Chapter 8 #2
Charity began to dress, as she found her stockings and shoes, then pulled on her gown and fastened it.
Matilda paced the room.
“Are you going to tell where we are going, at least?” she said. Compared to Augusta, her questions had less bite. But that still did not mean that Charity had the capacity to answer them right now. “Are we leaving York entirely?”
“You think she will tell us?” Augusta snorted.
“Well, I hope so,” Matilda went on. “I don’t particularly wish to leave. Though I feel as though if I ask you too many questions I shall make you angry.”
“….I do not want you angry with me,” Matilda added after a moment of silence. It melted Charity instantly.
“My dear, you are not making me angry,” she said. “You may ask me questions, and I will answer what I can, but you must listen as well, because we have very little time and we cannot afford to hesitate.”
“Where are we going, and why are we going with him?”
Charity reached for her cloak and began to fasten it, then turned to face her sisters.
“We are leaving York for now,” she said.
“And going where?”
“Somewhere…” Charity hesitated briefly, “Well, somewhere that is a lot safer than here. Trust me, you shall be grateful for it.”
That was as much as she could tell them at this moment.
“Is it really that hard to tell us the name of the place?” Augusta’s brows rose. “You are guarding it as though it is a palace secret, and you’re the only one who has been entrusted to keep it.”
“I ask for some empathy,” Charity said in a tired voice. “What difference would it make if I told you the exact place? We will only end up arguing and lose time, which is already scarce for us.”
“Why do you expect an argument in the first place?” Augusta said, ironically proving Charity’s point, though she did not understand that herself. “Do you think of me a child? That needs to be managed, perhaps? Matilda, sure. But I am older, and…”
“Augusta, please,” Charity said. “I am trying to keep you safe without frightening you more than you already are.”
“Who is to say that I am frightened?” Augusta said stubbornly.
“What about Uncle Edward?” Matilda asked, innocently. “Will he not wonder where we are?”
“My dear, it is best that we keep our distance from him,” Charity said.
“Does he… does he not like us anymore?” Matilda asked.
“It’s nothing like that,” Charity sighed.
Once again, they were losing time, and Charity did not know how she could explain complex matters in a situation like this.
“But he wants to have a very prominent role in how our lives are to unfold, and any resistance from our side would only make him angry. That is why we must leave, and keep our distance.”
Right. That was enough of an explanation, she thought.
“And where does the Duke of Blackford come into this?” Augusta leaned in.
Duncan’s gaze flicked to Charity. He was going to let her handle it.
Charity mustered up the extent of her courage. She had to tell them now.
“He is here because I am going to marry him,” Charity said.
“You are going to marry him?” Matilda repeated, blinking wildly.
“Say that again,” Augusta said quietly. She seemed more alarmed. “I am not sure if I heard you correctly? You… are marrying him?”
Augusta and Matilda were looking at the duke now as though they were seeing him for the first time. Surely, marriage was a rather permanent thing, and they had just learnt that the person whom they had considered to be a stranger was going to be a permanent fixture in their lives.
“It is the safest arrangement available to us, and it will keep our uncle from claiming we have no protection,” Charity said, not meeting the duke’s gaze as she said the word.
Matilda’s hand flew to her throat, clutching the little cross she wore beneath her gown.
“But why,” she whispered. “Why would you do it so quickly, and why would he agree, and why….”
“Matilda,” Charity said, and she reached for her hand, squeezing it. “Look at me.”
Matilda looked at her, eyes bright with tears.
“I chose this,” she explained.
“Did he also choose?” Augusta asked. She seemed suspicious about the whole thing, and Charity already knew that this was only the beginning of her questioning.
“We both chose,” Charity said, “and you’re going to have to trust my decision.”
“But a marriage…” Augusta said, still in partial shock. “Why, that is a big deal. You were not gone long enough to have a proper courtship, and well…. when did you have time to agree to such a thing?”
“It happened quickly,” Charity sighed. “I could not send word to you as I did not even know where you were, and even if I had, Uncle would have read it first, and he would have used it to trap us more tightly than before. I had my reasons, and you must understand them.”
Augusta’s lips parted, then closed again, and Matilda gripped Charity’s hand harder.
Duncan cleared his throat and gave Charity an expression that let her know that while he understood the situation, he also wanted to remind her that they were short on time. She exchanged a pleading glance with him.
“Girls, please,” Charity said firmly. “All other questions can be saved for another time. We must go now.”
“So, we are leaving England then?” Matilda asked.
“We will go somewhere that belongs to him,” she said, glancing at Duncan again. “It will be better if we are somewhere he can control who enters, and then we will decide what we do next. But we must move quickly.”
“Wouldn’t Uncle try and track us down?” Augusta said.
“He will try, but he cannot simply snatch you back once you are under the protection of a duke,” Charity was surprised at the note of pride in her voice as she said the words.
Augusta did not like the sound of that, and Charity knew it. Her pride rejected the idea that they needed any man’s protection to stand upright.
“So we are trading one guardian for another,” Augusta said, “well, this one is titled higher, I suppose, but there is not much difference in the concept.”
It took Charity a lot of patience not to react.
“We are not trading you,” Charity said, keeping her voice soft. “I am not handing you to him. I will not allow anyone, not even him, to treat you as property.”
Duncan’s gaze shifted to Charity at that, and though he did not smile, his expression altered slightly. He had noted the line she drew and accepted it.
Augusta exhaled slowly. “You are not telling us something,” she said, and her voice was quiet now, not accusing so much as stating an observation.
Charity met her gaze without flinching.
“Not everything is yours to carry,” she replied.
Augusta’s eyes hardened, but she did not argue, and Charity could tell that Augusta was storing that line away as well, to use against her later when they were not in a rush and not in danger.
Duncan shifted his weight at the door.
“Are we finished?” he asked.
Charity nodded quickly. “We are,” she said, and then she turned to her sisters again, forcing a lighter tone, “put on your cloaks properly, both of you, and cover your hair.”
Matilda obeyed at once, fumbling with her cloak, but Augusta moved more slowly.
“And Charity…” Augusta asked, a tone of resignation in her voice, “You’re… well, I am not questioning your discernment, but you are certain that… you can trust this man not to make matters worse for us?”
Charity took a second to respond.
“Yes, I trust him,” she said. “He brought the two of you safely to me, keeping his word.”
Augusta’s gaze flicked to Duncan again, then back. If she had more to say, she kept it to herself.
“Come now,” Duncan opened the door wider.
They filed out as Duncan led them out of the inn.
The women kept their heads down, knowing not to attract much attention.
Though people moved out of the way for Duncan, and there was a sense that they understood that he was a man who commanded respect, even though they might not be privy to his title.
Matilda whispered as they walked, unable to help herself.
“Oh, I feel that he truly is a duke,” she said, glancing up at Duncan’s back. “I have never been this close to a duke.”
“Matilda, do not embarrass us…” Augusta hissed under her breath. “What difference does that even make?”
“Well, he is practically royalty, is he not?” Matilda said, and Augusta groaned loudly.
“Stop arguing,” Charity said to them. But truly, that was the least of her concerns.
They were to embark on a new journey. But as long as she had her sisters in her sight and safe, she knew that anything that was to come afterwards could be faced.