Page 26 of Her Lion of a Duke
“Oh? What did you think?”
“I had assumed that she knew of you when you hosted that party, but that you did not truly know one another.”
“Ah. No, that is not quite the truth. We did not know one another so well, but we were acquaintances. We met a short while before my brother died. She was the only one to notice me, rather than the duke beside me. I’ve always appreciated that.”
Emma smiled, taking a seat. She seemed comforted to know that her friend was not married to a man she hardly knew.
“I have struggled with a lot of guilt since I got married,” she admitted. “Cecilia and I had always agreed that we did not wanta husband. I was far too preoccupied with my sister’s future, and she simply did not want to marry at all.”
“I know, and I found that quite admirable. I am pleased that your sister married well, too.”
“As am I, but I cannot help but think that Cecilia is angry with me. We were supposed to be spinsters together, and instead I married and left her alone.”
“She had the other ladies. She was not alone.”
“No, but were it not for you, she would have been. Beatrice will marry soon enough, and had you not proposed to Cecilia… She would have been fine alone, but she should not be.”
Leonard softened, pouring her a drink and handing it to her gently. He sat beside her and gave her a moment to collect herself.
“I can assure you that she is not angry at all,” he reassured her. “She is pleased to have married for the same reason that I assume you did at first. You were thinking of your sister, and Cecilia was thinking of her cousin. She did not marry because she was afraid to be alone, and certainly not because she thinks you have abandoned her.”
Emma relaxed a little at that, taking a sip of her drink and sighing. “Even so, I should thank you. You are taking very good care of her.”
“Yes, well, she does not need me to do that. She is a very capable lady, and she has always been able to care for herself.”
“I know.” She smiled. “But you are doing what you can, and I believe you want to look after her anyway, even if she claims you do not need to.”
He thought about that long after they had rejoined the others.
CHAPTER 9
Beatrice was uncertain of how to feel as the only unmarried lady of their group.
She was happy for her friends, of course, especially Cecilia. She knew that her friend had been vehemently against marriage, but she had always seen through it.
It was all an act; it had always been. One that meant it was because of her own choices that she was not wanted by gentlemen, not because she was unappealing.
In truth, Beatrice had always envied her friend. Cecilia was a beautiful lady who did not have to try to be seen. Gentlemen had always been drawn to her, and she had cast them aside, disinterested.
That was not how it had been for Beatrice; she was shorter, rounder, and easy to ignore when next to someone like her friend.
“They seem happy,” Dorothy commented while Cecilia and her husband were speaking in another room for a moment. “They certainly seemed well-liked in the village earlier.”
“Indeed, and Cecilia seemed surprised by that,” Clara chimed in. “I did not doubt her for a moment, but I wonder why she doubts herself.”
“Well, it is not as though she has ever wanted any of this,” Beatrice commented. “It is no surprise to me that she is bewildered by her popularity. I can only hope that she comes to trust it in time.”
“As do I,” Clara said gently. “I love my cousin, but she has never wanted any of this. I hope that she has not only married for my sake. I know that my reputation could have been affected, but it is my debut. There are plenty of spinsters whose cousins find good matches of their own. Sisters even. I would have been fine.”
“Cecilia knows what she is doing,” Emma said firmly. “She would not do something she did not want to, and her husband agrees with me about that. From what I know, Leonard needed a wife. Cecilia would eventually need the security a husband provides, and as they were friends, it made sense. There is nothing more to it.”
Beatrice nodded along, but she knew better than her friend. She knew better than all of them, for she was aware that Cecilia did not need the security provided by a man.
Indeed, Cecilia had been securing her future for years. Beatrice had thought that she had given it up, in favor of caring for Clara, but then her friend had done it once again.
“If you’ll excuse me,” she said suddenly, rising from her seat.
“Are you all right, Bea?” Dorothy asked.
