Chapter 21 #2
David sighed. Things were different now. He had a new mindset, and he had to remember it. Even if it meant not marrying the woman he actually wanted.
George came in just as David finished washing himself, stopping in surprise when he saw his master.
“Your Grace? I wasn’t expecting to see you up at this time.”
“I couldn’t sleep. And I’ve got a few things to do.” David turned to him. “Help me get dressed quickly, will you? I need to go and speak to Lady Caroline. Has she risen yet?”
“She rose a while ago.” George paused. “But she’s already left.”
“What?” David thought he had misheard. “What do you mean, she’s already left?”
“I heard some noises last night, and I went to investigate. Nanny Drew and Hadleigh were helping Lady Caroline put her belongings on the carriage. I wanted to stop them, but they persuaded me that it was the best thing to do and to let Lady Caroline have some space.”
“And you couldn’t stop them?”
“I couldn’t. Not when I saw Lady Caroline. She had been crying, and she looked close to tears again.” George looked uncomfortable, shuffling from foot to foot. “I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
David had a lot of things to say about that, but he stopped himself. Now was not the time to chastise his valet for not stopping Caroline. Growling, he pointed towards the wardrobe.
“Get my clothes out and then get out of my sight. I’ve got to figure out how to explain this to my sisters.”
George didn’t respond. He just hurried to do as he was told. David scowled as he dressed, wondering how on earth he hadn’t heard Caroline leaving when he had struggled to sleep. Then again, he was on the far side of the house. Even if he had been awake, he wouldn’t have been able to hear a thing.
Where would she be now? Would she have gone back to her family home? That was a possibility, or maybe she had left for another position. David would have to question his driver once he returned, and he had better not lie to him about it.
Once he was dressed, David hurried downstairs. He was heading towards the dining room, hoping to find Nanny Drew and demand to know what she thought she was doing the night before, only to hear Henrietta behind him.
“What did you do to Caroline, David?”
David nearly tripped over his feet as he stopped abruptly. He turned and saw his sister coming out of the morning room. She looked upset; her lips pressed into a thin line showing her displeasure.
“What are you doing in there? Have you had breakfast already?”
“It’s not ready yet. Gwen and I aren’t really hungry, anyway.” Henrietta folded her arms, scowling at him. “Now answer my question: what did you do to Caroline?”
“What did Nanny Drew tell you?”
“She just said that Caroline resigned and needed to leave abruptly. That she had her reasons. I know you had something to do with it.”
“Well …”
Henrietta scoffed.
“Honestly, David, you’re pathetic at times.”
“Henrietta!”
“Well, you are. You have a woman in front of you who is clearly in love with you and are choosing to marry someone else. Of course she’s going to resign when she’s miserable!”
David was about to argue back, and then he realised what his sister had just said. He frowned.
“Wait, what did you say? Caroline is in love with me?”
“How have you not noticed?”
“I … I mean …” God, how was discussing his feelings with his sibling so awkward? He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know she has feelings for me, but …”
“You knew, and you still treated her like this?”
“You don’t know the circumstances.”
“Then why don’t you tell us, David?”
David jumped when he heard Gwen’s voice, and his youngest sister came out of the morning room to stand beside Henrietta. With their arms folded and similar glares, they looked almost identical. When had Gwen grown? She was coming close to being as tall as Henrietta, her eyes flashing fire.
“Go on,” Gwen urged with a sneer. “Why don’t you tell us the circumstances? Do you have to marry someone appropriate standing-wise rather than how you feel about them? Even if that person is odious and plans to make us leave you?”
“What?” David’s mouth dropped open. “What are you talking about?”
“I overheard Lady Mary and Caroline yesterday.” Gwen lifted her chin as if expecting David to scold her.
“Yes, I eavesdropped on them and don’t regret it.
She plans to get rid of us so she can have you to herself and she doesn’t have to bother with us.
And she won’t want a governess then, especially when she knows you two are in love. ”
“Wha … what makes you think I’m in love with Caroline?”
Both sisters scoffed in unison.
“Are you telling me that you thought nobody knew?” Henrietta demanded. “We could tell immediately. We may be children, but we do pay attention. We know when something is going on. And we know that the pair of you are in love. We’re just surprised that you haven’t done anything about it.”
David wondered if this was actually happening. His sisters knew? He had only just been coming to terms with it himself.
“I … I had no idea …”
“She’s someone we would approve of becoming our sister-in-law,” Gwen said. “Why haven’t you asked her yet? Or are you preferring to chase after someone with money? Because you won’t be happy with that woman, especially if she isolates you from those you care about.”
“It’s not like I want to marry Lady Mary, Gwen.” David held up his hands. “Look, can we go and sit down? I can explain everything.”
“How about we do it now?” Henrietta strode towards him. “You can’t stall any longer. And we already know the reason you want to marry Lady Mary Chadwick. It’s because of her money and social standing. Don’t you think that’s a bit cold? You said you would never do that.”
David was used to his sisters getting upset, but he had never seen this amount of upset directed at him. He almost took a step back as Henrietta bore down on him.
“It’s for the family …” he began to say, but Henrietta cut him off.
“We would rather have you married to someone you love, not because they’re appropriate.
I’m sure Caroline won’t care about me saying that.
If you need a wife, pick someone who loves you and us.
Caroline does both of those things, and she doesn’t care about your money or title. She’s a genuine, kind-hearted person.
You marry Lady Mary, and we’ll be sent away as far as she can manage, and Caroline would be fired if she hadn’t resigned. She would find a reason to get rid of her. Maybe spread a few rumours about her so she can’t get work again.”
David listened to this, and he knew Henrietta was right. Lady Mary would make sure everyone suffered so she got what she wanted. Her standing was ideal, and that was about it. He would be miserable.
And he had let the woman he loved go because of the stupid society rules.
His legs were feeling odd, and he stumbled over to the stairs, where he sat down heavily.
“There are … so many things that you two must understand.” He looked up at both of them. “There are things we can’t do, and love doesn’t come into it if people are not of the same social status. Scandal comes with something like that.”
“Who cares about scandal?” Gwen scoffed.
“You two will. When you’re older, you’ll enter Society for your first Season and introduce yourselves properly. People will be aware of what I did, and you’ll have things stacked against you before you even start.”
Gwen rolled her eyes.
“Do you honestly think we care about that? We don’t care as long as our family is happy.
You marry that woman, and that’s not happening.
Besides, I’ve got eight years until I’m old enough to have my first Season.
If they’re still gossiping about what you did behind your back eight years after it happened, they aren’t people worthy of our time. ”
David stared at his youngest sister in bewilderment. She made so much sense, and he didn’t think he had heard anything like it from her before.
“When did you grow up?” he asked. “Because you’re sounding more mature than I’ve ever heard you.”
“I’ve been growing up. You just haven’t noticed. I know you love me, but you have us stuck in some sort of time freeze. I’m going to be eleven at the end of the year. And I do notice things.” Gwen gestured at Henrietta. “Both of us do. Just because we’re children doesn’t mean we don’t have eyes.”
Henrietta waved at her sister to calm down and sat beside her brother.
“We don’t care about what anyone else thinks,” she said gently, taking David’s hand in hers.
“We love you, and we want to see you happy. Like you are when you’re around Caroline.
You’ve been happier since she came here, and we don’t want to lose that.
There’s nothing wrong with loving someone of your own choosing. ”
“But the ton …”
“What we do within our family is none of their business. All that stuff about marrying within our social boundaries is just an excuse for them to stick their noses into our lives when we don’t do as we’re told. They will find something to gossip about you, anyway.”
She was right. David felt like everything was pressing down on his shoulders. He had been so focused on what he should be doing rather than what he wanted. And Caroline was gone because he couldn’t bring himself to ignore what should be expected of him.
He looked at his hand, his fingers linked with his sister’s.
“I’ve messed up, haven’t I?”
“Do you really need us to answer that?” Gwen said snidely.
“Gwen, stop. I think we’ve made our point.
” Henrietta squeezed David’s hand. “We love you, David, and we want you to be happy. You’re not going to be happy if you do this.
And neither will we. There’s nothing wrong with doing something for yourself.
Besides, you’re a duke. You can do whatever you want. ”
“Not quite.”
“Close enough. Just get your head out of your own backside and go after what will make you happy.”
David arched an eyebrow at her.
“My head out of my backside?”
“I think I’ve heard Joseph say that plenty of times.”
“You really shouldn’t listen to him so much.”
Henrietta smiled.
“If it makes sense, then why stop?”
David didn’t know what to say to that. Gwen approached him, sitting on his lap and hugging him.
“Go and do the right thing,” she said in his ear. “It may not be right for everyone, just for you. Father used to say that all the time. It’s what you want that matters the most.”
She was right. Their father had said it plenty of times, and his chest squeezed at the thought of the man. David wished he were here now; he would know what to do.
And he would join in with his daughters, telling David off for ignoring what was right before him.