Page 71 of The Gentleman Was Right
It was possible that she was more attractive without a gown than with.
Not that walking about unclothed was an option.
She stifled an annoyed chuckle at herself and pulled open the doors of the wardrobe. Except for her wedding gown tucked carefully at the far end, she was met with nothing but shabby, ill-fitting dresses. They would be slightly more acceptable looking if she’d taken the time to alter them after her appetite had waned, or if she hadn’t allowed her broken heart to take her desire for food in the first place. Since she’d done neither, she straightened her shoulders, reminded herself that it was too late to change the past and that it was definitely not the time to lament the way she’d handled her emotional state.
Instead, itwastime to reinvent herself.
Or perhaps, to be more accurate, rediscover herself.
So she could be what her sister needed. And what her husband needed.
Because they had certainly been what she had needed.
The urge to toss her old gowns into the pile on the floor was strong, but she required something to wear, and she would not put on her wedding gown again until Isabelle had an equally appealing option, so Violet pulled the least tattered of her remaining gowns out of the wardrobe, put it on, and then styled her hair in a loose braid before marching out of the room.
Finding Isabelle still in her bedchamber, Violet directed her straight out of the house and into the waiting carriage. “We need to refresh our wardrobes,” she said, as soon as they were on their way.
Isabelle blinked, her eyes wide with surprise. “What?”
“Our gowns are horrid. They’re faded. Threadbare. Ill-fitting.”
“I’m aware. But you’ve been adamant that we didn’t require anything new for so long that…” She shrugged instead of finishing the sentence.
Shame flooded Violet.
Swallowing thickly, she stared out the window and said, “I overheard you with Edward yesterday.”
“You were eavesdropping?” Isabelle’s voice rose with each word.
“I know I shouldn’t have, but you sounded distressed, and I couldn’t help myself.” She abruptly turned away from the window and asked, “You were—why didn’t you tellme?”
It hurt to think about why Isabelle hadn’t come to her, and it was going to hurt to talk about, too, but Isabelle was her sister, and Violet had always felt responsible for making sure she was happy.
“We’ve talked about the state of our wardrobes half a dozen times over the last year, and you’ve always been dismissive, so I didn’t want to make more of a fuss than I already had. As for the rest, I guess I was in a mood. Sometimes…it’s hard not to compare myself to others,” Isabelle added quietly. “The past year has been difficult, and the last thing you need now that you finally have a bit of peace is to deal with me and my ridiculous dissatisfaction.”
Tears welled in Violet’s eyes. “You’re my sister.”
“It’s just…you’re finally happy again.”
“I wantyouto be happy too,” Violet responded forcefully. “And I want you to feel beautiful. The fact that I failed to notice you were struggling is difficult for me to come to terms with. I grappled all afternoon yesterday and again this morning with the things I overheard, and I couldn’t determine how to fix things for you, but I want to try.”
“You don’t need to fix anything, and you certainly didn’t fail me,” Isabelle said, delicately wiping her eyes with her gloved fingertips.
“I ignored you every time you tried to talk to me about our gowns, and I’ve been so self-absorbed that you took your worries about your future to my husband instead of me.”
“You aren’t self-absorbed,” Isabelle said fiercely. “And I didn’t mean to tell Edward instead of you. He asked how I was doing, and it just kind of spilled out.”
“I have been self-absorbed. I didn’t even notice you were sad.” Violet held up her hand to stop Isabelle from refuting her again. “You know I was singularly focused on avoiding marriage to Basil for months. And lately, I’ve been spending so much of my time with Edward.”
“You’re newlyweds.”
“But you’remysister,” Violet repeated. “And I neglected you. Assumed you wanted to spend time with Edward’s family?—”
“I do. I adore Edward’s family. They’ve been most welcoming.” Isabelle sighed. “You know I wanted you to marry Edward from the beginning, but there have been many changes in a short time. Good changes, obviously. But now, occasionally, I feel overlooked, like I’ve been left behind. It isn’t your fault. Or their fault. Or my fault. In the grand scheme, it’s probably not even worth mentioning. When Edward asked, I should have told him I was fine.Because I am fine.I was simply feeling a bit sorry for myself yesterday.”
“You don’t have to pretend you’re happy when you’re not.”
“I’m not pretending. Iamhappy.”
