Page 67 of Married to the Icy Duke
“Then don’t say it to yourself.” She reached out, taking Charlotte’s hands in her own. “Everybody says that your marriage is one of convenience; it is true. But haven’t you alwayssaid that love in a marriage complicates matters? Now, you have the liberty to make a good, logical choice of a great match, without your heart getting in the way. This house will beyours, Charlotte. You’ll be the Duchess of Arkley. You’llbesomeone. I hope you don’t forget me, the sad little spinster, when you’re off being a grand duchess, eh?”
That was meant to be a joke, of course—Madeline’s weak attempt at lightening the mood—but Charlotte did not feel inclined to laugh.
“Don’t say that, Madeline,” she murmured. “I would never forget you. And you are not asad little spinster.”
“Oh, but I am,” Madeline said, forcing a laugh. “Look, I’ve been biting my nails again. See how stubby and badly bitten they are? I get so nervous, and I find myself chewing them before I can stop myself. Papa pleads with me to stop. He worries that I am hurting my hands, and indeed I am. I cause him so much trouble. My maid tried to prevent me from biting my nails, and Papa happened to catch her smacking my wrist away. She meant no harm, of course, she only wanted to help, but Papa was furious. He sent her away, and I cannot help but feel as though it is my fault. I’m sure he’ll relent and bring her back, but she was only trying tohelp.”
“Oh, Madeline, you poor thing.”
She shook her head. “I know it’s high time that I was married, but the idea fills me with such dread. Papa has told me, again and again, that if he should die, there is very little left for me. Hewants to see me settled and happy, he has said so, but what if … what if I am not cut out for marriage? Besides, no gentleman wants to marry a bespectacled bluestocking.”
Charlotte laid a reassuring hand on her friend’s arm. “You’ll come and live with me, silly. There is plenty of room.”
“I cannot live on your goodwill forever, Charlotte. What about when you have children to care for?”
“I won’t be having children,” Charlotte said, more firmly than she’d intended. Madeline shot her a quick, questioning glance, but before she could ask a question, Charlotte hastily changed the subject.
She jumped to her feet and darted over to the bookshelves, where a dusty pack of cards waited.
“I have an idea for a fun game we can play,” she said, grinning. “It will predict what our husbands will be like.”
Madeline stiffened. “It isn’t fortune-telling, is it? Papa has a horror of such things.”
“Not exactly. It only predicts whatsortof husband we’ll get. We should try it, to see what sort of man you’ll marry?”
Madeline bit her lower lip. She made as if to lift her fingers to her mouth, then seemed to catch herself, tucking her hands underneath her thighs instead.
“I … I don’t know if I want to play it,” Madeline murmured. “What if it says that I won’t get a husband, or I’ll get somebody beastly?”
Charlotte settled herself down again. “Well, I tell you what, why don’t I go first? I already know what husbandI’mgoing to get, so we can test to see whether it’s accurate. Sybella taught me the game. That’s Isaac’s sister, by the way. You’ll like her.”
Madeline still looked unsure. “How does it work?”
“I shall give you an example. Now, you shuffle the deck and the player picks off three cards. Every card in the deck means something. Suppose the cards I picked out were …” she paused, plucking out the cards in question, “The ace of spades, the ace of clubs, and a Jack. A Jack means that I will get no husband at all, when coupled with a spade and a club. However, an eight or nine of hearts along with a king and queen of diamonds means that I’ll be full of love, with a husband who is extremely wealthy.”
She shuffled all the cards back into the pack, taking care to ensure that the dreaded Jack was far down at the bottom.
There were worse cards than a Jack, however. Sybella had told her that the clubs could mean violence, and a ten of clubs in such a hand could indicate a very sad life indeed.
“I still don’t want to play,” Madeline murmured.
“That’s alright,” Charlotte reassured her. “I’ll play a hand for myself, then.”
She plucked three cards off the top of the deck and laid them down face-up before she could let herself think twice.
It was, after all, only a game.
Sybella had said that the order of the cards mattered a great deal, too.
The first card was the king of clubs. A king never meant violence, Charlotte knew—kings only meant husbands. Queens also meant that one would be married, but to a man of one’s own choice. Next to the king was a ten of hearts, followed by the Jack of diamonds.
“A Jack and a king in the same hand?” Madeline queried. “I thought a Jack meant you wouldn’t get a husband, and a king meant that you would?”
“A king trumps a Jack every time,” Charlotte responded mechanically. “In this hand, it means mischief. No, not mischief. Perhaps … Perhaps tragedy. It’s rather rare to see a Jack in the same hand as a king, I’ll be honest. I don’t believe it’s a good thing.”
“And the hearts? Ten of hearts is a good thing, yes?”
Charlotte swallowed. “Yes. It means love, and a lot of it.”
