Page 43 of Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Duchess
Eliza’s eyes widened. “Won’t the other guests look for you?”
Kate waved away her concern. “I assure you that they prefer not to endure my conversations. I fear I am not privy to the latest fashions, nor it seems, the latest gossip.” She shut her library door behind her.
“You know,” Eliza said, and her shoulders slumped.
Kate motioned for her to have a seat and then joined her. “I’m not sure what I know. It is why I would like for you to be honest with me. Do you love my brother?”
Eliza’s eyes filled with tears, and she gave a small sniff. “No, but he is a wonderful man.”
“I understand that your betrothed broke off your engagement,” Kate said, her voice gentle.
“Yes. Robert thought that I would care that he had lost his fortune, but I didn’t. I would have endured any hardship if it meant I could be by his side.” Her voice broke. “He didn’t even allow me a chance to tell him.”
Kate patted Eliza’s hand. “So, why this sham courtship with my brother.”
Eliza pulled a handkerchief embroidered with ivy leaves from her small purse that matched the dark blue of her gown. She dabbed her eyes. “You mustn’t be angry with Lord Pembrooke. He did it to save me from a horrible fate.”
“Please go on.”
Eliza pursed her lips and said, “My father was cursed with five daughters and no sons. I am the oldest and the first to be married. My younger sister is due to marry the Duke of Sanderton, but it cannot happen until I marry.”
“Surely, your sister can still marry,” Kate said.
Eliza shook her head, and her auburn curls bounced. “Father is quite old-fashioned. He needs a business alliance with the duke. It is all gibberish to me, but Father said if Elinor doesn’t marry the duke before the year’s end, the family is doomed.”
Kate felt like she was wandering in a labyrinth without a light. She was no closer to understanding why Eliza and Nicholaspretended to court. “And how does any of this relate to Nicholas?”
“Miss Roves broke your brother’s heart, and he no longer cares who he marries.”
Kate wanted to shake Eliza to get the story in its entirety out of her, but tears still lingered in her eyes, so she gritted her teeth and asked, “Did my brother wish to make Miss Roves jealous by courting you?”
Eliza once again shook her head. “No. He was quite despondent about her pending marriage to the Earl of Winfield, which is why it’s so wonderful what he is doing for me.”
Kate quelled the urge to leap to her feet and yell. She clenched her hands together in her lap and said in the evenest tone she could muster, “And that is?”
“He’s marrying me so that I don’t have to marry the eighty-year-old Earl of Lichester. The man has no teeth and only one hair on his head, but he wants an heir for his estate.” Eliza sobbed in earnest as she made this last pronouncement.
Kate patted Eliza on her shoulder. Women really shouldn’t have to marry eighty-year-old men with no teeth. It made her thankful once more that her family had not insisted on such a fate for her. She waited until Eliza’s sobs died down. “My brother is going to marry you, so you don’t have to marry the Earl of Lichester. But what of Miss Roves?”
Eliza sniffled. “That’s what makes him so noble. He loves Miss Roves so much that he knows that he cannot love another. It’s rather romantic, don’t you think?”
Kate resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her mind raced. She had to convince Julia not to marry Harry. “I’m so sorry, Miss Chambers, but I must go.”
Before Eliza could protest and stop her, Kate was already out the door and headed up the stairs.
Chapter Nineteen
Andrew looked for Kate in the drawing room, but she had disappeared with Miss Chambers. Blowing out a breath of frustration, he guided Harry to a nearby corner chair and sat him down. As they had walked from the dining room, Andrew had watched in disgust as Harry wobbled unsteadily on his feet.
“You know, she never loved me,” Harry slurred.
“I’m sure that’s not true. She wouldn’t have agreed to marry you if she didn’t have feelings for you,” Andrew said.
Harry rose. “I’m going to find Julia and tell her how much I’ve wanted her.”
Alarm rose in Andrew. Harry needed to stay put until eleven o’clock. He tried to recall how many times the clock had struck as they walked from the dining room. Was it nine or ten? He couldn’t be sure.
He leaned forward and put a hand on Harry’s shoulder to stop him. “I believe I overheard several of the women say they wished to speak with Julia this evening to wish her good luck. You wouldn’t want to put a damper on the women as they gossip about the wedding, would you?”
