Page 17 of Snapdragons
Mrs. Barrington nodded. “We don’t often speak of it outside our family and close friends.”
“But you are speaking of it to me now.”
She gave a minute shrug. “I find, though we are not well acquainted, that I trust you. Your belief that Niles Greenberry is slow of intellect does make me question your judgment a little.”
“No,” Penelope was quick to counter. “I asked because I don’t actually think he is, which I realize is confusing. His grandfather undertook the entirety of the marriage negotiations, which I decided either indicated a very fierce adherence to family hierarchy or a lack of faith in the younger Mr. Greenberry’s ability to take on the task. And then, upon arriving here, I found that he very seldom talks and that no one seems to expect him to, but he doesn’t actually strike me as being shy. While I don’t truly think there is a slowness to him, I thought it best to know for certain before I decide how it is I ought to proceed.”
Mrs. Barrington’s open expression clouded with a hint of apprehension. “Does this mean you wish forthe marriageto proceed?”
“Despite his defection and not knowing him well, yes. I am something of an unconventional person, and he agreed to some unconventional terms in the marriage contract, which gives mehope that he and I could be relatively well-suited. And even quiet as he is, I have the impression that he is a kind person, which I had hoped to find in a husband. Far too many ladies are married to brutes who mistreat them. Escaping that fate appeals to me very much indeed. Thus ’tis decidedly in my best interest to move forward if at all possible.”
Mrs. Barrington did not look convinced. “There are any number of gentlemen who are kind. That is not so rare a quality that it requires pursuing a match with a gentleman who has, if you will excuse the bluntness of my language, shown himself willing to behave uncivilly in order to avoid the marriage you are seeking.”
Blunt, yes. But also accurate.
“My situation is very odd. I haven’t a dowry. My family’s connections are limited to Ireland and, even then, are not among the most exalted spheres. What I do have to offer, in the end, would not be beneficial to my would-be husband. Every gentleman who has shown even the least interest abandoned any hint of that interest once he understood the situation. Until Mr. Greenberry. If he has, in actuality, permanently changed his mind, then I am out of options.”
While Mrs. Barrington’s expression had softened, it hadn’t entirely cleared. “But Niles is not out of options. His family could make another match for him very quickly.”
Penelope was well aware of that. “I would simply like a chance to discover if I might be a good option for him and he for me. I want to try. Gentlemen undertake courtships of hesitant ladies all the time. This wouldn’t be entirely different.”
Mrs. Barrington watched her more closely. “Are you consideringcourtingNiles?”
Was she? She pressed her fingers to her lips, thinking. “I suppose I am.” She rose and began to wander about as she pondered the idea. “I would like the chance to know him better.Though I have my suspicions that the other gentlemen would help him flee again if he asked them to.”
“His happiness is important to all of us,” Mrs. Barrington said. “The Gents will defend him to the hilt.”
Penelope watched Mrs. Barrington closely, needing to know if she had lost this battle before it had even begun.
“What if,” Mrs. Barrington asked, “you spend time here coming to know him and discover that while you find him perfectly pleasant, you don’t feel any particular affection for him?”
Penelope had only ever allowed herself to hope for “perfectly pleasant.” The idea of love and affection had been abandoned long ago.
“Or,” Mrs. Barrington continued, “you do find yourself growing tenderly fond of him, but Niles doesn’t return that regard? What would you do?”
Penelope held her hands up in a show of helplessness. “I don’t know. I certainly don’t want either of us to be unhappy. And though arranged marriages very seldom include affection as one of the considerations, to be cared about would be a wonderful thing. But it seems like far too much to hope for.”
“The two of you getting to know each other better would not necessarily cause Niles any misery or harm.” Mrs. Barrington’s protective approach to Niles was both admirable and worrisome. Penelope, it seemed, needed to convince far more than her prodigal betrothed to look favorably on her. She needed to win overallhis friends. “And should it become clear in the end that you two would not suit, the entire thing can be called off.”
Though the last was spoken in tones of mere observation, Mrs. Barrington’s gaze was anything but casual. Penelope understood the message. She had an ally in her efforts to make Niles’s better acquaintance. But in the end, if her match with Niles wasn’t seen as something more than a beneficial business-like arrangement, she would have an entire household of people sending her awayalone.
“I would appreciate the chance to at least try,” she said. “And though it would spell disaster for me, I give you my word that I won’t force the matter if Mr. Greenberry does not wish to proceed in the end.”
Mrs. Barrington nodded. “The gentlemen refer to themselves as the Gents, so you might as well also. And I suppose you had better call me Violet.”
“Whyhad I better?” Penelope certainly hadn’t expected this informality so soon after being interrogated and warned.
“Because you are going to need my help, and accomplices aren’t meant to be overly formal.”
“‘Accomplices’? You mean toactivelyhelp me?”
Violet nodded.
“Then, you must have some faith that I will keep my word.”
“I do,” Violet said. “The fact that you are willing to try to sincerely determine if you could have some happiness together speaks well of you. And I am holding out hope that this attempted courtship will be the start of something lovely.”
Tolerablehad always seemed far more within her reach thanlovely. What if it were actually possible? What if Niles was more than heronlyoption and was actually also a wonderful option?
