Chapter Fifteen #3
Katie could easily imagine Betje at seventeen. She was still a beautiful woman; she must have been a breathtakingly lovely girl.
Betje twisted her fingers and sank her teeth into her lower lip, her gaze once again distant.
“I was Boon’s second wife. His first had died long before, when he was a young man.
He waited almost twenty years before seeking a bride.
” She suddenly gave a gurgle of laughter, her pale eyes filled with nostalgia and mischief, giving Katie some idea of what she had looked like all those years ago.
“I had six older sisters. One after another they hoped to be Boon’s bride.
But one after another they were forced to marry elsewhere as the time to wed came and went and still Boon did not marry.
Finally, my grandfather—a terrifying old man not accustomed to having his will thwarted—told me I would accompany him to England.
” Her gaze slid to Katie. “He brought me here without telling Boon we were coming. My grandfather quickly discovered that Boon was not a boy to be ordered about. Instead, he appealed to Boon’s honor by pointing out the agreement between our families could not be fulfilled if Boon did not take me to wife as the next oldest granddaughter was barely two years of age. ”
“Did you wish to marry?” Katie asked.
“Oh, yes!” Betje answered without hesitation.
“Boon was not a handsome man, but he was very dignified and commanding. I was so ready to fall in love with him,” she said softly, a fond smile on her face.
“By marrying him I would do what all my sisters had failed to achieve and become a duchess.” Betje’s smile faded.
“He was very reserved during our brief courtship, but I was sure he would become warmer once we married. With so many married sisters I knew what happened in the marriage bed.” She looked sheepish for raising such a subject.
“I hoped that physical intimacy would bring about the same sort of emotional intimacy that my sisters enjoyed with their husbands. I was young and very romantic.” A bleakness settled over her.
“Boon put paid to my dreams on our wedding night.”
Katie realized that she had been holding her breath and exhaled, a sense of impending doom filling her as she waited for Betje to continue.
“He was very gentle and kind—in his reserved way—and made sure I did not suffer that first time. When it was over, he told me how our wedded life was to be. My duties were to be few.” She gave a bitter bark of laughter. “In truth, I had only one.”
Katie knew what Betje would say before she even said it.
“He did not need me to serve as his hostess as he rarely entertained at Spenwood. I was not required to accompany him to London because he had no interest in ton socializing. In almost every way I was superfluous when it came to his life. My only responsibility was to provide him with an heir. Once I had, my duty to him would be at an end and we would live separate lives.” She looked down at her hands.
“My wedding night, which I’d dreamed about for so long, ended in despair. ”
They sat in uncomfortable silence.
Katie looked at the dowager’s bowed blonde head and knew she could not hold her tongue. “Gerrit had a similar conversation with me, although it took place before we married.”
Betje looked stricken. “I cannot say I am surprised, although I was hoping it would not be so. And is that what you want, my dear?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean is that the sort of marriage you want? One in name only.”
“It hardly matters what I want. Dulverton made his expectations clear before we married, and I agreed. It would be unfair to him if I changed my mind now. Besides—” Katie broke off, at the last moment recalling just who she was talking to.
“Yes?” Betje prodded. “Please, Katie—tell me the truth. I know this conversation is appallingly blunt, but I fear what will happen if we spare both our blushes.”
“I’m not sure your son wants any other sort of marriage. Based on our first few days as man and wife, I’m not sure he even believes any other union is possible.”
“Oh, he does, Katie! I am sure he does,” Betje said, her eyes almost feverish with something that looked like hope.
“What makes you say that?” Katie asked.
“He might not look like me, but he is at least half mine. There is no reason for him to be like Boon—” She broke off, her eyes sliding away from Katie for a moment.
Something that looked like shame flickered across her pretty face.
“I love Gerrit and I want him to be happy. He won’t be happy if he continues on this way.
I want to help you fight for Gerrit—and for your marriage. ”
Katie felt almost scorched by the emotion rolling off the other woman. What made Betje believe such a travesty of a marriage could be saved? Especially since she had not managed to save her own to Gerrit’s father?
Doing something is better than doing nothing.
Katie met the other woman’s desperate, pleading gaze. “What would you have me do?”