Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Alice went in search of her aunt. She half expected to find her waiting just outside the drawing room door, but Sir Marcus had exited with such force that it was fortunate she had not.
She met Aunt Jane hurrying down the hallway, clearly having heard the commotion.
“I suspect that did not go quite as Sir Marcus hoped,” she said wryly.
“You could say that…” Alice replied.
“Would you like to come into the garden and talk about it?”
Alice’s first instinct was to refuse and hide away as she usually did when upset, but her aunt had done so much for her and deserved honesty. Besides, perhaps speaking about it would help.
“Thank you,” she said. “I would like that.”
She followed her aunt into the garden and they sat together on a stone bench in the shade, surrounded by blooming roses and the gentle scent of lavender.
Alice appreciated that her aunt gave her a moment to gather her thoughts and didn’t immediately begin throwing questions at her.
“Sir Marcus proposed to me,” she said at last. “And I turned him down.”
She wanted anxiously for her aunt’s reaction.
Aunt Jane let out a deep sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for that.”
“Excuse me?” Alice blinked in surprise.
“If you had wanted to marry him, of course I would have supported you. But as you clearly do not believe he is right for you, I am very glad you were strong enough to refuse. I know you feel pressure to marry, but I would hate to see you wed to someone you could not be happy with simply out of duty.”
Alice was so astonished she could only open and close her mouth.
Aunt Jane laughed softly. “When I was young, I was in a similar position to yourself.
I knew I needed to marry a man with enough money to support us, and my dowry was so small it was barely worth mentioning.
I was lucky. I married a kind man and I grew to love your uncle very much.
But it could easily have been otherwise.
I want you to be certain about who you choose to marry.
“I’ve wanted to support you in doing what felt right,” Aunt Jane continued, “and I have loved having you here.
But I know you have not been happy in London.
You do not belong here. That is why I thought Sir Marcus might suit since I imagine he will want to spend a large portion of his time on his new estate, which is so nicely situated for you to visit your family.
Still, I am glad you listened to your heart.
“I hope you trust me enough to share with me anything you need to, and I do not expect you to tell me what led to you leaving Lord Tonbridge’s house party so suddenly, but I cannot help but suspect it has something to do with this decision.”
Alice hung her head. “And you gave Sir Marcus your blessing,” she said.
“I did. As your current guardian and so that you could make whatever decision you felt was right for you. Though I did hope you would take into consideration the fact that he rather assumed your brother’s consent to the match.”
“He did seem eager to get proposing to me ticked off his list of things to do today.” Alice giggled.
“Yes,” her aunt agreed, shaking her head. “But are you quite certain you have made the right choice? You cannot fault his enthusiasm in riding all the way from Kent. Some would call that romantic.”
Alice gave a faint smile. “Perhaps. But I am sure of my answer. When I spoke with Henry yesterday, he told me the estate’s finances are now stable. There is no need for me to marry for money. Even without that knowledge, Sir Marcus is not the man I want.”
“And do you wish to go home?” Aunt Jane asked gently.
“I am not sure,” Alice admitted. “I know I am finished with the Season, and I miss my family and the animals terribly. But there are . . . other reasons that make returning difficult right now. I need time to decide what I truly want for myself, not just what is best for the family.”
“That is a very wise idea,” Aunt Jane said warmly. “You are more than welcome to stay with me for as long as you wish. And my daughters would be delighted to have you accompany me when I visit them.”
“Thank you,” Alice replied, hugging her aunt tightly. “You have been so kind, and I feel terribly ungrateful after all the time and money you spent on me, only for me to turn down the one proposal I received and abandon the Season early.”
“I would never want you to continue doing something you hated, or marry someone you did not care for, merely because I bought you a few gowns and escorted you to parties,” Aunt Jane said.
“It has given me great pleasure having you here. I shall miss you when you go, but I believe you are doing the right thing. Now, I was planning to go out for my cards evening tonight, which I am assuming you would rather not attend, but will you be happy to be left by yourself? I can cancel if you would rather have some company. It would be pleasant for the others to have a chance at winning for a change.”
“I will be absolutely fine by myself, there is no need to cancel,” Alice reassured her. Some time to herself was what she craved.
Alice and her aunt dined together before Jane prepared for her card party and departed.
Alice settled herself in her favourite armchair in the drawing room and was soon joined by Duchess, who curled up beside her.
She planned to spend the evening reading until she could reasonably retire to bed.
Of course, her favourite books all reminded her of Anthony.
She tried to focus on the words, but her mind kept drifting back to him and everything that had happened between them.
His note, which she had read so many times she could picture it clearly, lay upstairs.
And Rosalind was such a generous and thoughtful gift.
He had chosen that mare especially for her and continued to stable her even though they were no longer speaking.
All of a sudden, Alice was filled with an overwhelming need to see Anthony and make amends.
Spending time with him had been the highlight of her time in London.
He had gone out of his way to help her, even when it had driven her to distraction, and riding with him had ended up keeping her sane.
He had trusted her with Sarah and Charlie.
She hated that their friendship had ended so badly.
She missed him terribly and was tired of trying to force him from her mind.
She wondered what he would think of her turning down Sir Marcus, especially since he had never actually invited him to the house party, despite her request. Maybe he simply had not been able to get in touch with Sir Marcus .
. . but that was unlikely as they lived so close to one another . . .
She needed to speak with him. To resolve things if nothing else. She would go to see him while he was in London. Alone, so they could talk properly without the constraints of polite society. She just needed to work out how.