Chapter 31 #2
Elizabeth sighed. She flung her arms up and down again. Then, she threw herself on Wilhelmina’s bed.
“Just to be clear: Alasdair is alive and unharmed. However, we have gone our separate ways. I don’t know what is the ideal way to describe that in a world of supposed good manners.”
“Oh. I am so sorry. I was just joking with you, but I see I managed to hit a mark.”
“Yes, you did. You know me well.”
“What are sisters for?” Wilhelmina shrugged. “But why? He seemed like a good match for you. Handsome, kind and protective, a little naughty. Just what you needed.”
“Because I look meek and mild?” Elizabeth asked, lifting her upper body with the help of her elbows.
“I’m not saying you’re weak, Lizzie. You’re resilient, kind. He would have wanted to protect you from the very beginning,” Wilhelmina explained.
“Alasdair is chasing something, Mina, something that might destroy him. I know that he didn’t leave me because he wanted to.
He had just gone back to the mission he had given himself since he was a youth.
I understand, but it also scares me that he might not come back.
I asked him to choose our life over his past, but he wouldn’t stop.
He couldn’t. He believes that if he does not go through with his duty, he’d see himself as a coward. Forever.”
Wilhelmina frowned. “Your husband chose revenge over you.”
“No, Mina. He chose justice. There’s a difference. I hope there is, anyway. I don’t want him using calculation to… enact violence. It’s a journey that he was already undertaking before I interrupted it. He didn’t plan to marry me at all.” He didn’t choose me. Lady Grisham forced his hand.”
“Listen to yourself, Lizzie,” Wilhelmina said. “He chose to marry you. You can look at it any other way you want, but if he didn’t care so much about you marrying someone else and suffering for it, he would not have done it. He chose to be with you.”
“I am still the one who went out the door first,” Elizabeth admitted. “I could have just waited for him, prayed that he would survive his quest.”
“Mm. Still. We know where his priorities are at the moment.”
Elizabeth looked at her younger sister, who was at the cusp of being a grown woman. During the period she was away, her sisters seemed to have grown older quickly. There was a fire in Mina’s eyes. Both of them might not fully understand the situation, but they had each other’s backs.
“Alasdair believes in what he is doing. I can’t blame him for wanting to clear his father’s name. I would probably fight for any of you until the end of my life, Mina. It just hurts.”
“Of course, it hurts,” Mina said sagely. “You care about him. You didn’t think you would.”
She was right about that. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. It was time to let go. She was with another sister. Each of them had a right to see how she felt. A tear rolled down her face when she admitted, ‘I do. I care about him.”
Wilhelmina sat on the bed next to her.
“Hero or not, if he ever makes you cry again, I will have to use my embroidery hoop to bludgeon him.”
Elizabeth let out a surprised laugh. “He’ll understand,” she said, still smiling.
She even hoped it would come to that, because if Alasdair ever returned to face the wrath of the Grisham girls, it would mean he had made it back to her.
Her smile faded slightly, replaced by something softer. “You know… with him, I felt safe. For a time, I was not under Father’s watch or scrutinized by your mother. I could breathe. So… the idea of losing him is terrifying.”
Wilhelmina reached for her hand. “I’m guessing it’s not just about safety. He became your new home, Lizzie,” she whispered. “He’ll be back. You’ll see.”
“I do hope so.”
There was a comfortable silence between them, broken only by the rustle of the fire in the hearth.
“What, then, do you plan to do?” Wilhelmina asked quietly.
“Marianne, the twins, and you have managed to strengthen me and even make me laugh. It’s time to face tomorrow.”
“That’s certainly fair,” Wilhelmina nodded. “Perhaps it’s wise not to sketch your Alasdair while he is still away.”
Elizabeth smiled faintly. She liked the way Wilhelmina said while he is still away. There was quiet confidence in those words. A promise.
“Understood,” she murmured in agreement.
She glanced over at her sister, then gently nudged her knee with her own. “And what about you, Mina? How have you been?”
Wilhelmina hesitated, just for a moment, but then she gave a small shrug. “Well, during one of those dreadful events Mother insisted I attend, I… met someone.”
Elizabeth blinked. “You what?” she gasped, eyes wide. “A lord?”
Wilhelmina rolled her eyes. “No, Lizzie. A chimney sweep,” she deadpanned.
Elizabeth giggled and gave her another nudge. “Go on, you menace.”
Wilhelmina looked down at her hands, brushing at an invisible thread. “We can talk about it another time. I don’t want to burden you with something so trivial when you’re going through—”
“No,” Elizabeth said firmly, reaching for her sister’s hand this time. “Please. Just because I’m facing something doesn’t mean I don’t want to be here for you. Tell me. I want to know.”
Wilhelmina hesitated once more, then relented with a soft exhale. “It’s the Earl of Slyham.”
Elizabeth tilted her head. “That doesn’t ring any bells.”
“He’s been abroad for the past few years. Some say in Italy, others say Greece. No one’s quite sure. But he’s back now, and, according to some, looking for a wife.”
Elizabeth raised a brow. “And what is he like?”
Wilhelmina’s lips curved into a reluctant smile.
“Tall. Sandy blond hair. Handsome, of course. Lean. Has that sort of careless, weather-worn look about him. But what struck me is that he sees straight through the ton’s nonsense.
He doesn’t want to play their games either.
He’s kind. Diverting. And he listens. Really listens. ”
Elizabeth softened, her heart warming for her sister. “And how do you feel about him?”
“I…” Wilhelmina paused. “I feel a growing friendship. A comfort. I don’t know what else to call it yet.”
Elizabeth squeezed her hand. “Then go with your heart.”
Wilhelmina gave a nod. “His name is Robert,” she added, almost shyly.
“I’m happy for you, Mina,” Elizabeth said, her voice gentle with sincerity. “Truly. I wish you all the best with him.”
They leaned into a warm, quiet embrace.
When they pulled apart, Wilhelmina gave her a mischievous look. “Even Mother tolerates him. Might even approve of him, if you can believe it.”
Elizabeth’s jaw dropped. “Lady Grisham? Approves of someone who doesn’t have a direct line to the throne?”
Wilhelmina chuckled. “He is an earl, Lizzie. Don’t be greedy.”
They laughed together, the sound soft and reassuring between them.
Outside the window, the garden shimmered in the last light of the day.
It was not yet peace, but it was a beginning.