Page 89 of The Replacement Duchess

“It never is when you do not benefit from it. Now, come along.”

“Why do you expect me to always do as you say?”

“Because I am not the one that storms off whenever I do not get my own way.”

“Do you not? Would the Duke agree with that, do you think?”

“That is completely different, and you know it.”

“Is it?”

Diana could not think of a retort. Samantha was right after all, and they had both been running from each other.

“The point is,” Diana said instead, “is that whether it is a perfect marriage or not, I am indeed married. That means that I have responsibilities now, and cannot simply leave everything behind each and every time you have a foolish idea such as this and I am needed to bring you back.”

“And who asked you to do that?” Samantha asked. “I told you I was perfectly content for that letter to be our goodbye.”

“Would you truly have been?”

“Yes.” Samantha nodded, though she averted her gaze. “It may be good for you, regardless, to learn who you are.”

“What is that supposed to mean? Of course, I know who I am!”

“Do you?”

Diana thought she did, but each time she tried to argue her case, she realized that she did not.

She had lived her life for Samantha, and their father to some extent. She had spent her entire life preparing Samantha for marriage, something that her sister did not even want after all of it, and now…

Now all of her work was for nothing.

“And who are you?” Diana scoffed. “You are a young lady of twenty, and now you seem to think that you can run away because the life you were given was not enough for you. You could find a sensible enough husband, one who would allow you to continue your studies, but you seem to think yourself above that, don’t you?”

“Is that why you are angry with me? Is it truly because you are trapped in a loveless marriage and I am not?”

“My marriage is not loveless!”

Diana froze. Samantha froze. Diana wondered if she had simply said that to make her sister stop, but the more that she thought about it, the more she realized that it was not necessarily incorrect.

“There is no love in your marriage,” Samantha sighed. “You have made that perfectly clear.”

“One argument does not mean there is no care for one another. I care a great deal about you, for example, even though I do so wish to throw you into a carriage and drive you to Bedlam right now.”

“And why do you care about me? It is not as though anyone else does.”

“Because you are my sister. I have given my life to give you the best opportunities, without so much as a thank you.”

“And when did I ask you to do that?”

“A sister should not have to ask.”

“And what happened when I explicitly told you I had no interest in marrying? You ignored me completely, hoping that I would mature, or at least what you consider maturing, and bend. I have not bent, and you cannot stand that, can you?”

“No, you are right. You did not bend. Instead, it appears that you have broken, and there is nothing that I can do about that.”

“Then leave me here.”

“Is that what you want?”

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