Page 33 of Duchess Material

“That sounds wonderful,” Winston replied.

“Much better food culture than Scots Irish, you must admit.”

He chuckled in agreement. “You are closer to your mum’s side?”

Lucy nodded. “We don’t talk to my dad’s side. He doesn’t have any siblings. But if you think your family is big, I have 25 cousins.”

“First cousins?” Winston looked shocked.

She nodded.

“Are they… Catholic?”

“Don’t say it like it’s the end of the world, okay? I’m not a practicing Catholic so you needn’t worry. I’m not really anything.”

“But were you baptised Catholic?”

Lucy shrugged. “Yes. They were Poles and brought religion with them. My mom went to Catholic school. It was awful, I think. I was a public-school kid. I could go to mass and know what to do but I don’t consider myself Catholic. My mom does. Her whole family does.”

“So, like married in the church sort of?”

“Oh, my parents weren’t because of my dad. They conveniently dance around that topic. But if I ever marry, it will be a topic of conversation. It was a controversy with George. I avoided talking about it. He never met my family. I never should have told you this—”

“No, no, it’s okay. I don’t care, Luce. It’s not complicated. You would have had to convert. His mother thinks rainbows shoot out your arse.”

Lucy snickered. “That is ridiculous.”

“It’s the truth,” Winston reasserted.

Winston wasn’t sure what to say. The idea of someone marrying in as a Catholic was not unheard of. Bruno had been raised Catholic but was an atheist. Winston’s mum was firmly C of E but baptised in the Church of Scotland. Winston had been baptised at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor and raised C of E. It baffled him to think of anyone as culturally Catholic. It would have been a massive scandal had Lucy married George. In fact, Ed’s mother being a Catholic was a big deal. However, they would have gotten over it.

“You never told George?”

She shook her head. “God, that sounds awful.”

“It doesn’t sound awful. No judgement. I’m just… I would have thought it would come up early on.”

“We were kids. At least… I was. I was an innocent, clueless virgin. I had been a good girl—a nerd. George was exciting and fun. To make it work, I contorted myself into this role of perfect would-be princess. I realise now—older and wiser—I couldn’t have kept it up forever. It speaks to the level of vulnerability we both had.”

“Or the level of denial?” Winston winced.

“Fair, fair. Look, I’m no saint. I’ve lived a life. I’ve made poor choices. I am a full-grown woman now. I admit I have much to learn.”

Winston smiled slightly. “We all do. I spent ages denying I was a weird hipster attempting to fit myself into a god damn box. I dated girls who bored me. I dated the girls society expected me to. George and I have that in common.”

“So, I’m not the expectation?”

“George and I are different there. At least we were. I was allowed to be wild and exciting. My family has money and power, but we’re not royals. George’s family has money and power but is inherently stoic and conservative. Whoever married in would need to be unimpeachable—a Vanora type. You would have fit the bill wonderfully. But would you have been happy?”

Lucy shrugged. “Not if George wasn’t happy. I love my job. I may have gotten bored.”

She took a long sip. “So, why am I unexpected?”

Winston joked, “You’re too good for me. You’re ambitious, you’re motivated, and a task master. You’re beautiful, yes. That’s expected. You’re different. You’re stable and well-behaved. I think no one saw it coming for me since I’m a weirdo. I… uh… I was wild earlier in life, you know?”

“I do recall.”

“I want a family. I want to settle down. I don’t want to be dating models focused on their shoe collections. I’m not talking about people like Nira, but... a certain type. I fancy them, but there is nothing there.”

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