperately wanted.
“You are next,” Dorothy told her. “If the three of us have found love, it will be easy for you. You are the kindest of us, and you can bake exquisite cakes that we can only dream of.”
“I, for one,” Cecilia chimed in, “shall be devastated on your wedding day, for it will mean that you have a man to bake for instead of me. I will miss your cakes terribly.”
They all burst into more laughter, but it did not seem to help.
Cecilia sighed, knowing that the only way her friend would have any luck on the marriage mart was if she had faith in herself and truly believed that she was worthy of love.
“I have some news for you all,” she spoke, in an attempt to give Beatrice a respite.
“You and your husband will be moving to Scotland?” Dorothy asked, laughing incredulously. “I never know when it comes to you. It could be anything.”
“That’s a good guess.” Cecilia chuckled. “You see, when I married Leonard, he told me that I could spin his globe and choose a country, and we would visit it. We have, at last, done that. We are to visit Greece!”
The ladies squealed, happy for her.
“How wonderful.” Emma clapped her hands excitedly. “When will you leave?”
“Within the month. We hope to return in time for the next Season, so that we can help with—so that we can help Clara.”
Beatrice blushed, but nobody questioned it.
“I thought that Clara had taken a liking to Lord Thompson?” Dorothy asked.
“She has, but after what happened with Lord Renshaw, my aunt is not as eager to marry her off to any gentleman who arrives and asks. Lord Thompson is happy to wait, so all is well.”
“I suppose that you want the scandal to die down,” Emma said. “She will make a beautiful bride when the time comes.”
“Time is a very important thing,” Cecilia agreed. “I have been thinking about this a lot, with everything that has changed. I am very different now, as I am certain you have all noticed.”
“Indeed, we have,” Beatrice affirmed. “It has been strange, for you have always been the same, but you seem happier now than you ever were before.”
“And that is because I stopped rejecting things simply because ladies like them,” Cecilia revealed. “As it turns out, I rather enjoy playing the pianoforte and embroidering flowers and taking long walks on my husband’s arm. I have been enjoying those mundane little moments, and I never thought that would happen.”
“I did.” Emma grinned. “I knew that you would change your mind and that you would fall victim to love in the same way I did. It changes your very being.”
“And I have been wholly changed,” Cecilia agreed. “Which is why, once we return from Greece, Leonard and I will start a family.”
Her friends were astonished, applauding and crying at the same time. The conversation quickly veered to baby names and how their children would be best friends. O
nce more, Cecilia worried for Beatrice, but there was no need. Beatrice was just as enthusiastic as the others, and Cecilia admired her for that. She hoped that her friend would find the happiness she had.
“They seemed happy when they left,” Leonard remarked over dinner. “They liked the news, then?”
“Indeed. They did not even mock me once. They are so happy for us.”
“I did not expect any less. They will miss you greatly while we are away.”
“And I will miss them, but I will not pretend that I like the wait. I hope the month passes quickly!”
