Chapter 11 #3
“There is still time to do that,” he said. “And there is no rush. You both can grow in that direction.”
Once again, Duncan’s advice surprised her. He was more hopeful than she had imagined him to be.
“I had thought you would say something opposite,” she remarked. “Like I need to be more firm with her, or something.”
“Good to know that you consider me a dictator figure,” he said sarcastically.
She couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“And you’re funny too, sometimes,” she said, letting a smile pass through. “Imagine my surprise.”
“So have you gotten the advice that you came here to receive?” He asked curiously. “Because you seem to be in a much better mood already than before.”
“I think what you said about…” she sighed. “Well, letting our relationship grow makes sense. I don’t want to solve everything at once, and that alone brings me peace. And perhaps I can just let Augusta be... herself for now. She will come to understand when it is time.”
“I just hope that she doesn’t do anything drastic in the meantime,” Duncan muttered under his breath. “But yes. Don’t overthink things. You have good intentions, and you care for her. In time, she will come to see it.”
When she walked out of that study, she felt more at peace. So much so that she went and sought Augusta out.
“Can I speak to you for a moment?” She asked.
“What is it?” Augusta sighed. “If you’ve come to argue…”
“No, I haven’t. I just was not happy about how our conversation went earlier, and I wanted to clear the air between us. Or at least, try to.”
“If you still cannot give me any answers, then I am afraid that there is not much here to clear.” “Sure. But I am your older sister, and I think I can speak to you without hesitating,” she said.
“I don’t want you to be mad at me, and I want you to be patient.
In time, things will be sorted out. You will see. ” “Patience is not my strongest suit.”
“Then you must develop it,” Charity said without missing a beat. “It is a useful skill that will take you far in life.”
Augusta’s gaze stayed on her.
“So you were thinking of sending us because of him,” she said again. “The duke, that is. You can tell me that, at least?”
Charity nodded.
“No, but I know that you do not like him. Matilda is terrified of him. I’ve realized that I cannot force you to like him by simply insisting on it, can I?”
Augusta shot her sister a wayward look.
“I suppose that is all secondary,” she whimpered, “do you like him?”
That is rather down on my list of priorities.
“That is not something that matters,” Charity smiled softly.
“Why would it not matter?” Augusta said, offended. “You are to spend the rest of your life with him, and you are telling me that it does not matter if you like him?”
“Those notions are better left inside the pages of a romance novel,” Charity concluded, not wanting to argue on the topic. “It is no use to bring them to real life. It’s complicated between us.”
Though in earnest, she did not dislike him either. But that did not mean love, did it?
She was too terrified to ask herself.
Especially when the stakes were so high. This was simply a marriage of convenience, and she had to come to terms with it.
However, Augusta did not seem convinced.
“You always make decisions with our safety in mind,” she said. “And you always pay for them alone. I am asking you to consider not doing that, is that really too much of an ask?”
“What makes you think I am alone?” Charity tried to distract.
“Tell me what happened with Uncle Edward, because I know something happened. I know you will never tell Matilda, but you can tell me,” Augusta did not waste a moment getting to the point. “I’ve told you this before, and it is all I ask of you. But you refuse to tell me.”
She was always too smart to be lied to, after all.
Charity’s hands tightened in her lap. She could see how this chapter was turning in their lives, could see that if she did not handle it now, the distrust would grow, and distrust between sisters was exactly what Edward would use.
“I cannot tell you everything,” Charity said finally, and she hated herself for it.
“So I am right. You are hiding something.”
“There is no use getting into the details like this,” Charity sighed, “can you let the matter drop, please?”
“I am sure that is what you’d like for me to do,” Augusta replied, “but…”
“I will speak when you are ready,” Charity said. “We will sit and I will tell you what you need to know. Is that fine with you? But you must let the matter go for now.”
Augusta studied her, and her expression changed from annoyance to steady patience.
“Do you promise me?” she said.
“Yes, but please, let it go for now.”
Augusta held her gaze for a moment, then stood, and when she spoke again, her tone was less sharp than before.
“I see you’ve made up your mind then. I guess we will have the conversation when it comes to it.”
She left Augusta to sleep then. Things seemed calm on the surface, but something inside of her told her that Augusta was not going to let the matter go easily.